Reproductive freedom is under constant attack - we all know that, and we take all measures to repel this attack. Many of us do the grass-roots work, by talking to people, spreading scientific information, and busting myths and stereotypes.
Artists and filmmakers have made many films dealing with the topic of abortion, both fictitious and documentary. And now Joanne-Aśka Popińska is using new virtual reality technology to let people tell their stories of abortion experiences in The Choice VR.
At the Abortion Conversation Projects, we hear from all kinds of people who are using their creativity to shift stigma and Joanne’s vision caught our attention. We have followed her progress over the last couple of years and have been impressed with the impact of this technology. Says Popińska, “For my project, I interview women who have had abortions, and they share their stories for the first time in Virtual Reality. This approach creates a very natural feeling of talking to a friend, someone we know, not an activist or “professional” advocate.”
The filmmakers presented The Choice VR at various conferences, meeting with both very enthusiastic reactions, but also with criticism from some anti-choice audience. They then invited this audience to try the demo version of the project, and the reaction was surprising even for them. Listen to their experience with VR testimonies:
One of very openly anti-choice VR developers, initially commenting in a very loud manner and making sure that the whole room heard his opinion, suggested that we should film a fetus being dismembered in VR - giving people a “true picture of what abortion is.” After 20 minutes of rage on “defending life,” he put the headset on, to hear the story of Elizabeth, a homeless girl living on Toronto streets. When he finished, we quietly waited for another rage, and it was a great surprise to hear him saying: “Wow, this is something, truly… Congratulations, this is important!” And at another event, a few months later, we heard him praising our work, saying how important it is.
Another similar situation happened at a conference in Poland, a very conservative country with a very large Catholic influence that in recent years has been growing. Popińska presented The Choice at a Women’s Rights Conference there, and again one of the audience members raised some doubts about abortion, portraying it as bad politics initiated to annihilate the Polish nation, and expressing some other questionable opinions. So, again, he was invited to put the headset on and meet one of the storytellers. When he finished, he was silent for a while, and then he said: “OK. She made me reconsider…”.
According to Popińska, “The change is happening so quickly because it is often the first opportunity for those people to actually listen to a person who had an abortion. Virtual Reality is incredibly powerful in making us feel present in this conversation, making us feel that it is happening, instead of watching or reading some distant story. It is incredibly powerful for everyone, but especially for people who have never had an opportunity of talking about abortion with a person who had it. And this personal conversation leads to empathy - so much needed if we want to respect each other's choices.”
Popińska is a Polish Canadian who is now going to film in Austin, Texas in March. She is looking for some help, both with securing the interviewees and with financing it.
Her goal is to address various stereotypes surrounding abortion, as well to show the different obstacles women face when deciding to terminate their pregnancy: state barriers, financial limitations, but also stigma, isolation, and personal feelings. This varies, depending on one’s socio-economic, cultural, ethical background. Says Joanne-Aśka Popińska, “I would love the interviews to show this variety of potential challenges.”
As she is an independent filmmaker, financing the work herself, she is also looking for potential partners and collaborators, as well as organizations that could help with financing her work.
To be able to film the interviews in Austin in March, check out her fundraising campaign on GoFundMe. Help spread the word and donate if you can to bring Virtual Reality to bust abortion stigma.