A transgender, non-binary artist has stuck two-fingers up to the haters by sharing an image which shows themselves 'free bleeding' in public.
Cass Clemmer is an artist from Washington DC who does not confirm to a specific gender, and prefers to use they/them pronouns. And they certainly caused quite a stir online after uploading the photo on July 12.
The photo features Cass sitting on a park bench, having bled through their khaki pants, while holding a sign that reads: 'Periods are not just for women.' Adding the hashtag #BleedingWhileTrans.
Along with the image, they shared a poem:
Y'all know I'm trans and queer,
And what that means for me all around,
Is something that's neither there nor here,
It's a happy, scary middle ground.
So when I talk gender inclusion,
And I wrote these rhymes to help you see,
I'm not tryna bring up something shallow,
Periods are honestly pretty traumatic for me.
See my life is very clearly marked,
Like a red border cut up a nation,
A time before and a time beyond,
The mark of my first menstruation.
So let me take you back,
To the details that I can still recall,
Of the day I gained my first period,
And the day that I lost it all.
I was 15 and still happy,
Running around, all chest bared and buck,
Climbing trees, digging holes,
And no one gave a single fuck.
I mean I think my ma was worried,
So I went and grew out my locks,
A sign I was normal, still a girl,
A painted neon sign for my gender box.
So, the day I got my period,
My god, a day so proud,
This little andro fucked up kid,
Had been bestowed the straight, cis shroud.
The relief got all meshed up in my pain,
In that moment, I sat down and cried,
Just thanking god I was normal,
While mourning the freedom that had died.
Everyone told me my hips would grow,
I looked at them and couldn't stop crying,
'What's wrong with you? You'll be a woman!'
They kept celebrating a child dying.
See my body had betrayed me,
That red dot, the wax seal,
On a contract left there broken,
A gender identity that wasn't real.
Most people deal with blood and tissue,
And yet my body forces me to surrender,
Cause every time I get my cycle,
Is another day I shed my gender.
My boobs betray me first,
I feel them stretching out my binder,
I send up questions, 'am I cursed?'
And wish to god that she was kinder.
The five days it flows,
I try to breathe, I dissociate,
While my body rips outs parts of me,
Leaving nothing but a shell of hate.
The blood drips from an open wound,
Of a war waging deep inside my corpse,
The battle between mind and body,
Immovable object; unstoppable force.
Clemmer describes themself as an activist in menstrual health and has created a character called Toni the Tampon, with the aim of helping to break down the stigma around periods, as bleeding can make some people experience 'gender dysphoria' - a feeling of inner conflict over gender.
"I hope Toni the Tampon will serve as a fun and humorous jumping-off point to help us talk about periods free of stigma and taboo, while also recognising the diversity within the community of those who menstruate," Clemmer told the Independent.
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"I dream of a day when we are able to talk about our periods without being worried about who is overhearing us or feeling like we're discussing something dirty."
Featured Image Credit: Instagram