Blume's #OursToOwn Art Contest

Having a body and trying to get through the day without headaches and restrictive laws shouldn’t be so difficult. But every day brings a new and distressing headline. Trump’s new Abortion Bans got the green light from a federal appeals court; Five Black Trans women have been targetted and murdered this month; Social media platforms continue punishing women for showing their bodies; Athlete Caster Semenya has been tasked with deciding between altering her natural hormones or losing out on the opportunity to compete.

While My Body My Choice is most often used to protest anti-abortion politicians and their directives, the slogan can be used whenever someone attacks our right to autonomy. My Body My Choice essentially says, “Oh, you’re trying to control me? Nice try - it’s my body, I decide what I need to keep it safe, healthy, and happy. Don’t you dare presume to get in my way. ”


Blume wants to put our money where our mouth is and support an organization making the world a little bit easier to survive in. To do so, we've launched our #OursToOwn Art Contest and invite you all to get involved! The winning submission will have $10,000 donated to a charity of their choice, on their behalf!

Details of the Art Contest

1. Share how how you interpret 'My Body, My Choice' through any artistic medium (dance, poetry, illustration, painting, sculpture, drawing…. finger painting, popsicle stick frame, whatever!)

2. Tag @meetblume and use #OursToOwn in your caption to qualify. If you're using past artwork, we kindly ask your reupload it on Instagram!

3. Invite your friends, family or favourite artists to get involved!

4. Submissions due by June 30th 11:59 PST.

We can’t wait to see, hear, uplift, and enjoy your work! Until then, keep up the good fight.

 

For inspiration take a look at Em Odesser's submission below:

My Body, My Choice: I can’t remember where or when I first heard someone utter those ubiquitous words, but I can still recall the feeling it gave me - though it was such an obviously true declaration, hearing it out loud gave me a rush of validation I didn’t realize I had craved. As feminist statements go, it’s sort of the model chant. It’s an umbrella statement that can be used as a rallying cry almost every time someone tries to hinder social and political leaps forward, and it’s catchy and accessible enough that anyone at any level of understanding about the feminist movement can get on board and start speaking out. And even if I can’t remember the first time I heard it, I can remember dozens (if not hundreds, if not thousands) of times in my nineteen years of life that it applied, and allowed me to start vocalizing why the newest attempt to strip me of autonomy felt so unjust. When I started getting dress coded in seventh grade and eventually graduated as the most dress coded girl in my school's recent history: my body my choice. Every time a politician tried to limit how I could prevent pregnancy: my body, my choice. Every time a stranger catcalled me and gave me a panic attack: my body, my choice. Every time the decision to take medication for my mental health was criticized or stigmatized: my body, my choice. Every time I gained or lost weight, every time I discussed sex toys, every time the feminist organizations I worked for were denied credibility, visibility, and crucial funding. Every time my black friends’ hair choices were deemed unprofessional and unappealing, every time my classmates were terrified to ask to borrow a tampon in fear of getting called gross, every time sex workers were criminalized for operating under their own terms, every time gender expression was mocked and trans and nonbinary folks were put under a microscope while really just trying to exist: their bodies, their choice! The call is broad but unflinchingly assertive, and it allows us to remind the world that it shouldn’t have to be radical to have the ability to decide what’s best for ourselves. The right to choose to be hairy or hairless and single or partnered-up and exposed or clothed and pregnant or childless, and the right not to fear for our lives, jobs, safety, or careers for doing so.