Silences are powerful drivers of cultural ideology.
In the spirit of challenging discriminatory societal norms, ‘Sanitised Silence’ fuses art and activism, personifying the taboo of menstruation, this artwork symbolises defiance against stigma for a natural yet historically silenced phenomenon.
The deliberate ambiguity of the subject stands as a universal archetypal representation across diverse identities. Inspired in style, by artists such as Sarah Maple and Cindy Sherman, transformative self-portraits. This image confronts preconceived notions, encouraging viewers to reevaluate constructs perpetuating menstrual silence and shame.
This narrative is reinforced by UN experts who concur that patriarchal control is undermining women, girls, transgender men and non-binary people's agency and equality during menstruation. The combination of this control with the stigma and shame imposed during this time compounds the disempowerment they experience.
For the 1.8 billion menstruating individuals globally, who collectively spend a minimum of 7 years menstruating in a lifetime, a majority face issues including child marriage, education denial, cultural exclusion, shaming, unhealthy practices, miseducation, health problems, and financial burdens associated with period products. These are human rights issues.
With this embodiment of a socially famous taboo topic, this artwork confronts the uncomfortable, challenging viewers to reevaluate the impact of cultural ideologies and speak open conversation about societal expectations, and the repression of a natural biological process.
