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To disable period poverty and its negative affects, we must enforce positive menstrual health education and support.

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To disable period poverty and its negative affects, we must enforce positive menstrual health education and support.

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Period Poverty statistics from around the world, with insight on what they do to replace proper menstrual hygiene products.

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18 May 2022

Period poverty affects women, girls and people who menstruate all over the world. Access to menstrual products, safe, hygienic spaces in which to use them, and the right to manage menstruation without shame or stigma, is essential for anyone who menstruates.

But for many, these essentials are not available. And the denial of these rights is not just a potential health risk - it can also mean girls' education, well-being, and sometimes entire lives are affected.

Below, find out key statistics from around the world about how period poverty is affecting lives, in poorer and richer countries alike.

Period poverty statistics around the world

Although estimates vary, research shows period poverty exists in both richer and poorer countries.

Every day, millions are likely to be making decisions about whether to buy food or menstrual products, while others simply don't have access to the products and facilities that would let them manage their periods with dignity.

The World Bank estimates at least 500 million women and girls globally lack access to the facilities they need to manage their periods. 1 Meanwhile, 1.25 billion women and girls have no access to a safe, private toilet; 526 million don't have a toilet at all. 2

Research also suggests the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the issue: lockdowns have limited people's access to menstrual hygiene support in many countries (especially those where such support was already negligible).

Meanwhile border closures and other supply disruptions have limited access to menstrual products themselves - or made them more expensive. 3

ActionAid's 50 years of experience has shown us that this form of poverty can have a far-reaching and long-lasting impact on lives - on the health, wellbeing, education and safety of women, girls and people who menstruate of all ages.

Period poverty in the Global South

Where menstrual products aren't readily available, many are often forced to use makeshift items to manage their periods. Indeed, in many developing countries, it's estimated that half of all women and girls are sometimes forced to use items like rags, grass and paper. 4

This isn't merely an inconvenience - it can be dangerous and risk infections. Risks are even greater if a woman or girl has been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice widely prevalent in many African countries.

Meanwhile, in many countries (like Kenya and Uganda) girls are forced to miss many days of school when they have their period - or even drop out of school altogether. This denies girls their right to an education, and often shapes the rest of their lives.

A UNESCO report estimates that one in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their period. By some estimates, this amounts to as much as 20% of a given school year. 5 Even if these girls stay in education throughout their childhood, they are likely to fall behind boys of their age, exacerbating existing inequalities.

In Kenya, for example, research has suggested 65% of women and girls are unable to afford menstrual products like sanitary pads. 6 This is compounded by a lack of safe, private toilets in schools where girls can manage their periods - just 32% of rural schools were found to have such facilities. 7

Of course, it's not just schooling that's affected by periods. In some countries, attitudes to periods mean that women and girls are forced to follow certain practices while on their period, which can have serious implications for their health and wellbeing.

Chhaupadi is an ancient tradition practised in some rural parts of Nepal. It involves banishing people, often young girls, to mud huts or sheds for the duration of their period, or even longer. It is believed they will otherwise bring their family bad luck, or ill health.

Girls are often left with little or no supplies, and no menstrual protection or washing facilities during their time away from home. This can cause a range of health issues, along with physical and psychological hardship. 8

Sexual exploitation for menstrual products

Another study, conducted in rural western Kenya where 63% of the population lives on less than one dollar, found shocking cases of sexual exploitation whereby women and girls were forced to engage in transactional sex in order to receive sanitary pads.

The prevalence of this was low (1.3%), but 10% of 15-year-olds did report this. Girls aged under 15 were significantly more likely to report this kind of transactional sex, compared to those aged over 15. 9

Statistics from the UK

In recent years, we've rightly seen in the media a greater focus being put on period poverty as it affects people in richer countries in the Global North; the UK is no exception.

Indeed, it was estimated that more than 137,700 girls in the UK missed school last year because they can't afford sanitary products. 10 6% of parents said they had been so desperate to equip their daughters with menstrual products that they have resorted to stealing. More than a fifth of parents said they had gone without something themselves, so that they had enough money to meet their daughter's needs.

And, as is the case in many countries across the world, period poverty in the UK has worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A recent survey by Plan International UK found more than a third of girls aged 14-21 in the UK have struggled to afford or access menstrual products during the pandemic - up one fifth on the previous year. This is equivalent to over one million girls.

Half of these girls said they did not have enough money to buy period products at all at some point over the past year, and three quarters (73%) of those had to use toilet paper as an alternative to period products like pads. 11

In the UK, just as it is in poorer countries, too many girls are being denied their rights to fulfil their immense potential to flourish and thrive as they grow up.

Period poverty in other Global North countries

In some parts of the United States - the world's richest country - the picture is even more stark.

A 2019 study in Missouri, US, found that nearly two thirds (64%) of women were unable to afford menstrual products during the previous year. 12

It found that many women make do with cloth, rags, tissues, or toilet paper; some even use children's diapers or paper towels taken from public bathrooms. Nearly half of women (46%) could not afford to buy both food and period products during the past year.

Meanwhile in New Zealand, a 2020 survey found that more than 90,000 school-age girls stay home from school because they can't afford menstrual products - around one in 12. 13 12% of year 9 to 13 students who menstruate said they had difficulty accessing the products they need.

How ActionAid helps girls like Hibaq

Hibaq, 15, in a refugee living in a camp for displaced people in Somaliland. She and her family fled their home after devastating droughts destroyed their livestock and with it, their livelihood.

It was a long and dangerous journey for Hibaq to arrive at the camp. And now, she and her sister are struggling to manage their periods safely.

"When we have a period, we need soap and also we need a lot of water and a toilet," Hibaq told us. "But we don't have all those facilities in our camp."

With your support, ActionAid is supporting people in the camp, and putting women and girls at the heart of our response. We're distributing hygiene kits to women and girls - containing menstrual products and other essentials - so they can manage their periods safely and with dignity.

Share a better period

Many of us know what it's like to lend a tampon or a pad to someone - anyone - who needs one.

It doesn't matter if it's your sister, a friend, or a complete stranger in the loo. It's an unwritten rule that we always help out in an emergency, if we can.

But what about a woman or girl like Hibaq, living in a refugee camp? Would you help her out too, if you could?

This Menstrual Hygiene Day, we're asking you to share a better period, and help fund our life-changing work with refugees like Hibaq.

Please share a better period and help end period poverty, for good.
Donate to share a better period

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Period poverty: the statistics around the world

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Learn about period poverty, the statistics, and how it affects women, girls and people who menstruate around the world: from the UK, to New Zealand, to Kenya.

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A map of the world, and how period poverty is affecting each state in the U.S

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Alliance for Period Supplies - It's that time. *

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,A 2021 study conducted by U by Kotex®, found that two in five people have struggled to purchase period products, a 35% increase from the brand's initial research in 2018. Earlier data inspired U by Kotex® to become the founding sponsor of the Alliance for Period Supplies in 2018 and support those affected by period poverty. The new data was released in conjunction with Period Poverty Awareness Week.

The study also uncovered how period poverty is disproportionately impacting Black and Latina people, as well as the impacts of COVID-19 on the issue:

A quarter of Black (23%) and Latina (24%) people with periods strongly agree that they've struggled to afford period products in the past year.

27% of all respondents said the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to access period products, with two-thirds (65%) of those who have struggled stating they lacked access because they could not afford them.

Over one-third (38%) of low-income women report missing work, school or similar events due to lack of access to period supplies.

Nearly seven in ten (68%) people agree that period poverty is a public health issue, yet only 4% of Americans are aware of a local resource where free or reduced cost period supplies are available.

Read the full news release here.

A copy of the findings is available here.

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Period Poverty - Alliance for Period Supplies

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But period supplies are taxed like one. Having a period is not a luxury. But period supplies are taxed like one.

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How the sales tax enable period poverty in the U.S

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Period poverty, or the umbrella term for inequities related to menstruation, is a global challenge. The United States is not immune. Students, low-income and homeless women and girls, transgender and nonbinary individuals, and those who are currently imprisoned struggle with period poverty. For many, the price of a box of pads or tampons is exorbitant. Currently 35 states view these items as luxury goods and impose sales tax, also known as the "tampon tax," on menstrual hygiene products. Conversely, groceries and medication are considered nonnegotiable necessities and are tax-exempt in most states. Period products should be, too.

Sales tax is only one barrier to affordable menstrual hygiene. Although more women than men live in poverty in the United States, period products cannot be purchased with food stamps, Medicaid, or health insurance spending accounts. According to the 2014 Shriver Report, there are at least 42 million impoverished women in the U.S. Many of these women experience the indignity and shame of being unable to care for themselves during their periods. A 2019 study of low-income women corroborates this account. Two-thirds of the women surveyed did not have the resources to buy menstrual hygiene products at some point during the last year, and one-fifth of respondents struggle to afford period products on a monthly basis. Without these items, women's movement and ambitions are tampered. During these times, they may not feel able to leave their homes, go to work, or participate in civic life.

Public spaces inconsistently address period poverty. People experiencing homelessness must take extra precautions; they often don't know if there will be space to wash at night or if shelter staff will be generous with pad and tampon distribution. Incarcerated women, who account for 13% of the overall imprisoned population, also suffer from limited and inconsistent access to period products.

There are a growing number of individuals and communities that are working towards change. Congresswoman Grace Meng introduced the Menstrual Equity for All Act in March 2019. This legislature would ensure that incarcerated and homeless women have access to menstrual products and would allow schools to use federal funds for period products. If the bill is passed, Medicaid would also have to cover the cost of menstrual products.

Advocates, including Penn Nursing's Caroline Dillon, are also working to pass state-specific legislation. While researching a US History assignment, Dillon was shocked to learn that her high school peers did not have access to free or affordable menstrual hygiene products. Dillon turned her school assignment into a relentless drive to reduce period poverty in her state of New Hampshire.

Dillon focused her activism on schools where arguably students should find the resources and support to approach their periods proactively and positively. However, recent data finds that one in five American girls miss all or part of the school day due to their periods. Columbia professor Dr. Marni Sommer's research shows that low-income students associate menstruation with shame, and feel uninformed about their periods.

Inspired by conversations with Marianne Smith, Associate Director of Enrollment Management for the School of Nursing, and New Hampshire Senator and Penn alum, Martha Hennessey, Dillon took her activism to the next level. Dillon and Hennessey worked together to move a period poverty bill through the NH Senate and House of Representatives. This past summer, NH Governor Chris Sununu signed the bill, SB 142, making Dillon's vision a law and creating a new reality for New Hampshire students who now have access to menstrual hygiene products in female and gender-neutral bathrooms.

Penn students, like Dillon, have the full support of The Center for Global Women's Health (CGWH) to fight period poverty and create change. CGWH hosts an important annual event, the West Philadelphia Women's Health Day Conference, where community members, students, and staff come together to discuss menstrual health among other topics related to the health and well-being of women in this region. Last year, student attendees received menstrual kits to help manage and optimize their menstrual hygiene.

National Period Day is on October 19 th. Rallies, drives, and events across the nation, including here in Philadelphia, create positive energy to counteract the shame and silence associated with menstruation. CGWH is leading the way with a donation drive from October 21 to October 31 to collect menstrual products for the community. In partnership with Cycle Sisters, a West Philadelphia-based nonprofit, CGWH will distribute the collection to neighbors in need. Join CGWH in creating change; donate pads, tampons, and other menstrual products to celebrate National Period Day.

National Period Day Donations Drive

October 21 - 31

Donation boxes are located on 4U, Fagin Hall

WRITER: AMY SMITH

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Menstrual hygiene products remain out of reach for many American households. The Center for Global Women's Health wants to change that.

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Discusses how period stigma enable period poverty, when in reality, neither should exist.

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The Taboo Truth About Period Poverty and Stigma

Women don't have a choice in having a period; there is no reason why they should pay a tax on a natural biological process.

The Prevalence of Period Poverty

The average woman spends nearly seven years of her life menstruating. Despite this, period poverty exists. In the U.S., 25 million women live in poverty, but food stamps don't cover menstrual products. This is a global issue: For example, just 12% of women in India have access to sanitary products. Because of this deficiency, women may be forced to use other items like newspapers, toilet paper, socks, and even plastic bags. Additionally, 1.25 billion females worldwide don't have access to a safe and private toilet, and 526 females worldwide don't have access to a toilet at all.

The Effects of Period Stigma

In some countries, menstruating females are considered dirty, untouchable, and disgraceful. But the effects of period stigma aren't just social. Studies indicate girls worldwide miss school due to menstruation, and other research has shown a link between menstruation and lost wages in the workforce. The economics behind period stigma are also devastating. The cost of menstrual products may cause some to believe that daughters are economically burdensome. What's worse, studies in Kenya have shown that school-age girls engage in transactional sex to pay for menstrual products, which increases their risk of experiencing violence, sexually transmitted infections, and other dangers.

Progress Toward Safe and Affordable Periods

Though some countries have tried to support menstruating girls and women, there is still much work to be done - especially in the U.S.

How to Address Period Poverty

There are a few major steps to be taken to address period poverty. Firstly, it's important to identify the root causes of why women are unable to properly manage their periods. Secondly, it's crucial to dismantle menstrual taboos in the community. Finally, it's vital to create sustainable solutions through education and increased access to affordable products.

Recent Efforts and Campaigns

Some progress has been made toward addressing period poverty, both domestically and abroad. Canada, India, Kenya, and Ireland have removed sales and value-added taxes from menstrual products, and the UK government has announced it will work to ensure sanitary products are freely available across all English schools. In the U.S., New York and other states have introduced bills requiring schools, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters to provide menstrual hygiene products. Unfortunately, the mandate is unfunded, placing the financial burden on schools and facilities.

Nonprofits and Femtech Startups Getting Involved

Organizations such as PERIOD and Period Equity have developed initiatives to provide period products to women and are challenging laws that place an unnecessary burden on menstruating girls and women.

Organizations Speaking Up

One organization pushing to make a difference is PERIOD. Founded in 2014 by two 16-year-old high school students, PERIOD has addressed over 1 million periods through product distribution. It also participated in the first-ever National Period Day on 10/19/19. Additionally, it has more than 700 registered chapters in all 50 states and more than 40 countries, which distribute menstrual products, run educational workshops, and fight for systemic change toward menstrual equality.

Another organization, Myna Mahila Foundation, serves women in India by employing women to manufacture and sell affordable sanitary and maternity pads to their communities. They also teach women skills to open their own Myna foundation, and they provide day care to help women seek employment.

A key initiative in the fight for period equity is Tax Free. Period. Launched in 2019 by Period Equity and LOLA, this initiative was launched to help end the tampon tax through efforts ranging from protests to reaching out to state lawmakers. Their work has thus far resulted in five states removing the tampon tax.

How Femtech is Creating Solutions

In 2019, femtech startups received $800 million in funding. What's more, funding for femtech companies increased by 812% from 2014 to 2018. Femtech is expected to become a $25 billion industry within the next five years.

There are several femtech companies currently making a noticeable impact on period poverty and equity. Dear Kate produces leak-resistant and stain-fighting underwear and activewear with absorbency equating to two tampons, and the donate a pair of Dear Kates for every purchase over $100. LOLA produces toxin-free feminine products that use 100% certified organic cotton and have donated over 5 million period products. FLEX's reusable FLEX Cup has helped women save $150 to $300 annually.

Fighting the Good, Necessary Fight

Thanks to the efforts of women's advocates, nonprofits, and pro bono attorneys, government officials are beginning to address period poverty. The success enjoyed thus far should encourage women to continue fighting for period equity.

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Looking at Period Poverty and Female Hygiene Gaps in the US

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Women don't have a choice in having a period; there is no reason why they should pay a tax on a natural biological process. The average woman spends nearly seven years of her life menstruating. Despite this, period poverty exists. In the U.S., 25 million women live in poverty, but food stamps don't cover menstrual products.

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The affect of period poverty on education

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Dive Brief:

Many female students would rather miss class than go to school while menstruating if they lack access to feminine hygiene products, according to the State of the Period study sponsored by Thinx and Period. Poverty plays a large role in access to obtaining these products, but there is also cultural stigma around menstruation that causes embarrassment and feelings of shame for some girls.

The study conducted by Harris Insights & Analytics of 1,000 teens ages 13 to 19 found 20% - one in five - of teenage girls surveyed can't afford to purchase menstrual hygiene products. It also states that two-thirds of respondents feel stress because they don't have access to tampons and pads, 61% have worn tampons more than four hours, 25% missed class because they didn't have access to tampons or pads, and 83% think lack of access "is not talked about enough."

The study centers on the need for more education on this topic, as 76% of students feel they know more about the biology of frogs than they do about the biology of the female body, and it also found many students feel ashamed when they are menstruating.

Dive Insight:

Boston public schools tackled this issue by giving students access to free products in an attempt to create "menstrual equity." The products were made available through a $100,000 pilot program that allows school nurses to disperse them in77 Boston public schools for grades 6 through 12. Though it's a step in the right direction, advocates say the supplies should be as readily available in the bathrooms as toilet paper.

New York City began offering free menstrual products in school bathrooms in 2016 and New York state started distributing products in 2018. Illinois and California mandate that these products are made available in schools with high numbers of low-income students.

New Hampshire teen Caroline Dillon spearheaded a state bill that would require public schools to provide free feminine products in an effort to end "period poverty." The teen knows of fellow female students who would rather stay home from school than go to school without pads or tampons. She said girls also resort to re-using the products or using items like socks or newspapers. The bill, SB 142, was passed in law in July.

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Report finds 'period poverty' a top reason girls miss school

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Many female students would rather miss class than go to school while menstruating if they lack access to feminine hygiene products, according to the State of the Period study sponsored by Thinx and Period. Poverty plays a large role in access to obtaining these products, but there is also cultural stigma around menstruation that causes embarrassment and feelings of shame for some girls.

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Movements being made in order to eliminate period poverty

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Access to affordable and sustainable menstrual hygiene products (e.g. menstrual cloths, reusable pads, disposable pads, menstrual cups and tampons) is key to improving menstrual health and hygiene. Yet only a fraction of women and girls in developing countries use sanitary products during menstruation. Individuals use specific menstrual hygiene products based on their availability (i.e. production), knowledge (i.e., awareness), income (i.e., affordability), and region (i.e., comfort level of use stemming from the cultural context).

Furthermore, affordability is a strong barrier to access menstrual products, particularly for poor women. In Kenya, 65% of the menstruators cannot afford menstrual products. Even in the U.S., a survey of low-income women finds that nearly two-thirds couldn't afford menstrual hygiene products such as tampons or pads during the previous year.

Studies show that menstrual products and education, held separately, are not enough. A holistic approach - one that combines education with infrastructure, products, and efforts to tackle the societal taboos and stigma surrounding the issue - is most successful in achieving good menstrual health hygiene and improving development outcomes for women and adolescent girls. To this end, the private sector is playing a crucial role.

Megan Mukuria, founder and CEO of Kenya-based ZanaAfrica, which leverages reproductive health education and sanitary pads as a combined intervention to empower girls and women, says she once asked a young girl in Kenya how she would feel if she were given a year's supply of sanitary pads. "She shyly put her hand over her face and whispered, 'I would feel like the whole world loved me.'"
Megan Mukuria, founder and CEO of Kenya-based ZanaAfrica.
Ms. Mukuria founded ZanaAfrica after working with Kenyan street children and finding that not only were menstrual pads the second largest monthly cost for females, but also that adults did not share information with girls about puberty, "with devastating consequences." Through its non-profit programs, ZanaAfrica distributes Nia brand sanitary pads coupled with a proven health curriculum that is being scaled with support from the Kenyan Teacher Service Commission. Through sales in commercial markets, they expand access to high quality, low-cost feminine hygiene products. All products feature unique packaging that provides reproductive health and rights information and free resources to women and girls.

"Product access itself creates new positive realities and amplifies outcomes in health, education and safety," says Ms. Mukuria. "But our products do more than that. They connect a fragmented health and education system. Customers connect however they want to (by WhatsApp, text or talking confidentially directly with a counsellor for free,) and find the answers and reproductive health services they need, whenever they need them."

Credit: ZanaAfrica

Similarly, in India, the hybrid social enterprise Aakar, comprising Aakar Innovations and Aakar Social Ventures, helps women produce and distribute affordable, high-quality sanitary napkins within their communities, while simultaneously raising awareness and sensitization of menstrual hygiene management.

Aakar's sanitary pad, Anandi, is India's first and only Government of India lab certified (ISO-17088) nearly 100% compostable and biodegradable sanitary pad. Anandi pads are available at an affordable price and provide women and girls in rural villages and urban areas access to a sustainable solution. Last year, Aakar introduced Anandipads to the commercial market (Amazon, etc.), and a portion of those earnings is going back to villages by providing free/subsidized pads, along with menstrual hygiene education.

At the company, women are at the center of production. Anandi pads are manufactured in 30 operational "mini-factories" across India, Nepal, and eight African countries. The factories are women-supervised and women-operated, facilitating jobs and the opportunity to learn entrepreneurial, marketing, and management skills.

"The training helped me understand more about menstruation and various hygiene practices, and what importance they have in our lives," said Ramila Ben, 35, who works in Pipaliya District, Gujrat. "I can now teach this to my daughters and other women in the village, as well. The financial and marketing concepts will help me invest my earnings more wisely, and I will be able to generate significant returns."
Jaydeep Mandal, founder of Aakar Innovations
According to Jaydeep Mandal, founder of Aakar Innovations, more than one million women and girls are consumers of Anandi pads and 400,000 have been reached through its education program. Anandi mini-factories employ more than 700 women earning US$150 per month, and more than 500 women are engaged in selling pads within their villages, earning a seven to eight cent commission per package.

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A Holistic Approach to Better Menstrual Health and Hygiene: Entrepreneurs in Action

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Access to affordable and sustainable menstrual hygiene products (e.g. menstrual cloths, reusable pads, disposable pads, menstrual cups and tampons) is key to improving menstrual health and hygiene. Yet only a fraction of women and girls in developing countries use sanitary products during menstruation. Individuals use specific menstrual hygiene products based on their availability (i.e.

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A calculator that allows you to try and estimate the amount of money you would spend in your life on menstrual hygiene products. Also gives us statistics from around the world

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Every day, about 300 million women and girls menstruate. 🩸 And nearly 80% of them will have to choose, during their lifetime, between menstruation products, such as tampons or pads, and buying necessities.

Yet, the times and mindsets are changing, and hopefully, notable shifts are made or about to be made. At the end of the last year, on 24th November, Scotland became the first country to make menstrual sanitary products free.

And the movement spreads further. From the 19th April 2021, Lidl Ireland followed the trend and launched a new project. A coupon is available through the Lidl Plus app, allowing once a month to exchange it for a box of sanitary pads or tampons.

In Morrisons, on the other hand, you can get a discreet envelope with period products, if you ask for Sandy. It seems like a nice kick-off towards fighting period poverty and a turn on menstruation in public space.

The US remain on the other team. At the moment, 35 states impose a sales tax 💸 on menstruation sanitary products, considering them luxury items, also described as nonessential. Yet, aren't they as necessary as access to toilet paper or everyday groceries?
On the 20th October 2020, the US celebrated its second National Period Day to help raise awareness about period poverty. It's about bloody time!

Period poverty is a thing. In a study of over 2000 Scottish women of reproductive age, nearly half of them have experienced menstruation obstacles. 👩‍👧 The problem is lack of access to toilets, menstrual education, hand washing options, and, finally, sanitary products.
Around 60% of women have had to organize their budget and put an item back on the shelf to afford menstrual products.
More than 70% of the respondents have had to use an alternative, such as toilet paper, when they've been surprised by an early period and didn't have access to sanitary products. Menstruation education is low, and in some regions, having a period is a cause of shame and stigmatization in society's eyes.

Source: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Studies have determined that a period costs approximately 10 dollars or 9 pounds per month, depending on the country. This number includes tampons, pads, or menstruation cups, depending on which the woman uses, and eventually - painkillers. The amount of money varies from woman to woman due to differences in the amount of blood and pain experienced. Finally, we should mention certain medical conditions, such as endometriosis or anatomical differences, that can substantially impact a woman's need for sanitary products and medicine.

Yet, there are some other costs we don't tend to discuss daily:

1. Birth control 💊 - the only thing that could stop you from bleeding every month. However, it costs more than $15-$50 a month. Always consult a physician before you decide to start the pill.

2. Productivity 🖥️ - mentioned above, but worth repeating. Studies have determined that 1 in 10 women cannot pursue their daily activities due to cramps, fatigue, pain, and general malaise. Such a state can last from one to three days per menstruation. Two years ago, the period tracker app, Clue, found that 18% of US women have missed school, work, or an event due to their period. The reason was not pain, fatigue, or any of the above causes - they didn't go because they were afraid of someone finding out they were menstruating.

3. Laundry 🧺 - even if you're super careful, wear bigger pads, or try double-protection, you can still leak. And the additional expense on changing sheets, washing underwear, and sometimes - buying new clothes when the blood does not come out.

At this point, we need to mention the pink tax - not a literal tax, but how the same object often costs more just because it's marketed towards women. The name pink tax comes from the fact that most of the affected products are pink. Products marketed for women, such as cosmetics (13%!!!), clothes (men pay 8% less to get dressed), tend to be more expensive than those for men. Interestingly, the differences are visible already in the prices of toys for kids - for a toy marketed towards girls, we pay 7% more.

And here comes one more thing - there is an actual pay gap between the two genders, which also varies not only between men and women but also between races.

All these reasons make us wonder why so many women have to struggle to meet the necessities of life that are not even a choice?

It's just hit all major news outlets - the Scottish Parliament voted for free period products for the whole country.
What does this mean for women and girls?

These goods will be available free of charge in public buildings, including universities and schools. It's a huge step for all women's rights supporters and fighters for gender equality. Also, a real life-changer for those struggling with poverty.

The program should cost around £8.7 million a year from 2020. Is that a lot? Let's recalculate it for one person - as mentioned above, a woman spends on average 10 dollars per month. Supposedly, periods happen between 12 and 52, which means more than 450 periods in a single lifetime.

That's almost 5000 dollars spent on hygienic products, just for the simple reason you are a woman and have no alternative but to bleed. Not to mention the losses in productivity and relaxation during your monthly menstruation.

So you feel pain, bleed, need to buy sanitary products (not everywhere, thank you, Scotland!), and now you also need to think about the environment? We're not here to put pressure on you, we're just carrying out some advice on making this world a cleaner place. It's similar to using reusable eye pads - just switching to an eco-friendly option is an excellent step forward!
One pad is equal to four plastic shopping bags, and tampons are not to recycle due to the plastic applicator.
Yet, there are some solutions:

1. A menstrual cup, a tiny device made of rubber or silicone. You put it in your vagina, where it collects blood. And it can stay there, without needing to be changed, for up to 12 hours. In total, you can use one cup for six months to 10 years, depending on what it's made of. How comfortable!

2. Reusable cloth pads - made of organic cotton, estimated to last up to five years. To wash a cloth pad, toss it in the washing machine.

How many pads do you need? Most brands recommend about a dozen pads. For example:

Three to six pantyliners;

Six to twelve day pads; and

One to three overnight pads.

1. Reusable tampon applicators.

2. Period pants.

Give yourself some time, try them out, and find the one that suits you best.

Menstruation cup

This tool helps you estimate the amount of money spent on sanitary products over a chosen time, based on the essential supplies a woman needs during menstruation.

To get your result, follow the intuitive steps explained below:

Choose what period product you use most: tampons, pads, reusable pants, or menstrual cups.

2a. If the product is either tampons or pads, input:

The length of your menstruation cycle (on average between 21 and 35 days);

Number of tampons/pads you use during one period;

The number of items in one package; and

The cost of one pack of pads/tampons 💰

2b. If the product is reusable pants or a menstrual cup, fill in:

The lifetime of the product - on average, it's five years for pads and between 6 months and ten years for a cup; and

The price of the product 💰

How long do you want to calculate the cost over 📅:

A month;

Six months;

A year;

Five years;

Ten years; or

A lifetime.

And that's all, after filling in all the fields, you get your result - the cost of buying sanitary products over a chosen amount of time.

How to save up? 🌺 Reusable products, such as menstruation cups or cloth pads, cost less and have a smaller impact on the environment. Of course, you'll need to wash them regularly and remember to carry them around with you. Not so easy, but while we wait for other governments to follow the Scottish lead, maybe it's worth considering?

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Every day, about 300 million women and girls menstruate. 🩸 And nearly 80% of them will have to choose, during their lifetime, between menstruation products, such as tampons or pads, and buying necessities. Yet, the times and mindsets are changing, and hopefully, notable shifts are made or about to be made.

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Shares her experience of period poverty and the things she does instead of being able to use menstrual products

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Surviving period poverty with 'socks and tissue' - BBC News

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This is a real life experience from a fifteen-year old who gives us her insight to this situation and allows us to empathize

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Street Cramps: a 15 year old tackles period poverty | Bimini Love | TEDxTruro

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This article discusses the lasting psychosocial affects of period poverty on women and how they adapt to society after facing these challenges

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This essay showcases multiple forms of period poverty and its effects. It also explains why period poverty should be an issue for everyone, and not just for the people who menstruate.

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Discusses the issues of under educating individuals about menstruation and how the lack of these products can effect a student's attendance and health.

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Adequate menstrual hygiene management has been defined as, "Women and adolescent girls are using a clean menstrual management material to absorb or collect blood that can be changed in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of the menstruation period, using soap and water to wash the body as required, and having access to facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials" [

]. Most girls and women in the U.S. take this for granted.

To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

References

1. Cultural aspects of menstruation and menstrual hygiene in adolescents.

: 127-139

2. Menstrual hygiene management in resource-poor countries.

: 356-376

3. Menstruation management in United States schools and implications for attendance, academic performance, and health.

: 289-305

4. The 'bring your own tampon' policy: Why menstrual hygiene products should be provided for free in restrooms.

: 370-411

Somer M.

Sutherland C.

Chandra-Mouli V.

Putting menarche and girls into the global population health agenda.

: 24

6. Military women's menstrual experiences and interest in menstrual suppression during deployment.

: 342-347

7. Scotland set to be first country to provide free pads and tampons.

New York Times, February 27, 2020

Article Info

Identification

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.06.027

ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirect

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Period Poverty in Public Schools: A Neglected Issue in Adolescent Health

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Adequate menstrual hygiene management has been defined as, "Women and adolescent girls are using a clean menstrual management material to absorb or collect blood that can be changed in privacy as often as necessary for the duration of the menstruation period, using soap and water to wash the body as required, and having access to facilities to dispose of used menstrual management materials" [1].

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This articles touches on the idea of how menstrual stigma can effect the study and views of menstruation.

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Introduction

'Symbolic domination is something you absorb like air...it is everywhere and nowhere, and to escape from that is very difficult'Pierre Bourdieu (Bourdieu and Eagleton, 1992)
1989. I'm at a party in California, high up in the Berkeley hills. A sprawling ranch house, a vast and elaborate buffet, valets for the cars, plenty and privilege. An accidental romance has turned serious and I am socialising outside my usual, more bohemian milieu. Here the men appear bullishly confident, the women polished and poised. The host, an avuncular patriarch who made his fortune in household goods, looms over me. 'Great you could come!' he says, 'X tells me you're writing a book! How exciting.' He leans in, smiling, 'What's it about?' I'm not used to talking about my topic in this kind of situation, and unthinkingly I say, with no warning preamble or euphemism, 'It's about menstruation.' For the first time I really understand what is meant by someone blanching. His tanned, overfed face literally turns white. He looks at me as if I have broken his heart, turns around and walks away. Oh shoot, I think, I can't even say the word.

Such a visceral response towards menstruation being openly articulated outside of a medical or countercultural context should perhaps not have been that surprising to me. Over time, the rejections would become more complex, and the stakes would get higher.

1991. I have an article published in a magazine, an extract from the book I am writing. An editor at a prestigious New York publishing house reads it and calls me up to ask if I have a publisher yet. I don't, and quickly find myself in first-time author dreamland. We are just about to sign the contract when a female executive puts a stop to it, saying, 'There is no way we are publishing a book that highlights menstruation. It would put back the progress of feminism by a hundred years.' I understand the role of internalised misogyny in keeping menstruation hidden, in 'protecting' women from shame. But still, I am shocked by her certainty and fear, and not least by the sudden block to my research being published.

I have come across this same idea-that women are more protected by menstruation staying in the shadows than by talking about it-many times since, most recently when doing research on menstruation in the workplace ( Owen, 2018). Menstruation has been so thoroughly stigmatised (e.g. de Beauvoir, 1953; Douglas, 1966; Johnston-Robledo and Chrisler, 2013) through a variety of strategies cross-culturally ( Buckley and Gottlieb, 1988) to the extent that ignorance is widespread ( Chrisler, 2013) and many cannot conceive of a culture safe enough to move past normative silencing and marginalisation ( Young, 2005; Pascoe, 2007; Vostral, 2008). Such intransigent stigmatisation has affected a wide swathe of experience that includes menstruation being under-researched across disciplines and affecting the career paths of menstrual researchers ( Chrisler et al., 2011). I set out to discover the impact of such stigmatisation on the professional lives of menstrual researchers within the context of a changing cultural landscape of menstrual norms and as part of a joint project on the politics of menstruation in Scotland.

Context

Stigma in academia

There are other topics and disciplines in which scholars experience more-than-usual difficulty in their careers due to stigmatisation, such as those working in the fields of race and gender, in areas of medicine such as psychiatric and sexually transmitted illnesses, and on other topics directly related to female embodiment such as abortion, infertility, and menopause. But research on such second-hand stigma is even harder to find than on stigmatised topics themselves. 'Courtesy stigma', the term for the associative stigma experienced by family and friends of stigmatised individuals, has been evidenced in several studies (e.g., Goffman, 1963; Page, 1985; Hinshaw, 2005), but the extent to which this also affects professionals is unclear. In the field of education, Broomhead, while researching teachers of children with behavioural difficulties, observed that 'there is a paucity of research on whether [such] educational practitioners...are also courtesy-stigmatised' ( 2016: 58). Her own study found that indeed, teachers who work with children with behavioural difficulties are considered less intelligent than 'proper teachers' (ibid.). Courtesy stigma has been shown to be brought about by the specific association and not through any personal characteristic ( Gray, 1993), but this would not be the case with those menstrual researchers who have personal experience of menstruation. Rather, they share the embodied experience they are studying, which complicates analysis of their identification of menstrual stigma in their research, perhaps rendering them both particularly awake to and vulnerable to the occurrence and impact of stigma.

Stigma theory and menstrual research

Erving Goffman ( 1963) identified stigma as a stain or mark that sets people apart as spoiled or defective. Goffman found that stigmatised individuals suffered profound psychological, social and material consequences. Bourdieu conceptualised the imposition of stigma as a form of symbolic violence with a negative impact on economic, social, cultural and symbolic capitals ( 1979, 1984, 1987, 1989). Beverley Skeggs ( 1997) developed Bourdieu's conceptualisation of capitals in the context of gender and class to show how working-class women's lack of these various kinds of capital induces a tenuous sense of self-worth. Skeggs's empirical research on female care workers in the North of England found that respectability was employed as a compensation for low capitals, for example, through emphasising cleanliness and attention to hygiene as attributes of good character ( 1997). Skeggs found that caring for others is a source of accessible cultural capital for working-class women, while caring for self is denied: 'their self is for others' ( 1997: 65). These findings are readily applicable to menstrual experience with its normative focus on being 'sanitary' and 'hygienic'; on substituting concealment and stoicism for more genuine self-care; and its low/zero levels of associated capitals ( Owen, 2022). To the categories of gender and class, we can add race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, neurodiversity and (dis)ability to the list of under-capitalised characteristics that can constitute elements in the nexus of menstrual stigmatisation and which can multiply its effects. Silencing, so notable in conventional menstrual protocol, is a manifestation of stigmatisation particularly employed to enforce patriarchal control. Historically, practices such as muzzling and branking (the 'scold's bridle', see Federici, 2004: 101) were used to both mark and silence women ( Tyler, 2020). Misogynistic silencing continues today in social media ( Beard, 2017) and specifically with regard to comments on menstruation ( Sayers and Jones, 2015).

Menstruation is normatively managed through respectability protocols spoken of in euphemisms ('feminine hygiene', 'sanitary products') that emphasise cleanliness as a corrective to the polluting and abject nature of menstrual blood (e.g. Bobel, 2018). Menstrual stigma in many societies serves as a focal point for androcentric power dynamics and allows for the enactment of that power over women and non-cis menstruators ( de Beauvoir, 1953; Laws, 1985, 1990; Owen, 1993). These power dynamics are funnelled through menstrual stigma in the form of admonitions as to what menstruators can and cannot do, where they can and cannot go, and through the requirement to 'pass' as a non-menstruator ( Vostral, 2008): to pretend menstruation is not happening by keeping quiet and acting 'normally' even when in intense pain ( Young, 2005; Sang et al., 2021). When bleeding, the menstruator typically experiences a loss of status and associated capitals due to the presence of a stigmatised fluid that conventional mores insist must be hidden at all costs ( Chrisler, 2011). Additionally, menstruation is a cyclical event that can disrupt availability for sex and work. Within an androcentric capitalist context these factors instil and reproduce zero to low levels of social and economic capitals, while the historically stigmatised status of menstruation means it has no cultural or symbolic capital. Low/no capital is a clear reason why menstruation has been under-researched.

Academia, just like any other profession, has codes of propriety linked to jobs, funding, and hierarchical structures of respect and approval. Sang et al. ( 2021) found that menstruation was stigmatised in academic workplaces, just as in other contexts. This raises the question of whether it is possible to be a fully respected academic when pursuing research into such a profoundly stigmatised topic. Rather, Chrisler et al. ( 2011) surmised that, by association, menstrual researchers suffer adverse consequences in their career progression. As this article will show, academics pursuing menstrual research have been encouraged to switch topics for their careers to progress, and many still feel the need to do so. Not being able to get funding and permanent positions based on menstrual research indicates that there are financial penalties for pursuing such research. Academia is an intellectual profession operating in most countries-and certainly in the Global North-within a capitalist, for-profit and product-focused society. Research costs money. From around 2010 onwards, menstruation began to accrue capitals through the disruption of stigma by activist efforts. Prior to this time, menstrual research barely got any funding at all. This shift can be linked to the taboo-disruption embraced by neoliberal capitalism because the dissolution of taboos opens up new markets ( Gammon, 2013).

Research context

The research cohort studied was a group of nine scholars (including myself) from humanities and social science disciplines, living and working in the UK, USA and Russia. This group of eight women and one man came together for a two-year project (2020-22) to research the history of menstrual activism, politics, education and culture, in order to better understand the international and local context of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act (2020), which enshrined in law the right of all residents in Scotland to access free menstrual products ( McKay, 2021; Bildhauer, 2021; Vostral, 2022). The group members were all born and raised in the Global North, and two-thirds spoke English as their first language (including myself). As such, in global terms group members were broadly privileged, although were not homogenous in terms of other socioeconomic indicators including race, class background, and sexual orientation.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the research group's planned schedule of in-person seminars with field trips to various Scottish archives had to be scrapped. Instead, the project funding was used to pay research assistants to gather archive material, details of which were uploaded onto a website. Meetings now took place over video calls, with the unintended consequence that the group was able to meet far more often than originally planned. While Covid restrictions scuppered travel and in-person meetings, they supplied a shared experience that united the group, regardless of distance and place of residence.

As noted above, the group's research took place following a decade of change in the social, cultural and political capitals of menstruation. This is shown, for example, through the aforementioned legislation, enacted by a unanimous decision by Scottish parliamentarians to highlight menstrual care as a social justice issue and 'end period poverty' (in practice, the concept of 'period poverty' has come to chiefly represent the difficulty experienced by those on low incomes in accessing menstrual products). The preceding years had seen funds for menstrual research become more available, with more researchers entering the field, and an accompanying rise in published research (see Figure 1). Correspondingly, it appeared that the cultural capital of the menstrual researcher was perhaps improving in line with broader social changes regarding menstruation.

The information shown in Figure 1 was drawn from a basic search on the word 'menstrual' on the University of St Andrews main library database (27 May 2021), using a conventional data-gathering method via keyword for published research (e.g., Critchley et al., 2020). Amounts given are for the specific year indicated, shown in five-yearly intervals. Although the quantity and extent of menstrual research has risen, it remains very low for an experience that affects 51% of the population for approximately 40 years of their lives. In terms of health and wellbeing, menstruation typically involves some degree of suffering ( Armour et al., 2019) and is still incompletely understood medically ( Critchley et al., 2020) as well as culturally ( Bobel et al., 2020). 'Menstrual' was chosen as the search term, as it is the word most often used in the titles of humanities and social science papers on menstruation. Adding in papers with 'menstruation' in the title augments the 2020 'menstrual' total by 273, making a total of 1,939 for the year. Medical papers usually reference specific syndromes in their titles rather than the broad term of 'menstruation'. The two most common physical disorders associated with menses are dysmenorrhea and endometriosis: searches for those words in titles add 460 and 4,364 respectively in 2020. There is no directly comparable experience to menstruation in male embodiment. However, it may be worth noting that a search for papers with 'prostate' in the title revealed 24,219 peer-reviewed journal articles published in 2020.

Methodology

Autoethnographic enquiry

As mentioned above, I was also a member of the research group I was studying. To incorporate my self-reflexivity, this paper is structured through an autoethnographic enquiry, employing autobiographical vignettes 'as an alternative approach to representation and reflexivity in qualitative research' ( Humphreys, 2005: 840). I chose to structure the paper this way in order to enrich my data and the storytelling of it ( Dyer and Wilkins, 1991), and to be explicit about my own bias and subjectivities: 'the ethnographer's own taken-for-granted understandings of the social world under scrutiny' ( Van Maanen 1988, quoted in Humphreys, 2005: 840). I use two ways of inserting vignettes from my own background: (1) moments of epiphany ( Ellis et al., 2011: 275) and (2) autobiographical narrative written from a political and social justice perspective ( Holman Jones, 2005; Adams and Holman Jones, 2008). These vignettes are graphically distinguished from the rest of the text and preceded by the year in which they took place; commentary upon them is integrated into the text.

Research method

My qualitative, interview-based research concerned both the long-term and more immediate impact of doing menstrual research upon the professional lives of the researchers. The central research question was broad: What has been the subjective experience of menstrual researchers concerning menstrual stigma in their professional lives? Ethical approval for the research was granted by the University of St Andrews prior to commencement (UTREC approval code ML15240). Interviews were conducted in early 2021 on the Zoom online video platform, and were audio recorded and professionally transcribed. Each participant was interviewed once, for 30-60 minutes, with a few participants volunteering follow-up thoughts that occurred to them after the interview. In each interview, I asked three short questions on how long, in how many institutions, and to what extent the interviewee had pursued research on menstruation, followed by three semi-structured, open-ended questions on the perceived impact of menstrual stigma on their academic careers, focusing on their experience of grants, publishing, and career progression.

The data was analysed via first-cycle coding (chiefly descriptive, process, values, and evaluation coding, see Miles et al., 2014: 74-76) for themes developed deductively from the interview questions and inductively from interview comments, and extracted in data 'chunks' (ibid.) of quotes, sometimes including a section of conversation between myself and the interviewee. The coded data was then analysed for pattern (or meta) codes through a second cycle, which generated 'explanatory or inferential codes, obtained by grouping first cycle codes' into 'more meaningful and parsimonious units of analysis' ( Miles et al., 2014: 86). In writing up, contributions were anonymised and details de-identified. In the spirit of feminist collaboration and transparency, the paper was shared with the research cohort as part of the workshopping of our collective special issue, and their feedback was incorporated into the paper's development.

Findings and Discussion

The research participants had developed their interest in menstrual research in different decades and were at different career stages. Three of the researchers had entered the field of menstrual studies in the 1990s, one in 2009, and the remaining five since 2013. Two of the most recent researchers had only been studying in the field since 2019. Out of the whole group, two were professors, two were senior lecturers (associate professor equivalent), two were post-doctoral research fellows, and three were in or just completing PhD programmes. Only one had pursued menstrual research throughout her career, with others dropping in and out depending on funding, research interests, and other factors. The current percentage of their research time devoted to menstruation varied: for three it was 100%, for one, 70%, and for another, 10%. For the remaining four, the figure fell between 50 and 30%. Overall, the mean for the group was 60%.

Here I discuss the research findings through three umbrella themes: (1) mechanisms of historic and continuing barriers to menstrual research; (2) strategies researchers use for managing and navigating menstrual stigma; and (3) the impact of recent changes in public discourse on the field of menstrual studies.

Mechanisms of historic and continuing barriers to menstrual research

Most of the participants, especially those who had been engaged with menstrual research for decades, spoke of difficult encounters with patriarchal gatekeepers, times when doors closed despite the quality of their work. I identified three main mechanisms that reproduced menstrual stigma and enacted barriers to pursuing careers in menstrual studies: (a) ridicule/diminution; (b) silencing/disregard; and (c) persistent ignorance.

Ridicule and diminution

1993. My book on cultural attitudes to menstruation and how they repress women's agency and power has just been published by a (different) major US publisher. I am assigned an inexperienced publicist who works hard to get radio spots. I am expecting a reasonably intelligent discussion, or at least curiosity. Instead, male broadcasters position both me and the topic as a joke. After three of these excruciating 'interviews', I decline to do any more. During this time, I repeatedly dream of a cold, angry group of men, a father and his adult sons, who want to kill me. I feel under siege from the patriarchy.

I realised that menstruation was for a long time too embarrassing to be taken seriously and too threatening not to be immediately disarmed by ridicule. The same applies in academia in various topics to do with female embodiment which are disarmed to similar effect, often by diminishment rather than humour. One participant told me: 'When I finished my PhD my supervisor was trying to get a research grant [for a history of sexuality] and asked if I wanted to be the named researcher on it. So I said, "Yes, of course, I'd love a job, thank you." And when he got the money he said, "Well we need to divide up this thing by theme, would you like to do the girlie topics of contraception and abortion?"'

The trivialising of female reproductive lived experience is routinely deployed as a way to deflect the reality that reproduction in all its manifestations and phases is a physically and emotionally complex and even dangerous part of life. When challenged, joking around is often positioned as a kindness and not something that was intended to harm. Yet such trivialisation does do harm: it upholds patriarchal structures by diminishing female agency and vitality, and therefore the possibility of fully owning female embodiment and experience.

Silencing/the brick wall

2000: For the past four years I've been searching for a PhD supervisor. I'm losing heart, but today I'm on my way to meet with an upcoming luminary of feminist scholarship, thanks to the intervention of a mutual friend. I should be excited, but I feel out of sorts, perhaps because I dread yet another disappointment. I get lost and arrive late, hot and anxious. The meeting quickly unravels into a complete disaster. I manage a couple of sentences on what I want to research before she says coldly, 'I can't help you, I have no interest in menstruation as a topic.' I feel hopeless and exhausted, and decide I will have to let go of the idea of a PhD.

Several participants had had experience of their menstrual research being stopped, of meeting a brick wall of uninterest. Academic careers are rarely straightforward these days, but the absence of any kind of a clear way forward in developing a career in menstrual research was notable in the stories of these researchers. In 2000, after completing her PhD, one participant told me, 'I couldn't get a postdoc [research fellowship] in the area [of menstrual history] that I was proposing, so I had to move away from menstrual scholarship.' In 2021, after completing a post-doc on menstrual history, another said: 'I'm still applying for jobs that would allow me to do that [move back to menstrual research full-time]. I still check the job market every day.' So the brick wall may have moved from doing the PhD, to the end of the PhD, to the end of the post-doc, but it is still very much in place. I asked one participant, 'Can you see it, in your lifetime, being a Professor of Critical Menstrual Studies or whatever? Can you imagine that? Because you'd be well placed for it.' The reply was salutary. 'No, I can't imagine that.'

Ignorance

2015: I've just completed a two-year research project for a feminist organization, on the lived experience of menstruation and menopause in over 3,000 women and girls. It's been good but I've felt frustrated in various ways, and I know I need to up my game to not feel like this for the rest of my career. The old idea that I really should do a PhD returns. I apply to a History department where there is a supervisor who wants to work with me, but the institutional guardians think I've been out of academia for too long (at least, that's what they say). I apply to a large Women and Gender Studies department at another major school, and am told, 'We don't have anyone here who *could* supervise a PhD on menstruation.'

Silencing leads to a lack of breadth and depth of scholarship. The lack of scholarship concretises ignorance, obstructing publishing (few peer reviewers), hiring (lack of understanding of the topic), and grant funding and promotion (disregard for the topic's relevance and applicability). One participant told me:

Most peer reviewers will have lots of insight on theory but they just don't know what menstruation is. I'm constantly asked to add in things like 'What is menstruation?'; 'What is period poverty?' Which has nothing to do with what I've researched. But you still need to do that.

Another discussed how ignorance impacts upon feedback and developing the field:

I did my PhD also on a relatively unusual subject, and there were also few questions because I think people didn't feel confident enough. The questions [that were asked] were not very academic or intellectually stimulating. It was very much my experience that people see a certain intellectual and academic quality and that is why they are willing to hire you or to grant you a doctoral degree, but they are not really ready to engage with this [topic] substantially. It might lead to this marginalisation again because usually there will be one person [in the department] who does this strange thing and all the others are doing something much more conventional.

A long-term researcher described how ignorance impacted upon the isolation of early menstrual researchers:

I think there were just so many reactions that I finally figured out, okay I have to be very deliberate. What am I trying to do? What point am I trying to make? What am I trying to say? I remember being at a party, mostly English Professors, and they kept saying, 'But what theories are you using? What's your theory?' And I'm like, 'I don't have a theory yet.' It wasn't like there were whole bodies of stuff to fall upon. I was creating my own archive, my own timeline and it was like, 'Gosh I've got to do all this just to put it together before I can decide what theories am I using.' That was my 20-ish year-old self too.

Shallowness in the field reflects and reproduces gendered ignorance of women's issues.

2017: In the first public review of my proposed PhD thesis on menstrual organization, a fellow student (male) asked, 'But why is this something that even needs to be studied at all?'

The historic concealment of menstruation means that men tend to be particularly ignorant of its impact upon lived experience, and the bias they consequently have against taking it seriously may be unconsciously held. We know that unconscious bias affects women's careers directly in academic contexts (e.g. Teelken, Taminiau and Rosenmöller, 2021), but we know less about the ways in which it impacts the study of stigmatised topics that concern women, such as menstruation. Academic posts and research projects are increasingly funded through highly competitive grants, and funders' ignorance on menstruation as a meaningful area of study is compounded by the continuing dominance of men at high ranks who make the funding decisions. The gender imbalance in many departments at top levels maintains a status quo that reproduces androcentric research through unconscious bias and ignorance of topics. The masculinised system begets itself.

Verhoeven ( 2017) found that researchers are more likely to be awarded a research grant if their name is Dave than if they are a woman of any name, and are also highly likely to work in all-male teams. In menstrual studies, not only are there very few academics working at the rank of professor, (which rank is often demanded by major funders to lead large projects and submit bids), no one studying menstruation at that rank is male. And in an era in which casualisation and fixed terms have come to dominate hiring practices, the number of permanent appointments has dropped, impacting the ability for up-and-coming researchers to apply. As one participant noted:

It is so stupid that it has to be a permanent person who applies for big grants, which is why, I think, we've [only] had success in small grants. Because us fixed-term people, you know, that's what we can apply for, you know? I cannot apply for a big grant.

The same researcher also commented, 'I've been quite successful in securing research funding. [But] it seems like we're hitting a level.....when you get up to the serious or the big or the prestigious grants, I and others have not been successful yet.' When grants cannot be obtained then research is starved of support, and consequently new knowledge is not generated, maintaining ignorance of the topic.

Managing and navigating menstrual stigma

Most researchers referenced ways in which they managed menstrual stigma and navigated its effects. These were chiefly: (1) working harder to compensate; (2) dissembling about their topic in public settings; (3) adapting their career path; (4) managing through complaint, while refusing to be a victim.

Compensation

Silencing constrains the field, and such constraint impacts the quality and legitimacy of the work, with knock-on effects. One participant, a long-term scholar in menstrual research, spoke about the additional pressure that stigma adds to academic work.

Yes, I've tried to be so careful and so accurate, and I still make mistakes obviously, but [I feel like] I have to have even more evidence or it has to be even better grounded in literature just so people can't take you down on that, because the whole topic is a question mark to some people. I always felt like I had to be very careful.

Stigma coexists with suspicion and distrust, and menstrual stigma has perseverated in academia even through the past decade of positive change. A participant who had just completed a three-year post-doctoral research project on menstrual cultural history and published several papers on the topic nonetheless felt the backwash of stigma continuing to impact on her work and what was expected of her. Despite being highly qualified, she could not find a research post to continue her work and had recently had to switch topics to something more mainstream.

You have to work so hard to make this [menstrual research] seem like proper academic work. And we're not alone in that. I think we share something with people who work on other stigmatised topics in that you really have to sell it and use the right terms and the right disciplines and make it academic in a way that I think people in more traditional fields of scholarship don't have to do.

Similarly, it was noted that grant applications, while daunting under present circumstances, might be navigable through strategy. One researcher commented:

I remain hopeful. I think it's about hacking the application system and making [the application] even more formal, even more academic, even more dry. And we have to divorce ourselves from the activist tone. The activist tone can get you small grants but it will not get you big grants is what I'm starting to learn. But this is still an ongoing process.

Dissembling

For many years I thought people like the man who turned white, or the woman who was terrified to publish a book, were frozen and uneducated in their reactions. Later I came to a kinder understanding of the mental and emotional blocks thrown up by stigmatisation. When we are taught stigma, we are simultaneously taught aversion: to turn our head, not look, and not be seen to engage.

When I began to talk about menstruation in mainstream and public settings, I did not have any of the dissembling tricks I later developed to protect the enquirer/audience and myself. Over time, when asked about my work socially in unfamiliar settings, I learnt to say 'women's health' first and to get into details later if asked for more specific information. Depending on the context, I learned to say 'the menstrual cycle' or 'periods' rather than menstruation. These strictures went against the grain, but I felt a need to respect where people were, and to bring them with me gradually rather than shutting them down with a shock.

In academia such attitudes and strategies may also appear to be necessary and dealing with reactions can be experienced as an emotional burden on the researcher. One long-term researcher said, 'Normally when somebody asks me about my research I say, history or whatever, and that's all fine, but if I say menstruation you always have to be prepared for an emotional rejection or reaction of some form, right? There is more baggage, definitely, than in other research areas that I do.'

Adaptation

In 2014, I spoke with two successful Australian academics who in the 1990s had each written an excellent, ground-breaking, qualitative social studies PhD thesis on menstruation. Both referred to the topic as a 'career killer' and told me they had quickly switched specialisms after graduation.

By 2021, such considerations were still in play. All the researchers in my study who had entered the field in the last decade expressed concerns about how their careers would play out if they focused entirely on menstrual studies. For some, this did not matter too much because they either knew they wanted to, or thought they would most likely want to, study other topics. 'I think it is possible that in ten or fifteen years I will be doing something else which might not be connected to the menstrual cycle in any way. I think it is a research project rather than a definition of who I am academically.'

For others, the problem of menstrual stigma became a key factor guiding their career strategy. One researcher said:

I never had anyone say, 'ooh, that's gross' or 'why are you doing that?' or 'don't do that.' It's been a bit more subtle. I've seen very distinct gender dynamics of men doing a longer double take perhaps than women do when I tell my topic. I had professors when I was working on my Master's thesis [on menstruation], both of them, just caution me, never saying I shouldn't do it, but just putting that idea of, 'How do you want to present yourself as a scholar?' And they commented about [how] people can get pigeonholed into one thing and it's very hard to break away from that.

As a result of these comments:

I was very conscious of how I would market myself as a scholar, what opportunities would be there for me after I completed my degrees. I realised trying to get a job solely as a menstrual scholar would be very difficult. That was something I was very conscious of. So I was never going to be a menstrual scholar, I was going to be a scholar of [an established discipline] and part of what I would do is menstruation. I was looking ahead and really trying to make a calculated move as to how I would position myself so that I could still do menstrual research without being side-lined or pushed into a corner or stereotyped as that one scholar doing that.

A PhD student thinking about their future said:

From the experiences of others and hearing about going through [major grant applications] and thinking about the discussions that I have with my cohort about research and what people want to do in the future, it's something that worries me a little bit-that if I continue to go down the route of reproductive health or menstruation specifically that it is a real struggle.

However, they did not want to change the emphasis of their research: 'It's something that I would still want to do regardless, I think.'

Workarounds also have had to be found in publishing. The topic of menstruation is by its nature interdisciplinary; influencing and being influenced by many areas of study in the humanities and social sciences, as well as medicine and biology. While interdisciplinarity has become popular in recent years with some significant funders, other areas of academia have yet to adjust to the concept, including journals, university presses, and departments, which have been historically structured into discrete disciplines. Several of the experienced, much-published researchers commented on this problem. 'I think [difficulty getting published on the topic] is in part to do with the fact that it's so interdisciplinary, that it's hard to slot into a particular niche or series.' Another said, 'The resistance by some publishers to be[ing] more interdisciplinary was for me hugely disappointing.' Menstrual researchers have responded to challenges surrounding publication in various ways, for example by making new knowledge as widely available as possible by publishing in open access fora, (e.g. Bobel et al.'s Critical Menstruation Studies, 2020, and this special collection).

Complaint

Feminist research inevitably carries with it the taint of complaint, and indeed, feminist activism and women's lives are frequently managed through complaint ( Ahmed, 2021). A colleague asked me if I would include my personal experiences of menstrual research in this paper, which I was already, somewhat reluctantly, thinking I might need to do. I realised I was resisting an autoethnographic approach because I hate to be seen to complain, and to be potentially perceived as positioning myself as a victim. I am aware that I chose this topic; it was not inflicted upon me. Researching a stigmatised topic does not necessarily mean one primarily identifies with victimisation. Rather it can mean one does not, and the very notion can sit uncomfortably with the desire to find out more about a poorly understood area.

Stoicism, the alternative strategy to complaint, is a learned survival trait in demanding professional careers, and academia is no exception. One participant told me:

I don't know, with our funding disappointments, to what extent that has to do with the topic. You know, I always like to think not, 'It can't be, they're just judged on intellectual merit,' and you never get enough feedback to really be able to fully grasp it. I did have the impression on one of the feedback forms that we got that some of it was antifeminist, that our approach was too decidedly political for that particular funder, but usually it's hard to see why the applications are rejected. But then that's also me, you know, like I don't like to be the victim of any prejudice (laughs), so I like to put a positive spin on it.

Yet, unless menstrual researchers can circumvent any personal distaste for complaint and clearly identify ways in which their work and topic are adversely affected by prejudice, they will be less equipped to confront the means through which stigma is stealthily reproduced via, for example, minimisation and invalidation.

Impact of the changing public discourse surrounding menstruation

Changes in public discourse on menstruation over the past decade were enabled by three main factors ( Owen, 2020): the counterpolitics that arose as a reaction to the inequities exposed by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2010; the ubiquity and normalisation of social media arising at the same time; and the influence of new technologies in 'femcare', chiefly new reusable menstrual products and cycle tracking apps. In this section, I explore this upswing in interest, permission and articulation surrounding menstruation through (1) the impact of changes in menstrual discourse upon the research participants, and (2) the ways in which they experienced this particular research project, which focused on the legislative fruit of the past decade of political change.

The impact of changing menstrual discourse upon researchers

2016: In my renewed quest to do a PhD on menstruation, the rejections of the past year have been horribly familiar. But this time I keep going and then the tide turns. A freakish number of synchronicities come together, and I am enrolled in a PhD with excellent supervisors at a high-ranking university. I have broad departmental support from academics with awareness of gender dynamics in society who are interested in menstruation being a 'trending topic'. I am awarded a full scholarship.

There was a clear experiential divide between the scholars who embarked on menstrual research before and after the watershed period of 2010-2012, when public discourse surrounding menstruation began to change, accelerating in 2015-16 with the advent of campaigns on 'period poverty' ( McKay, 2021) and the 'tampon tax' ( Weiss-Wolf, 2017). Those who came to the field later were often drawn to it because of the change in public discourse. A post-doc researcher said:

I was probably one of many scholars who started paying attention to the popular discourse around menstruation changing, you know, like five years ago [2016]. And then becoming curious about my own taboos against it and then I wanted to learn more. And finding that there wasn't that much [work on the topic].

The younger cohort of researchers told refreshingly different stories about the reactions of others to their work.

People have been very open, welcoming. I've never had a moment of people saying, 'Oh, that's disgusting' or, 'That's not a proper topic for research.' And I think that's because I'm one of these people who started working on it during and after this current boom, so, I've benefited from the change in perception.

As more scholars began investigating the field, increasing numbers of students were drawn to the topic and found themselves absorbed in it. One researcher stumbled into menstrual research as an undergraduate:

In 2013, my second year undergrad, I wrote an essay on how interpretations of menstruation have changed across the modern period. I was completely new to the topic then, and I was kind of like, 'Wow, we can write histories about this. I like this a lot.' Because you just go through school being taught World War I, World War II, civil rights, you don't really delve into social history in more depth.

For graduate students looking for a topic, exposure to scholars taking menstruation seriously could be revelatory.

I just never really thought of it [menstruation] as a viable topic but in 2019 a postdoc and a faculty member in my department gave a talk on their research [on menstrual practices] in Nepal. That was really the first time I had seen a serious research talk around menstruation and menstrual practices. So that just opened the door and planted the seed of, okay this is interesting but not related to what I'm doing [in reproductive health]. But then I started to give myself permission to do a small project around menstruation and that just grew.

Despite the changing discourse, there was common agreement that stigma persists, and that menstrual researchers may have to work extra hard to be respected and supported by their institutions.

The experience of collaborative interdisciplinary menstrual research

While there was sometimes an air of disappointment and even resignation in the interviews, there was also optimism and enthusiasm. In particular there were plenty of spontaneous comments indicating that this particular research project, with its emphasis on collaboration, (common in the sciences but much less so in the social sciences and humanities), had been a revelatory experience for menstrual researchers who had often felt isolated. One of the long-standing academics said:

Having found a community of likeminded researchers is a completely new experience for me. You know, normally I form my communities by going to conferences and they're very temporary. They're very stimulating but having a group of researchers actually working together sustainably over a long period, as we do with this project, is completely new for me. It wouldn't have happened this way if it hadn't been for Covid, but it is really a model that I love and I would like to keep going in some way.

Another experienced academic commented:

I think it was really well designed to initially start around the Scottish Parliament debates and the bill, to really focus our attention but to approach it from quite different perspectives. Also, it is a really pleasant group in terms of the camaraderie, and I don't know how much that's about the topic, but I do think that is part of it. It's not just that we happen to all be people with interpersonal skills who are able to get along, I think there's something about the topic to want us to make this work because we feel personally motivated. It's [menstrual studies] been side-lined for too long and this is the time to really bring it out and subject it to academic scrutiny.

As mentioned earlier, one of the hallmarks of menstrual studies and of this project is interdisciplinarity. Whatever the scholar's home discipline, it is almost impossible to research and analyse the politics and sociocultural dimensions of menstruation without engaging with multiple disciplines, including history, medicine, public health, sociology, psychology, anthropology, technology studies, business studies, cultural studies, and women's and gender studies. The interdisciplinarity of the project drew praise and acknowledgment from several participants. 'I really think the richness of it [the project] has come from our plurality of perspectives.' The shared knowledge base was also acknowledged as revelatory.

I think it's the first time I've had so many meetings with people who don't ask what is menstruation, you know? Like, they know the basic facts and that's remarkable. Because we're from quite different disciplines and backgrounds and age groups. Yet we can talk to each other. And it's nice to have a group of peers. So, that has been important. And maybe, you know, there's good fruitful soil there for other things to grow.

This researcher had recently experienced a significant career setback for their menstrual research, which they acknowledged affected their responses in the interview. They expressed some concerns going forward:

It strikes me how dominated we are by early career and, you know, even PhD students. It worries me because almost all of us will have to go through job applications very, very, soon. And, you know, that could lead to good things, [but] it could also mean that we lose some of the momentum. But whatever happens, we've established a group of people we can talk to, send our articles to, in an honest way. And I think that's valuable, you know? And also, people we can disagree with, productively. It's just more exciting to have people who get it. So, that's my feeling. Personally, I've felt it has been really good. But I'm just concerned that we [might] create this illusion for the younger people, thinking this is what it's like, because it's not, this is the exception. Hopefully we can keep it going.

One of the experienced researchers was careful to position the project in a long-term growth context, and from a positive perspective: 'We are building a shared knowledge base and shared interests and I think people [inside and outside the group] are seeing that this topic has legs and that you can do something intelligent with it and that it's important.'

Conclusion

This paper has looked at the impact of menstrual stigma on the researcher. Despite significant social change in perspectives on menstruation over the past decade, academic progress continues to be limited. The menstrual researchers in my case study experienced challenges they considered to be stigma-related in publishing menstrual research, obtaining permanent positions centred on their specialisation, and attracting long-term and large-scale funding. Yet this stigma, this apparent barrier to funding, publishing and career progression, is a large part of what makes menstruation important and interesting as a topic for research. The researchers were united in finding menstruation to be a topic of particularly strong interest in which there was still much important work to be done. At the same time, they understood there was inevitable emotional labour involved in navigating such complex professional terrain, and seemed to accept, if not willingly, that they would face probable setbacks despite the quality of their work and the importance of the topic. There was particular angst in two strongly interlinked areas: the path to promotion, and success in getting grant funding. While participants had been successful in obtaining small grants (mostly for individuals), so far, despite much hard work on applications, no significant large and long-term grants had been awarded to teams of menstrual scholars to their knowledge.

This research shows the impact of multiple effects of stigma upon the careers of menstrual researchers and demonstrates the relationship between stigma and capitals. For academics, being able to publish research, obtain permanent positions and attract major funding are the main avenues through which they accumulate social, economic and cultural capitals, and in so doing protect themselves from the symbolic violence and literal poverty of precarity. My findings elucidate some of the mechanisms through which longstanding symbolic domination surrounding menstruation is 'everywhere and nowhere' and thus very hard to counteract (Bourdieu quoted in Bourdieu and Eagleton, 1992).

Indeed, this research on a small cohort of scholars shows how entrenched stigma can lead to a feedback loop from which it is difficult to escape, and suggests that academics working on stigmatised topics may need specific types of institutional support in order to progress, publish and flourish. Acknowledgement of stigma would be a first step in alerting committees to unconscious bias. Acknowledgement of the brick wall in jobs-which several participants noted has moved in recent years from pre-PhD to post-doc to post post-doc-and funding is important to highlight at the institutional level, as highly capable academics may be being side-lined as a result. There is still no Professor of Critical Menstrual Studies.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to my colleagues for their generous participation in this case study, and to the Royal Society of Edinburgh for funding support for our joint project.

Competing Interests

The author's role as a coordinator of the larger research project for this special collection has not led to a conflict of interests. Research interviews and interactions concerning the research in this article were boundaried from any administrative matters or collegial meetings.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Researching the Researchers: The Impact of Menstrual Stigma on the Study of Menstruation

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Menstruation has been stigmatised through a variety of strategies cross-culturally, including silencing and marginalisation. The purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of the perceived nature and impact of such stigmatisation on the professional experience of menstrual researchers.

# data[].attributes.body
This discusses the lasting effect of period poverty on the people attending college. It affects not only their bodies, but their ability to work and participate.

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You are requesting access to the SHSU computer network. This network is for authorized faculty, staff, and student users only. If you do not have an account on this system, do not try to access this system. Usage of this system may be subject to security testing and monitoring.

# data[].attributes.body
Discusses the importance of menstrual product funding in schools and how period poverty is just a long term effect of period stigma.

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This essay concludes how period poverty has worsened with the pandemic and why.

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# data[].attributes.body
This article explains what period poverty it, how to talk about it, and steps to take in order to eliminate it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
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# data[].attributes.headline
Period Poverty in Canada and Around the Globe

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Period Poverty in Canada and Around the Globe

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This article touches on the cost of periods as well as how the taboo around menstruation enables period poverty

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Should menstrual products be considered a necessity covered by health insurance or, at the very least, made readily available in public restrooms? There is a growing argument that supports such initiatives. After all, menstruation is a biological process experienced by most women, and is not a choice.

Every month, women all over the world menstruate. In Canada, menstruation typically begins between the ages of 11 and 14, and ends at menopause, around the age of 50 (Healthwise Staff, 2017). Estimates suggest that the average woman spends upwards of six years menstruating over the course of her lifetime (Kane, 2015). Studies have found that women feel that their period prevents them from fully participating in social activities and up to 70 percent say they have missed school or work because of their period (Dube, 2018).

Menstruation is considered a taboo in certain cultures, whereby some women in certain countries, such as Nepal, are banned from their home during their periods. Although this practice was outlawed by the Nepalese Supreme Court in 2005, banishment continues to occur in this country and results in some women going missing or dying during this time (Sharma & Shultz, 2019). Even in North America, periods are still overwhelmingly linked with shame and continue to be shrouded in secrecy. In Toronto and other major cities with a high proportion of immigrant and refugee populations, there are concerns that women's health may not be well understood or respected. These customs severely disrupt any education and employment commitments, thereby contributing to a cycle of gender-based poverty.

There can be detrimental health implications for unsanitary measures taken during menstruation. For example, women who use the same tampon for a prolonged duration of time can develop infections that lead to toxic shock syndrome, a potentially fatal condition. Furthermore, studies have found that unsanitary measures during menstruation can lead to an increase in lower reproductive tract infections (Das et al., 2015).

It is estimated that Canadian women spend up to $6,000 in their lifetime on menstrual hygiene products (Craggs, 2018). Women in rural communities can pay double the price for the same products found in larger cities, such as Toronto (Brown, 2017). Understandably, low-income women and women on social assistance find it difficult to allocate money towards this necessity. In 2015, Canada eliminated the tax on menstrual hygiene products (Watters, 2015); however, the high cost of menstrual products still causes these essential items to be out of reach for homeless, low-income, and marginalized women.

Non-profit Canadian organizations, such as FemCare, believe everyone deserves equal access to period products, regardless of their income (Craggs, 2018). When you enter a public washroom, you do not pay for toilet paper. Likewise, FemCare wants to see government subsidies for menstrual hygiene products not just because they are expensive, but because they are essential. FemCare has recently petitioned the Hamilton municipal government to fund free, universal access to menstrual products in schools and public facilities. In June 2019, the city of Hamilton approved a pilot project to study the effectiveness of the initiative. Additionally, all 60 public school districts in British Columbia will make free menstrual products available to high school students by the end of 2019 (Campbell, 2019). Should other provinces and public spaces follow this example?

Rather than viewing menstruation as unclean or embarrassing, there has been a recent movement to support and educate women and the general public about the topic. The 2019 Oscar-winning short film Period. End of Sentence tackles the taboo around menstruation. The movie revolves around a group of women in rural India who set up a cost-effective sanitary napkin making machine pioneered by Arunachalam Muruganantham (Stieg, 2019). Muruganantham created the machine after he realized the troubles his wife was facing due to the lack of affordable menstrual products in India. This initiative has led to safer sanitary measures and female empowerment in the form of financial independence for women living in rural India.

There are a myriad of social and cultural reasons why menstrual products might not be easily accessible, many of which are linked with the stifling stigma that persists around menstruation. Let's begin a broader discussion about women's health and menstruation. Together, we can end period poverty.

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Period Poverty in Canada and around the Globe

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Should menstrual products be considered a necessity covered by health insurance or, at the very least, made readily available in public restrooms? There is a growing argument that supports such initiatives. After all, menstruation is a biological process experienced by most women, and is not a choice.

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https://heinonline-org.ezproxy.shsu.edu/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/coljgl41&id=176&collection=journals&index=

This selection of essays covers all aspects of the prejudice when it comes to menstruation and the challenges women face in specific circumstances. For example, the gender inequality in prisons and the unconstitutional ban on tampons.

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https://youtu.be/1WRuKvLMkpA

This specific TED Talk has multiple episodes explaining all aspects of period poverty. I plan to use this often.

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Period Poverty : Breaking The Silence | Amika George | TEDxCoventGardenWomen

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1. How often does period poverty affect women?

2. Can period poverty affect women's health and hygiene?

3. How can we as a society demolish period poverty?

4. Is menstrual health considered a human right?

5. Why is period poverty not spoken about?

6. Does the stigma around menstrual health enable period poverty?

7. How can  period poverty and menstrual hygiene effect a person's education?

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Poverty
Luxury
Hygiene
Human Right
Menstrual Hygiene

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How can we educate men/boys about periods? Is it a problem with the education system or parents for not educating their children about periods? (Victoria Espinosa)

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What are some examples of programs or resources that could be provided by proper government funding? IS there more to do?

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If education is the solution what exactly are we teaching the opposite sex? Are we teaching them strictly about the human body and its menstrual cycle? Or are we teaching them about the materials we need and how not having them can lead to worse circumstances?