"Unbaby" is a photographic exploration of the often-overlooked trauma and isolation experienced within the reproductive healthcare system. It serves as a testament to the challenges faced by women and birthing individuals as they navigate the dehumanizing landscape of the American medical-industrial complex.
more literally,
It is the globs of Vaseline my grandmother taught me to coat my
tampon with when I was learning how to insert it dry
It is the hydrogen peroxide I poured on my sheets when my period
drops browned in the morning
It is the metallic middle-school fountain tap water that I
resuscitated myself with when I had my first panic attack in sex ed
It is the mollifying nature of the olive oil that I slick down my coarse
pubic hairs with and the tase of Tend Skin that comes after
It is the innocently saline beads I licked off your sixteen year old
skin because we were trying to learn how to love
It is the silicone drops that slid off the lips of my labia before we
knew that latex sleeves could not bear them
It is the nakedness of having your legs spread open by plastic
oval-ar rings
and the cold lubricant of latex-gloved fingers that you are not ready
to feel inside
It is the ulcer-inducing stabs of the 52mg LILETTA®
levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system device insertion
It is the look of horror on my grandmother's face when my lips
turned purple as metal traveled within me
It is the bottle of Sertraline they gave me when the synthetic
hormones made me want to die
It is the false relief I felt when they finally took it out but insisted that
the problem was me
It is the window that I saw when the world began to grow back green