Let It Flow

The objective of this poster campaign is to educate the public about the human rights issue effecting women in the United States’ prison system. Limited access to menstruation products for incarcerated women is not only a serious health concern but the humiliation surrounded by it can hinder rehabilitation. In 2017, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced that women in Federal prisons would be guaranteed free menstrual pads and tampons. However, it has been reported the policy only protects about ten percent of incarcerated women. The twitter campaign #LetItFlow began in Arizona in response to a male legislator not adding a bill to the agenda that would protect all incarcerated women in Arizona’s prisons by law. The #LetItFlow campaign encouraged women to tweet a photo of themselves sending menstruation products to the legislator with a letter requesting the bill be added to the agenda.

Existing imagery on the topic of menstruation has focused on period positivity and the tampon tax. In general, the imagery features menstruation products with glitter against a pink backdrop. However, for this poster campaign it was important to have a more serious tone. The decision to use fake blood while photographing the tampons and pads was not made lightly. It was essential to convey the harsh reality of incarcerated women who often only have one pad or tampon per day of their menstruation. The anonymous quote, “menstruation is the only blood not born of violence, yet it’s the one that disgusts you the most,” reasserted the social value in depicting blood instead of glitter or blue liquid which has further perpetuated the stigma against menstruation.

The poster campaign describes real scenarios incarnated women experienced while menstruating. The information was gathered from articles that published testimonies of previous inmates from across the United States. Experiences vary by prison but the inhuman practices such as forced scarcity of products for control are systematic.