Choosing River (zine, with and without audio)
In this pro-choice digital zine, artist and activist Lindsay White makes a case for body autonomy by sharing her birthing story in hopes of illuminating some of the lesser-talked-about aspects of the pregnancy and postpartum experience.
Intro excerpt:
As a creator whose work is traditionally steeped in the painful parts of life that many folks struggle to articulate, I felt it important to document thoughts, images, and experiences surrounding the birth of my daughter. Not the happy, magical bundle of joy parts, but the ugly, messy parts that hardly ever see the light of day.
Perhaps the gruesome or vulnerable aspects of these stories make it challenging for people to talk openly about what they experienced. Perhaps it's hard enough to survive it, let alone talk about it.
But if we normalize talking about it, we might get actual credit for how strong we are. And by actual credit, I mean tangible help - not just meaningless praise in the form of platitudes.
I think there is a deep desire for folks who have been on any kind of family planning (or preventing) journey to share their stories; unfortunately, there aren't many safe spaces to do so. When I struggled with infertility I came across people who were consumed by grief, wondering if they would ever get good news. They were quick to hide their pain from the rest of the world, yet so willing to reveal it to those who had ridden the same roller coaster.
When pregnant, I encountered people who saw my growing bump as an opportunity to eagerly recall what pregnancy looked and felt like for them, even if it happened decades ago, regardless of whether or not it was a joyful or tragic experience. They just wanted someone going through it to listen to someone who had been through it. And now that I’m a mother, my tiny child and full breasts are like a magnet to other birthing people who can't not share what it was like when they had tiny children and full breasts. To them, the sheer existence of my baby says "maybe she'll be interested in listening to this story I never get to tell."
