This artist is squashing stigma surrounding women’s bodies, one brush stroke at a time.
Barcelona-based Cinta Tort Cartró uses paint and glitter to highlight parts and functions of the body women have been conditioned to feel ashamed of, like stretch marks and menstruation.
She uses a vibrant rainbow of colors to highlight stretch marks on the skin and to show the beauty of menstruation on underwear, sanitary pads and tampons. She told PopSugar it started with her own journey toward self-love.
“I have not always felt comfortable with my period and stretch marks,” she said. “Overall, I have not always felt secure with my body. Over the years, and after internal reflection, I saw that if I did not accept anything [about] my body — hair, stretch marks — I could never love or accept me.”
Women and brands alike have proudly taken to showing off stretch marks in photos and ads recently, proving time and again that they are really no big deal. In creating beauty out of bodily features some people may have trouble openly embracing, Cartró is reiterating in a stunning way that the female experience is nothing to be embarrassed about.
You’ll never look at your body the same way again.
So. Beautiful. See more of Catrós artwork on her Facebook page.