BLOOD SISTERS
By Aaliyah Kelly-Hibbert
Glamourizing menstruation as a juxtaposition to the negative connotations of monthly bleeding, dismissal from doctors, ignorance of women’s issues that particularly affect black women (i.e.) fibroids, cysts, dysmenorrhea, PCOS, endometriosis, adenomyosis etc.
Blood Sister’s was a shoot I had been planning since the end of 2020. It’s significance is so important to me, as for a lot of black women in particular, periods are not talked about enough. I’m referring specifically to periods which are debilitating and negatively affect every aspect of your everyday life. The concept was borne of a heartfelt conversation with Adrene and I, surrounding womanhood, womb health and our experiences with menstrual issues (PMDD, PCOS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids etc.) As a content creator, Adrene spoke of how she also felt called to authentically portray details of her life experiences too, and interestingly discussed a more wholesome approach towards womb health; In regard to not letting certain attributes define her lifestyle or take over her identity.
Did you know that black women are up to 3x more likely to develop uterine fibroids?
I’ve suffered from treacherous periods from the age of 12 years old. Retching, dizzy spells, hot and cold flushes, vomiting, immobilizing pelvic pain, back ache, sore boobs, heavy clotting, severe reactions to dairy…that’s just to name a few. I mimicked this experience by creating a series of images which you could call a ‘beautiful’ blood bath. I wanted to create something that I could at least look at and say, “well yeah, that is disgusting…that’s chronic pain for you”.
It became the norm that I never wanted to accept. It’s not until I got older that I would come to find that my experiences are in fact common and shared. After being ignored by doctors for years, I wanted to stir the pot a little to be honest. I decided to glamourize menstruation in order to steer some more attention towards it. My alias (Soul Diaries) enables me to transform raw conversations that I have in my everyday life, into much deeper and meaningful creative pieces. My aim here was to emulate discomfort, the white vs red colour combination is especially a taboo around here!
Blood Sister’s is for all my ‘sistahs’ out there who are struggling with debilitating periods. I’ve got you forever, keep talking about it and keep those water bottles on deck!
Black Women Statistics Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/black-women-and-heavy-periods#Why-do-Black-women-have-fibroids-at-a-higher-rate?
CREDITS
Photography, Creative Direction and Styling
Aaliyah Kelly-Hibbert, 23
Instagram: @souldiaries_
Pronouns: she/her
Model and Makeup Artist
Adrene West, 22
Instagram: @adrenefw
Pronouns: she/her
Assistant
Rebekah
Instagram: @rlukeyvisuals