One Woman's Garbage is Another Woman's Art

I thought I had heard it all...but just the other day I discovered the phenomenon of "menstrual art." Don't know what that is? Well, the name really says it all. There seems to be a movement of women artists who are creating works of art from their menstrual blood.

Lani Beloso is an artist who suffers from menorrhagia. Menorrhagia is a condition that causes heavier and longer menstruations, usually upwards of seven days with three times as much blood. She decided to deal with what felt like an overwhelming condition with a creative response, which resulted in The Period Piece.

(from The Period Piece by Lani Beloso)

Vanessa Tiegs is another artist who uses menstrual blood as her inspiration. She has a blog on which she displays her admittedly beautiful paintings in a series called Menstrala.

Are you cringing yet? I am.

But why? I mean, as a woman I should be pretty used to the whole menstrual blood thing. It doesn't gross me out. As a mother, very little grosses me out anymore. Snot, piss, poop, vomit? You name it, a mom gets covered in it sooner or later.

And, in general, the whole menstrual thing is a bum deal, in my opinion. For me, anyway, it means monthly moodiness and pains...plus recently a sort of mini mid-month mood swing. Best to stay out of my way on those days.

Then there's the environmental perspective. Have you ever thought about it? Millions of women using millions and millions of tampons and sanitary pads all over the world every day. And then throwing them away. 'Cause you don't recycle sanitary napkins, do you? It's an environmental disaster!

So, why not create something interesting and artistic out of this monthly hassle? Art has always pushed the boundaries of what is "normal" or "acceptable." In some ways, that's its job.

What do you think? Beyond the pale disgusting? Or cool and avantgarde?