“Girls get their period once a month. Sometimes it gets messy. Get over it. #BloodyPrincess.”
In his latest series of images, Bloody Princesses, satirical artist Saint Hoax used classic images of Disney princesses to bring attention to an important issue in society: period shaming.
Saint Hoax is the pseudonym for the sociopolitical activist who is best known for his Photoshopped images of iconic characters for the purpose of cultural commentary. In the Bloody Princesses series, Saint Hoax creates realistic images of Disney princesses with visible period stains and their respective princes displaying looks of utter disgust.
Saint Hoax’s images make a powerful statement about just how preposterous we are as a society for allowing such a taboo to exist around menstruation —an entirely natural phenomenon for women and thus, nothing to be ashamed about.
Saint Hoax was inspired to launch his #BloodyPrincesses campaign after hearing of a dating horror story from a female friend.
On his website, Saint Hoax explains the situation: “A (girl) friend of mine went on a date two weeks ago. Halfway through dinner, she had a period leak that left a bloodstain on her skirt. Her date didn’t handle the situation well; she could tell he was uncomfortable. As the night came to an end, he said he would call her the next day… After not hearing back from him, she was convinced he was revolted by the accident. She sent him an apologetic text message. He replied, ‘How can I date a girl who doesn’t know what a tampon is?’”
If you are a woman, then you are likely able to relate to this period-related horror story. Menstruation is a “gift” from Mother Nature, not something that women choose to experience each month for a majority of their lives. Saint Hoax was horrified to learn that another man could be so ignorant about a woman’s experience with her period. “There’s a lot of ignorance and shame surrounding this subject. The fact that she felt the need to apologize for something so natural is more appalling than a period stain,” he says.
Saint Hoax purposely used stills from classic Disney princess movies in which the princes appeared to be regarding their princesses with the same unjustified look of horror that his girl friend experienced on her date. The whole point of his campaign is to shock people by using images from love stories we all know and love to destigmatize a perfectly natural occurrence in females. Kudos to Saint Hoax for challenging the controversy surrounding menstruation in our society.
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