DEAR BODY

Dear Body is a series of four editorial publications exploring women’s lived experiences of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Developed through remote interviews with four women, the project examines how the condition intersects with body image, weight, hair, menstruation, fertility and social expectations surrounding femininity.

Rather than presenting PCOS primarily through medical information, the project centres personal voices and everyday experiences. Each publication responds visually to one participant’s story while remaining part of a shared editorial system, allowing individual identities to emerge without losing the connection between the four narratives.

Through typography, illustration, photography, collage and experimental page-making, Dear Body asks how graphic design can create a more intimate and empathetic way of representing bodies that are often judged against narrow cultural standards.

An exploration of the experience of “ugliness” within PCOS-related weight gain, examining body image, weight, and the discomfort created by constantly measuring the body against societal standards of thinness.
DEAR BODY #1 — Xiaomao

An exploration of the experience of “ugliness” within PCOS-related weight gain, examining body image, weight, and the discomfort created by constantly measuring the body against societal standards of thinness. 176 mm × 250 mm (B5)

For Sale: £25

A personal account exploring body hair changes associated with PCOS and the tension between lived bodily experience and societal expectations of female appearance.
DEAR BODY #2 — Xiaoxie.

A personal account exploring body hair changes associated with PCOS and the tension between lived bodily experience and societal expectations of female appearance.176 mm × 250 mm (B5)

For Sale: £25

Looking back on her youth, developing PCOS at an early age left her confused external comments, body judgement but she gradually reclaiming the right to perceive her body on her own terms.
DEAR BODY #3 — Mianmian

Looking back on her youth, developing PCOS at an early age left her confused external comments, body judgement but she gradually reclaiming the right to perceive her body on her own terms. 176 mm × 250 mm (B5)

For Sale: £25

A story about diagnosis, treatment and fertility, while refusing to allow PCOS to become a stigma that defines her identity or future.
DEAR BODY #4 — Linya

A story about diagnosis, treatment and fertility, while refusing to allow PCOS to become a stigma that defines her identity or future. 176 mm × 250 mm (B5)

For Sale: £25