UPRISING FOR UTERINE SOVEREIGNTY

The protest artworks Mine (1997), Our Bodies, Our Rights (2014), and Consensual Sex Cats (2014) by Meredith Stern represent her ongoing fight for reproductive justice. Mine depicts a uterus with a caption that designates the owner of the image, relaying the message that women’s bodies cannot be governed over. Our Bodies, Our Rights relays Stern’s message clearly stating their goals in an artwork that shows the relationship between mother and child.  Stern’s Consensual Sex Cats promote consent of both partners and highlight qualities that are healthy in sexual relationships, which is a protest of sexual assault. Empowered by her two-decade long protest, Stern captures the enduring fight for women’s reproductive rights and sexual autonomy by compiling her works into a collection as a response to the 2022 Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade. After all this time, I can’t believe we still have to protest this shit.

by Ava Grieder, Advertising and Public Relations, Class of 2027

Meredith Stern
I Can’t Believe I Still Have to Protest this Fucking Shit: 20 Years of Reproduction Justice Artwork 1997-2018
2022 Collection
Eberly Family Special Collections Library