Art that is related to taboo forces the audience to reconsider their assumptions related to it. Such art has the power to overturn what is taken for granted and make a positive impact. It is also true that art is an important medium to initiate change and is key to challenging norms.
Art To The Rescue
Menstrual art is playing a big role in breaking the stigma around menstruation too. By making the invisible visible, it is helping in turning the taboo into a celebration. It brings a progressive view of menstruation, reflecting the biological realities of periods and exposes a range of experiences. It helps in reclaiming that menstruation is a natural process and is one of the most powerful things the body goes through, and we should celebrate that.
There are diverse ways in which menstruation has been artistically represented like photographs, paintings (canvas, wall, and body) using the menstrual blood, books, etc.
Painting Using Menstrual Blood
The concept of using menstrual blood to create art has gained even more prominence in the past few years. In 2000, Vanessa Tiegs, an American artist, coined the term ‘menstrual to describe her paintings that used menstrual blood.
Book on Menstruation with an in-depth feminist history and the work of radical activists
In 2010, Chris Bobel, an American professor, authored a book on menstruation – ‘New Blood: Third Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation’.
Photography
In 2015, Jen Lewis, another American artist, has an ongoing series of photographs of period blood, which she calls ‘Beauty in Blood.’
Menstrual Blood Painting
In 2015, Lyla Freechild, a Jaipur-based artist, started using her menstrual blood to create paintings and is the only artist in India known for this form of ‘period art.’
Transmedia
From 2013-2016, Poulomi Basu, Indian storyteller, and activist documented the dangerous rituals and practices through her transmedia activism project – A Ritual of Exile: Blood Speaks. Through this project, she evokes emotions among its readers and turns audiences into activists.
Embroidery
In the late 2010s, Sarah Naqvi, a Mumbai-based multimedia artist, started engaging in narratives themed around religious and societal stigmas. She uses embroidery to talk about period-related stigmas. From embroidering panties, pads, and tampons with red thread and shiny beads to images of blood spilling from a woman’s spread legs, Naqvi uses various forms of textiles to represent menstruation.
Murals
In 2019, in Jharkhand, activist Srilekha Chakraborty, as a part of her state-wide campaign, ‘PeriodPeCharcha’ worked with 20 local teenagers to create two murals that celebrate and normalize menstruation as a natural occurrence.
Exhibition
Since 2017, Bengaluru-based Boondh (a social enterprise) has organized an annual traveling art exhibition called The Crimson Wave “to start a conversation around menstruation.” The themes range from ‘body positivity to ideas of fertility and social exclusion and segregation’.
So far, globally, the menstrual-art journey has not been very smooth. There have been many elicit extreme reactions when artists started expressing themselves.
In 2015, Rupi Kaur (one of my favourite poets) was banned, though briefly, from Instagram for her posts showing menstrual blood and everyday menstrual experiences.
In 2018, Aniket Mitra, a Mumbai-based menstrual art designer, ran into controversy for hurting religious sentiments for making an illustration of a menstruating Durga.
Undoubtedly, cultural stigma about menstruation is found globally, manifesting in many different ways. However, there is a growing body of work on addressing menstrual stigma, with global activist communities increasing debate in the public and political realms. Hopefully, the sun of menstrual taboo will set soon with the rise of open-mindedness and acceptance.