Following the U.S. Congress’s attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion became a viral conduit for abortion storytelling, receiving extensive media coverage and positioning real human experiences at the center of America’s abortion debate for the very first time. This online momentum quickly launched a grassroots storytelling movement, inspiring countless individuals to share their stories in art, media, and community events and to create spaces for others to do the same.

Shout Your Abortion is a collection of photos, essays, and creative work inspired by the movement of the same name, a template for building new communities of healing, and a call to action. Since the movement’s inception, people have shared stories and begun building community around these conversations in a range of ways: making art, hosting comedy shows, creating abortion-positive clothing, altering billboards, making zines, and hosting “thank you” letter-writing parties for their local abortion providers. This book documents some of these projects and illuminates the individuals who have breathed life into this movement, illustrating the profound liberatory and political power of defying shame and claiming sole authorship of our experiences.

Following the U.S. Congress’s initial efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, Amelia Bonow’s unapologetic abortion disclosure catalyzed a viral outpouring of abortion stories on social media via the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion and received extensive media attention including front page coverage from the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Bonow has subsequently developed Shout Your Abortion (SYA) into a nationwide movement working to create places for people to discuss their abortions, online, in art and media, and in real life events all over the country. Bonow proudly serves on the Board of Directors of the Abortion Care Network and her writing has appeared in BUST, the Huffington Post, the New York Daily News, Salon, and the Stranger. Bonow received the Hammer and Chisel Award from filmmaker Michael Moore and awards from Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country. SYA was awarded the 2017 People’s Voice Webby Award for best activist website.

Amelia Bonow's profile page

Emily Nokes is a musician, writer, graphic designer, illustrator, Libra, candy enthusiast, and the singer/tambourinist in the glittery, feminist punk-pop band, Tacocat. Her hobbies include giving pretty good home bang trims, puffy painting, stoned shopping, and taking photos of her son Tinsel, who is a perfect gray kitten. Her work has appeared in Seattle’s alternative weekly the Stranger, where she previously worked as music editor before accepting her current job as music editor at _BUST _magazine.

Emily Nokes' profile page

Lindy West is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. Her work has also appeared in This American Life, the Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vulture, Jezebel, the Stranger, and others. She is the founder of I Believe You, It’s Not Your Fault, an advice blog for teens, cofounder of #ShoutYourAbortion, and author of Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman.

Lindy West's profile page

By presenting a collection of nuanced narratives, Shout Your Abortion aims to advance a message of broader acceptance: If your abortion experience was hard and sad, that’s okay. If your abortion experience wasn’t hard or sad, that’s also okay. This marks a significant tonal shift in the cultural conversation about abortion.

<p>Washington Post</p>