Meet Danielle Marivette Hernandez! Based in New York, she’s a multifaceted performing artist and speaker, whose work delves into intricate and often overlooked aspects of the human experience. Her approach to life combines the whimsical charm of a Disney Princess with the bold attitude of a saucy wench, and this sassy woman says it’s time to start addressing the taboo to save humanity!
Her journey from a young performer to a seasoned artist and speaker underscores the importance of self-awareness and the courage to confront and work alongside our deepest fears and insecurities. Through her performances, consultations, and creative practices,Danielle invites us to embrace the peculiarities of human experience and find strength in our stories.
The Early Years: A Performer’s Perspective
Born into a performing family, Danielle had (by the age of two!) learned to take stage direction and read body language. It’s this early immersion in expression that provided a unique lens to view the world.One that emphasized observation, empathy, and the ability to communicate complex emotions through physical expression.
“I can read a room in seconds flat and instantly tell who is angry, who is having fun, and who isn’t getting attention. The next question to answer is, ‘What do I do with this information?’ Write a show apparently! ”- Danielle Hernandez
Exploring Relationships and Self-Discovery
Danielle’s one-woman show Danielle XX explores her expectations versus the reality of being a woman, and the choices she made along the way.“Growing up, my impressions of women were magical, like Ms. Frizzle and Sailor Moon! I’m still hoping to get a transformation sequence myself!”
Through humor and raw honesty, she delves into the complexities of relationships, both within herself and others.“I start the show inviting you into my dream space, where I ask you to suspend your thoughts and beliefs, and dive deep with me!”Her show highlights societal norms and personal experiences that shape our behaviors, interactions and choices.This excerpt briefly regards the different messages about marriage:
“Look forward to getting married! Plan your perfect day! has been the message for little girls. ‘Never get married, boys! Watch out for the ol’ ball and chain!’ has been the message for guys. So they are literally feeding us different expectations from youth!”
One of Danielle’s key insights is recognizing personal patterns that hurt us in relationships.She candidly shares her own pattern of running away due to early teachings about The Chase.
“As a kid, I was taught that when I started dating, I needed to ‘be chased.’Don’t approach them, let them come to you. No information on what comes after that! Eventually I realized I was flirting by not showing interest and then running away. No one could chase me when my method involved not telling them I liked them and becoming an escape artist!”By identifying these patterns, Danielle demonstrates how we can work to correct them and foster healthier, more fulfilling connections.
She added, “Now that I’ve said it, can we address how ‘Be Chased’ and ‘Be Chaste’ sound identical?” This is another aspect of her show – taking a look at the mixed messages of stringent purity for girls, encouraging recklessness in boys, and shame as a conditioning tool.
This was a personal conflict that started in middle school for Danielle, whose early development brought an acute awareness of her own body and how it was perceived by others. “By the age of 12, I had developed a fully adult woman’s shape.I was busty, curvy, and in the 7th grade.”This led to both fascination and fear, for her body screamed adult despite still being a child.
“I remember the first time a car slowed to watch me pass.I wore a sundress to my teacher’s wedding, and as I walked to the church, a man driving slowed down to ogle me before he sped up to catch the light.There was a part of me that was amazed. Nothing like that had ever happened before.It felt like approval, like ‘Wow I am pretty!’There’s another part that felt creeped out, afraid of being followed.”
The attention she received from grown men while still a child felt both terrifying and thrilling, leading her to develop what she calls the “come closer, get away from me” dynamic. “After high school I wanted to date, and to find my person.But ingrained fears about shame, purity and the bad things that can happen would crop up and I’d push men away.” This dance between seeking attention and feeling vulnerable has profoundly shaped her perspective of human interaction and self-perception.
Tackling Taboos: Periods and Physicality
Danielle is unafraid to tackle subjects that are often considered taboo, and that brings us to menstruation. Immediately she acknowledges the physical and emotional response that people have to this topic, and that’s the reason she brings it up.“Humans have a peculiar relationship to blood. We can’t live without it, yet we can’t seem to talk about it. We see blood and gore represented in horror or suspense films. We see folks covered in blood in promotional photos and art. Yet there’s this strange double standard when we consider blood as part of the body’s cycle. When blood is a direct result of violence, it’s accepted.However, the expectation for women is to never talk about their blood cycles and to keep it secret.”
“Blood is magic. Yes I said it! Blood is life force energy, and women are brimming with life.But of course I can’t bring this up without some people clenching or becoming hostile.It’s amazing that we can watch bloody scenes of violence and war in the media, but as soon as we talk about it flowing naturally – TABOO. Why?”
Danielle XX emphasizes the significance of how we’re taught to embrace and reject our bodies. It’s how we handle such subjects that affects our daily lives, and overall well-being.Consider your body right now. Yes you, reading this article at your leisure. Is your body one that replaces blood monthly, or not? Are you prepared for that, and if so, who prepared you? Now consider those who aren’t prepared, or who never learn these key details.Nurturing the body can be a challenge when the messages around blood cycles use language such as “dirty,” “shameful,” and “keep it a secret.”
Danielle argues that everyone has a responsibility to learn, regardless if their body performs this action.“It’s just as important for men to learn this as it is for women.The language of the body is being spoken whether we pay attention or not, and for too long men have been raised menstruation illiterate.Now it’s time to change that and the course of history.”Through her lens, people can be poisoned against each other by misunderstanding bodily functions. Instead, examine how we blame each other and accuse others of weakness.
“Disparaging the body has never helped anyone, yet it’s the go-to response when we don’t understand something. Fear prompts deflection.Instead of simply saying, ‘I don’t know why that happens!’ or ‘Wow there’s so much about the human body I’m learning to understand!’ we hear things like, “Well they had it coming!” or “They should’ve thought of that before.”
This final statement, The classic “you should’ve thought of that before..” is often correlated to pregnancy.Her show touches upon fear and misunderstanding pregnancy, though this subject is ripe to be its own show! She points out there’s not much we learn about pregnancy prior to one becoming pregnant, a holdover from when Religion was Law.“Imagine never telling a surgeon how to perform surgery until they’re presented with a patient! We would never! That’s how people die! Well that’s why so many women die too.”Therein lies the heart of Danielle’s message: We can protect each other and ourselves better when we’re armored with information our bodies already know.
Creative Expressions
Through her consulting work, Danielle offers group experiences and one-on-one sessions to delve within. It’s the power of open conversation that she believes in to break down taboos and foster a healthier relationship with others and with our bodies.“Everything is a relationship. Whether it’s family, co-workers, romances, or even you reading this article.Every interaction we share is a relationship, however brief they may be!” Her approach is holistic, integrating physical, emotional, and psychological perspectives to help individuals navigate their obstacles and choose their action steps.
It’s this combination of creative practices with performance and observation that Danielle uses to create a rich, multifaceted approach to personal development. She helps individuals connect with their inner selves and express their identities in meaningful ways.“When it comes to reading cards, I always let people know that nothing is set in stone.This isn’t about me telling the future. The cards are showing what you’re currently a match to, and then you get to decide what to do from there!”
A Mission to Change the World
Danielle Hernandez’s ultimate goal is to change the world.She believes that we have the power (by transforming our relationships with ourselves and each other) to create more authentic and empowering connections. It’s by addressing the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of our lives that we can question, “Is this what I truly believe? or did someone tell me this was the only way things could be?” Her work is a testament to the power of vulnerability, creativity and fostering personal growth to cause societal change.
Conclusion
Danielle Marivette Hernandez’s work is a celebration of the strange, marvelous, and wonderful aspects of being human. “I’m grateful to be alive today as opposed to any other timeline. I’ve been able to do what was impossible for women before! I’ve had the freedom to read cards and not be burned at the stake, to travel solo and climb the pyramids, and of course to write a show about what I’ve learned along the way. It’s time to pull out the dead roots of archaic systems that actively harm EVERYONE. Instead, let’s use the knowledge of this era to build a better world, for us and the people we’ll never meet.” Her unique perspective, grounded in years of experience and personal growth, offer valuable insights.
Her message is clear: in a world where information is abundant but true understanding is often lacking, we must strive to embrace where we are, and how we got here. Through this acceptance and exploration, we can change our lives and, ultimately, the world around us.You can find her on social media @DezMarivette
Published By: Aize Perez
