Is the “Sacred Love Circle” deemed mature content that needs to be monitored in a family-friendly art museum?

As a secretary for the Redwood Art Association, I see art come through our doors trying to convey a message. It may be the common theme of tranquility and nature or an abstract piece with bold lines dancing in splatters across the page. Art is to the eye of the beholder, but the message is conveyed by the artist. Nudity is a common theme in the gallery, and body appreciation art has always been encouraged. A picture has been displayed called “Sacred Love Circle” by Stella Molina. The idea of censoring this piece was brought up by members. This photograph depicts the bottom half of a woman on her blood cycle. This picture is important to me and should be displayed in the art museum for the following reasons.

The women’s cycle should be honored. This should be taught to our children that a girl getting her period is a rite of passage and shouldn’t be considered taboo. By censoring a vagina on its period, we are telling young women that this is something to be ashamed of and that there is no safe place to look at a vagina on its period. It must be condemned, hidden, and labeled mature content. When a girl begins her period, she is not yet old enough for mature content.We should encourage and educate girls to accept their blood cycle instead of treating it with fear. We evoke the fear and inappropriateness of the women’s cycle when we censor this theme in our museum. 

No age is too young to admit the women’s cycle is part of our everyday reality. When a woman reaches a certain age, the cycle will begin and later cease. When we can’t communicate these things to our children because we make it taboo, we teach them that the women’s cycle is something to be ashamed of, something we must not talk about, something that will get you shunned from society. When we begin to honor or cycle, young women can welcome their cycle, appreciate their bodies, and be prepared to honor and care for their bodies during the cycle.

This isn’t an issue about censoring nudity at the Redwood Art Association, I believe this is the censorship of the female rite of passage, and this enforced taboo on the menstrual cycle needs to be addressed. The more we talk about these concepts, the more we can educate our children on them, stop self-hate and change the idea of a “curse” of the body to a monthly celebration and rest period. If this piece of art brings up that conversation to the general public, then it should be kept up, and the conversation should be had.

What does “Sacred Love Circle” mean to you? Please comment below!