UNC student promotes reproductive rights through 'craftivism'

Mary Esposito, a junior at UNC, has an online business called Purple Pear, and it's currently selling products you might not find anywhere else. Crochet breasts, vaginas and other female organs. 

These unconventional designs are a part of Esposito's newest collection called “i love MY body!” which she released this August.

“The ‘my’ is in capital letters and there's an exclamation point because I want to emphasize that it's my body,” Esposito said. “It's not just, ‘Oh, I love my body,’ it's, ‘I love my body because the body belongs to me and no one else.’”

Esposito said her collection was inspired by recent restrictions on abortion and IVF access across the country, which she believes is caused by the stigmatization of female bodies. 

Through her designs, Esposito said she hopes to facilitate discussions about our bodies and advocate for female autonomy.

“It's almost like, you know, ‘Oh, we can't say penis and vagina because they're bad words,’” she said. “Who decided that the word penis is just as bad as the word f**k?”

Esposito also said she wants people to note the diversity in her designs. The pieces were intentionally made in different sizes and skin tones to reflect how every body is different. 

Maggie Strother, the president of UNC's Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health chapter, said she appreciates how Esposito's work is accessible in a fun way.

“I think it's really great because there's so much misinformation out there about female anatomy, female genitalia, et cetera, with how it's supposed to look, be and all the things, and that's something that is just now in the media starting to be a topic of conversation,” she said.

She also said that with the increase in conversations about female bodily autonomy, people might focus more on Esposito's designs.

Although Esposito's collection was released this year, she has been knitting and crocheting female genitalia since she was 15. Her previous designs included a large vagina blanket and uterus keychains, and some of her newer designs are based on patterns that she already had.

Esposito has previously advocated for other causes through her business. In July, she sold limited-edition plushies of a purple pear and donated half the profits to Project HEAL, a non-profit that connects minority groups with eating disorder treatment.

The purple pear is modeled after the one that Esposito took with her to her own inpatient stay for an eating disorder when she was 13. 

She said that during her time at the inpatient facility, she had limited contact with outside people and items. This gave her an opportunity to explore knitting as a hobby, which she said helped her manage her anxiety and pass the time during her recovery.

“I felt a sense of accomplishment every single time I finished a scarf, and I felt proud of myself, you know,” she said. ”During that time that was one of the rare moments that I felt positively towards myself and who I was, so I think that that definitely played a role in it.”

After coming back home, Esposito started posting her creations on Instagram. Later on, she made her own website for Purple Pear, named after the plushie she took with her to the inpatient program.

Although Esposito's platform was initially focused on her crochet creations, she started showing her face more online after a video of her knitting in class went viral during her first semester at UNC.

She said the viral video, alongside her collaboration with Dove's Self-Esteem Project, led her to be more open about her eating disorder and neurodivergence online.

It also prompted her to use knitting as a tool to connect with people and enact change for issues she cares about.

“I call it ‘craftivism’ — like craft activism,” she said.

Lauren Moonie, a sophomore at UNC, said she found Purple Pear through TikTok and that she became more informed about the stigma surrounding women's bodies through Esposito's platform.

“I like how she just inspires everyone to be themselves and not be ashamed about who they are,” she said.

In the future, Esposito said she hopes to cover other issues, such as medication for mental health, through her crochet and knit creations.

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