26 Oct Telling Truer Stories: An Anthology for Safe and Legal Abortion
In the Philippines, more than 600,000 abortions happen every year. Every day, around 3 women die due to abortion complications. Yet little do we hear about this from the news or even from the people around us. Abortion is talked about in hushed voices, if at all. And when it is talked about it is usually done so from a position of fear, anger, or ignorance – rarely compassion. Which is why it’s no surprise that when it’s portrayed in mainstream media, we always witness the same kinds of stories – women who end their pregnancies are often portrayed as sad, poor, and disempowered, and the people around them are prejudiced and judgmental, rarely supportive and understanding. These stories do not reflect the realities and truths that women live every day. And such stories only serve to perpetuate the conservative and stigmatizing status quo that ultimately hurts women, leading to their suffering, morbidity, and even death.
The campaign aims to fill the lack of artwork that depicts abortion in a truer way – that does not adhere to the clichés and stereotypes that have been the default of mainstream media, perpetuating the stigma, myths, and misconceptions about abortion.
The entries will be curated by both expert artists and storytellers who have participated in a forum for creatives about the issue, as well as the advocates and activists they had conversations with. Displayed at the September 28 event at UP Film Insitute’s Ishmael Bernal Gallery are the artworks in this anthology: