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By Inga T. Winkler and Nay Alhelou The period emoji, the year of the period, and an Oscar-winning documentary — the last decade has brought a paradigm shift for menstruation. This increasing attention can change how we perceive menstruation and undo powerful social taboos that shape our understanding of menstruation. Periods are (still) considered embarrassing, … Continue reading Menstrual policies are constrained by the very stigma they seek to tackle

By Dani Stoilova Although significant strides have been made in evaluating the consequences of inadequate menstrual hygiene management on educational outcomes, existing literature has discounted less observable outcomes and shown a distinct preference for material interventions. As a result, non-material menstruation-related constraints have been broadly overlooked alongside educational outcomes beyond absenteeism.  In “Biological, material, and … Continue reading Biological, material and socio-cultural constraints determine the menstrual management experiences of adolescent girls in Tanzania

Inga T. Winkler & Chris Bobel “34 Bizarre Myths about Periods from around the World”... This and many other examples of popular discourse increasingly address cultural and religious beliefs and practices related to menstruation. Screenshot of HuffPost Article We’re very excited to see increasing media recognition that menstruation matters. But we also see risks. Many … Continue reading New Paper: “Bizarre” and “Backward” – Saviorism and Modernity in Representations of Menstrual Beliefs and Practices in the Popular Media

A global team of experts has defined menstrual health to advance policy, practice, and research Billions of people around the world experience a menstrual cycle. Meeting their menstrual needs is essential for achieving health and gender equality. A growing body of activists and actors are rising to the challenge and have brought visibility to this … Continue reading Launch of new menstrual health definition urges action on menstrual health for all

"Happy Diwali" by Shrini Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 Trisha Maharaj Growing up, I often spent summers in Trinidad with relatives, and I had the opportunity to do so again in 2018. During that time, I spoke to women in several temple communities about their menstrual practices. I was curious to learn how they think about menstruation and … Continue reading Menstruation and Religion: Women’s Meaning-Making and Agency in the Hindu Community in Trinidad

By Anja Tolonen and Dani Stoilova Growing awareness of the socio-cultural components of menstruation has revitalized reproductive health as a burgeoning gender-justice topic of interest. As a result, menstruation has been reestablished as a compelling area of study that is being investigated across academic disciplines. To date, most academic research has focused on women’s experiences … Continue reading What about the boys? Evaluating boys’ teasing behaviors and perceptions of menstruation in Tanzania

Photo by Vulvani (http://vulvani.com) This article was originally published on December 21, 2020 on healthydebate.ca. The original article may be found here, authored by Inga Winkler. Scotland recently announced that it would tackle “period poverty” by providing free menstrual products to anyone who needs them, making it the first country to do so. Menstruation and the social … Continue reading Menstruation is having its moment – Let’s turn it into a movement

On October 8th, 2020, the Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies officially launched during an online webinar, featuring comments by the handbook editors, selected contributing authors, and a live Q&A with audience members. https://youtu.be/GkLrBZKVOQw Lead handbook editor Chris Bobel kicked off the launch with an overview of the Handbook’s key features, which include: 1,000+ pages,72 … Continue reading Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies Virtual Launch

By Inga T. Winkler, Chris Bobel, Lauren C. Houghton, Noémie Elhadad, Caitlin Gruer & Vanessa Paranjothy Graphic recording by @ConverSketch. Photo credit: Adrienne Pichon Data determine what we know about the menstrual cycle; they inform policy and program decisions; they can point us to neglected issues and populations. But collecting and analyzing data are complicated and … Continue reading The Politics, Promises, and Perils of Data: Evidence-Driven Policy and Practice for Menstrual Health

Most people wish to banish the awkwardness and confusion of puberty from their memories, but for Lauren Houghton, puberty has been the focus of her research for more than a decade. Fascinated by the opportunity it presented for biosocial inquiry, Lauren was struck by how few studies have taken a comparative biocultural approach. In a … Continue reading “I’m Not a Freshi”: Culture Shock, Puberty and Growing Up as British-Bangladeshi Girls