I was very disturbed with Instagram’s decision to repeatedly take down the images posted by Rupi Kaur, a Sikh poet based in Toronto: her visual reflections on women’s (fully clothed mostly) experiences with menstruation. This story is a bit old in cyber speak terms: (http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2015/03/27/instagram-apologizes-to-woman-for-censoring-her-photo/). Meaning a week has passed and they have already apologized and decided to let the images stand. Because ultimately what they decided is that these pictures were offensive to the general public.
I am actually surprised this happened in 2015, as if Tracey Emin’s “art” hadn’t pushed enough boundaries already for people to be open-minded to the idea of lived visual experience. But it demonstrates that we still live in a society where women are supposed to be quiet about their biology and these natural occurrences are seen as shameful and should be kept private. (Breastfeeding too!) Except when there’s a product to sell.
So I applaud Ms Kaur. I didn’t recoil at the image but rather was comforted by the idea that when she woke up she probably did what all women do in that situation. Look down and say “Oh, fuck!” and get up and change the sheets, put on a tampon/pad and get back to bed. That is the shared women’s experience and I am glad she was savvy enough to show through social media the truth of menstruation: accidents happen.
Tampax™ and Always™ take notice! This is the reality of periods.
Miss Chisomo | Life and Work in the Medical Humanities 