THE MENSTRUATION MACHINE
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnb-rdGbm6s]
It’s the work of art that every woman dreams about: a Barbarella-style metal belt that allows non-menstruators — a.k.a. dudes — know what it feels like to bleed. Devised by Sputniko!, a British-Japanese artist obsessed with issues of identity and biology, the belt comes equipped with electrodes to stimulate real-live cramping and an empty chamber that can be filled with the user’s blood. It was created with the help of a medical professor at London’s Imperial College and is designed to mimic the effects of a five-day period. This music video imagines the belt in use.
(MORE: Can Mail-In Menstrual Blood Banks Help Save Lives?)
“It’s a compelling and moving symbol about really trying to understand other people,” says Antonelli, the show’s curator. It’s also a great way for the Y chromosome to know what feels like to have the fanged menstruation beast inside their bellies. Now, if only someone could help the fellas simulate childbirth…
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