May 2014

Emily Letts, a patient advocate at a women's clinic, found herself on the other side of the table. She was pregnant, in her early twenties and knew she was not ready to raise a child. So like the women she supports at the clinic, she, too, decided to have an abortion. Aware of the stigma that is carried with the procedure, she decided to do something bold - she videoed her abortion to show that there's no shame, fear or pain unlike many held notions.

Gracie Holtzclaw, a high school senior from South Carolina, entered a county-wide school art exhibition. Her artwork titled, Rape Culture which should have inspired positive dialogue between parents, teachers and students about the perils of victim blaming and purity culture, instead was banned at the last minute by the school after being deemed inapproprite. Her artwork was excluded on the grounds that children, not much younger than Holtzclaw herself, might see it. The artwork appears to be a block print of a barechested woman with a tattoo and her breasts censored.