The Messy Politics of Menstrual Activism

Abstract

In this chapter, Bobel and Fahs first describe a brief history of menstrual activism alongside its more recent iterations in both policy and radical social activism. They review the collective call to reduce stigma and shame around menstruation as part of the enduring project of loosening the social control of women’s bodies. The authors then turn to an analysis of menstrual humor, menstrual art, and menstrual activism today, respectively. This is followed by an examination of the hazards and possibilities of doing menstrual activist work, including politics of menstrual language and the trivializations and hostilities that can plague this work. Finally, Bobel and Fahs offer a politically charged outline for the future of menstrual activism.

Coming of age: a qualitative study of adolescent girls’ menstrual preparedness in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank and Jordan

“…Menstrual health research has shown that girls and women who experienced dramatic menstrual first events tended to treat menstruation as a problem – as something they need to deal with and not to live with – that is, as something to control rather than a normal biological process. 22 , 44 Adequate and timely menstrual preparation is crucial, as evident in previous studies 8 , 9 , 33 , 37 ; hence, developing a shared understanding of timeliness is essential.…”

“…As Bobel writes about menstruation: “With notable exceptions, across cultures and historical eras, we socialise this biological process – including a serious inquiry into its forms, functions, and meaning – into hiding”. 44 Examples of silencing menstruation are also found in non-camp settings in the region. In an Egyptian quantitative study on adolescent girls in secondary schools, for instance, only 50% responded to the survey because they believed it should not be addressed in public.…”

Endometriosis prevalence and incidence trends in a large population-based study in Catalonia (Spain) from 2009 to 2018

“…20 Increasing trends in prevalence rates in this study could be attributed to improvements in the detection and treatment of endometriosis in the national 21,22 and Catalan 23 healthcare systems or to the population’s and healthcare professionals’ increased awareness of endometriosis as a result of recent public campaigning. 24…”

Moody and monstrous menstruators: the Semiotics of the menstrual meme on social media

“…Both researchers and advocates are, however, divided on how to eradicate menstrual stigma. Normalisation is an ideology that is dominant in the menstrual activist community and many see social media as playing an instrumental role in encouraging people to talk unashamedly about this topic (Bobel and Fahs 2020). Sally King, who founded Menstrual Matters, explains normalisation as follows: "the key is that you want [menstruation] to be normalised.…”

“…Activists used tactics such as visibly bleeding in public spaces, posting photographs of menstrual blood on social media, and launching hashtag campaigns. Since then, menstruation has continued to take increasing space in both traditional and social media (Bobel and Fahs 2020). Traditionally, feminists have argued that menstruation is a taboo and stigmatised subject because societal discourses about menstruation are based on pejorative patriarchal attitudes that characterise menstruators as dirty, leaking, and hysterical (Ussher 2006).…”