March 23rd, 2020

*This statement originally appeared as an email to our Uterish subscribers.*

Dear Friends,

We are thinking of you, and wanted to reach out to tell you where we’re at.

We believe that social distancing, diligent hygiene, sheltering in place, and caring for others (when we can do so safely) are radical acts of love. As such, we have made the decision to place a hold on shipping for the near future. All our orders are shipped by one of us at our closest USPS, and we want to do our best to abate the spread of the virus. As such, any new orders placed will be fulfilled at a later date. We hope to return to our normal operations soon, and appreciate your patience in the interim.

While our store is being ramped down for the time being, we are refocusing on the rest of our platforms. We founded Uterish in response to a national health crisis (though of a different form): the lack of consistent, widely-available reproductive healthcare and justice. What this means is that although operating under a pandemic is new to us, some of the questions being raised in light of COVID-19 are not. Fundamental health and hygiene resources have always been unequally divided. There have always been people who needed to self-isolate to protect against the spread of viruses. Mutual aid networks have always emerged in the face of government inaction. 

At a scale perhaps never seen before, our national discourse is now addressing late-stage capitalism, state responsibility for the health of residents, globalization, the U.S. healthcare system, boundaries between bodies, worker’s rights, mutual aid, and community care––issues that feminist organizing has attended to for generations. COVID-19 is forcing humankind, on a global scale, to consider our shared responsibility for the wellbeing of one another.

Uterish has always invested in the power of feminist kinship, community, and organizing. We believe a shared responsibility for communal health is a fundamentally feminist goal. At Uterish, we are asking how we can cultivate joy for ourselves and our community members in these new and difficult conditions. How can we put gratitude and generosity into action while staying safe? We might be social distance-ing in person at a new scale, but our online presence will continue to foster kinship and coalition-building.

In love, care, and solidarity,

Uterish

Greta, Alex, and Taya

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