from the editor
Bravery vs Shame
Credits: Rupi Kaur and Prabh Kaur
Kaur’s response to instagram while also
repositing the picture, “Thank you @instagram
for providing me with the exact response my
work was created to critique. You deleted a
photo of a woman who is fully covered and
menstruating stating that it goes against
community guidelines when your guidelines
outline that it is nothing but acceptable. The
girl is fully clothed. The photo is mine. It is not
attacking a certain group. Nor is it spam. And
because it does not break those guidelines I
will re-post it.” Good for her!!!
Women’s bodies are allowed to be
sexualized, scantily clad, sexually provocative
and explicit and yet a woman’s experience with
menstruation is not allowed. But, why?
Chilean artist Carina Úbeda created art
from her own menstrual blood. Because of an
allergic reaction to pads, she saved her soiled
cloths and that’s when inspiration for an art
project struck.
Jen Lewis, a Conceptual
Artist
and
Menstrual
Designer, used swirling blood
from menstruation in her
macrophotography project
“Beauty in Blood.”
“The catalyst for the
creation of ‘Beauty in Blood’
was actually when I switched
from tampons and pads to a
menstrual cup at the recommendation of my
physician,” Lewis explained. “The cup is a much
more ‘hands-on’ approach to menstruation
management so my relationship with my body
began changing immediately following the
first use. One day, when I had some blood on
my fingers after emptying my cup, I started
to wonder about why society framed up
menstruation as something disgusting.”
Inspiration for art is everywhere we dare to
see. Unorthodox art and taboo topics can create
an important dialogue about cultural norms.
I love the power and beauty that these
artists created and the statements they made
about women’s bodies.
LM