Educating the Next Generation About Sexual Health

Left: Maritza Lugo Right: Danielle Sepulveveres

Danielle Sepulveres and Maritza Lugo are incredibly talented women. Danielle is a writer, and Maritza is an illustrator. Together they teamed up on a project that would illustrate how important the HPV vaccine is, and how it is perfectly harmless. Now here's a little background on how first Disney Princesses, and then superheroes are protecting themselves against HPV and other STIs, as well as expressing the importance of well woman visits.

My Life After Cervical Cancer: The Disney Princesses go to the Gynecologist piece was your first. Where did the idea come from?

Daniele Sepulveres: I had seen re imagined Disney Princesses shared on my Facebook page pretty much on a daily basis. Jokingly I asked Twitter one day if there were any princesses getting the HPV vaccine and it occurred to me what a great idea it was to actually do that.

Mulan Goes to a Well Woman Exam

MLACC: How did you divide the workload?

DS: I came up with the concept but I have no artistic skills whatsoever. As a big fan of Maritza's artwork I asked her if she'd be interested in drawing the princesses. From the moment she agreed I literally trusted her with everything. We discussed which princesses to use and Maritza made magic happen.

ML: Danielle had written me because her original illustrator's schedule was really busy. I read her email and said YES right away. I couldn't possibly imagine not doing the illustrators. Once she gave me the descriptions, I immediately got to work on the drawings.

MLACC: Why Disney princesses?

DS: Because they are familiar but had not ever been used in this kind of a message. It was a way to combine something that's recognizable with important information that is often left out of the mainstream media news cycle. Women's health is important. All aspects of it. We wanted to bring all of it to the forefront, but mostly the parts no one discusses-"below the belt" issues. 

ML: There's basically every rendition of Disney Princesses out there doing whatever, wearing whatever. Why not utilize their popularity for something bigger and greater? Every one loves them. Everyone has a favorite. It was a no brainer, really.

MLACC: What kind of feedback did you get, both positive and negative?

DS: Mostly positive! People loved our creativity and our message and it spawned a lot of media coverage about HPV, cervical cancer prevention and the non-profit Cervivor which works tirelessly under Tamika Felder's leadership to get this info to the public. Some negative reactions involved parents not wanting this to prompt discussions with their kids about health education and I expected that but it wasn't going to stop me.

ML: The response was definitely positive. Once it started going viral and many news outlets/magazines were writing about us, the trolls started to emerge but thankfully nothing too bad. Even with the worst ones, Danielle and I laughed it off. One angry Twitter user suggested that I was a part of the Illuminati so no real complaints there.

MLACC: How did you feel when it went viral

DS: I still get excited when I think about it. It was overwhelmingly joyful.

ML: it's the most insane and overwhelming feeling in the world. It's like if the entire world knew it was your birthday.

 MLACC: What media outlets have these pieces been seen in?

Superman Gets the HPV Vaccin

HuffPo, Seventeen, iD, Fox, CBS LA news, Dr. Oz, Glamour (internationally!), and so many others but it was really Forbes and their excellent reporter Tara Haelle - who has a new book out this week - who kicked it all off for us.

 MLACC: Why did you choose superheroes as the next installment?

DS: Because we don't want to leave out the boys! And we feel superheroes is the way to reach them more than princesses. Although each campaign is interchangeable to whom it's targeting regardless of gender or sex. I asked Maritza if she thought Disney princesses or superheroes were the way to go and she immediately said superheroes. I know she was absolutely right.

ML: Any real criticism was "what about the guys?" So to follow up with a series predominately geared towards men was just simply the next step.

MLACC: What's next for you two?

DS: We have some ideas that we're keeping quiet for now, but expect to see more projects from us in the upcoming months.

Stirrup Stories: A Very Exciting Upcoming Event!

As many of you know, I am affiliated with a group called Cervivor. Cervivor is a nonprofit that provides support for women dealing with cervical cancer all across the spectrum, from women with HPV all the way to women dealing with Stage 4. Cervivor also runs schools across the country to teach women how to advocate for change, from education to promoting vaccination. I have posted before about how Cervivor changed my life, as well as my outlook on my own diagnosis by inspiring me to be the change I want to see.

On May 12, 2016, Cervivor is doing something that they've never done before. They are putting on an event call Stirrup Stories: Narratives Beyond the Speculum. This event will allow real women who have dealt with all aspects of cervical cancer to get up and tell their stories - raw, real, honest, and uncut. This is truly a fantastic event, as it will make our voices heard. It will give people the chance to see that there are real women behind this disease - mothers, grandmothers, and women who were unable to bear children because of this horrible illness.

Stirrup Stories will be held on May 12 from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the Howard Theater in Washington DC, and include a performance by Keke Wyatt in addition to the stories told. All proceeds will provide HPV and cervical cancer education and support for cervical cancer survivors around the world. This is an amazing event that will bring together women who may have been suffering in silence, as well as to further the cause to eradicate cervical cancer for future generations. With the information that is available, and the HPV vaccine, we can see cervical cancer eradicated in our lifetime.

If you are in the DC metro area, or close enough to attend, I strongly suggest that you go. This is going to be an epic event that you don't want to miss.

Tickets will go on soon, but keep an eye out on cervivor.org/events for more information.