Breaking Period Stigma to End Period Poverty

Millions of people struggle to access the products they require for dignified periods. The World Bank Group estimates roughly 500 million menstruators cannot access or afford “menstrual health management” products.

Students and young people are particularly impacted by this public health crisis, as evidenced by dramatic increases in school absences among younger menstruators unable to afford period products. A survey conducted by Thinx and PERIOD reported that an alarming 84% of students missed class or knew a peer who was forced to resort to “skipping” due to their overwhelming shame and inability to access period products.

One factor contributing to this problem is the cultural stigma that deems menstruation “dirty” and which has precluded menstruators from breaking the silence surrounding menstrual shame.

“On my period, I feel like I’m shaming myself,” Cece, a high school student, told the FBomb. “Obviously, there’s social pressure as well, but I feel like I’ve been conditioned to suppress what I’m feeling — otherwise, I’m being ‘dramatic.’”

Often, people from marginalized communities feel particularly silenced. Their menstrual experiences are dismissed as “exaggerations,” and they feel unable to discuss them publicly.

“As a woman of color especially, I feel that there’s also this unspoken expectation that I just put up with it without complaining,” Cece confirmed.

The public acknowledgment of menstruators’ individual stories is essential to stop the cyclic patterns of oppression surrounding natural menstrual processes — as are open discussions about the facts of menstruation. Disseminating widely available, comprehensive menstrual education among schoolteachers and primary care physicians in underserved and/or marginalized communities is also imperative in alleviating the tension and false misinformation surrounding menstruation, particularly in underserved communities. For example, 73-year-old Ari recalls that in her community in her youth, “some families considered women impure when they had their periods.” Many families forced their daughters and wives to “sleep outside and limit contact with temples [and other places of religious worship] and other family members on their period cycles,” she added.

Based on false narratives of the impurity of menstrual blood, Ari’s community exacerbated feelings of shame and heightened anxiety and isolation among menstruators. In doing so, they placed significant burdens on their mental health and induced higher levels of school “drop-outs.” Research shows that these forms of misinformation and stigma also tangibly contribute to the prevalence of STIs, STDs, UTIs, and other infections resulting from restricted body hygiene, alongside compromised economic and employment opportunities due to educational absences. By eradicating these false period myths with accurate menstrual education, we can reverse such mental and physical health declines to ensure that communities are not adversely impacted.

So how do we do this? By sharing this article or others about period poverty, you can help raise awareness about it. Continuing “awkward” conversations with your family, friends, and social networks about menstruation and period poverty can help dismantle detrimental social stigmas that maintain women’s natural processes as “unnatural” and “weird.” Sharing your stories about menstruation during common conversations can also help encourage discussions among menstruators.

“You know, as soon as I started opening up to my mom and supportive women leaders in my community around me, I realized that [I had been] robbing [my]self of a support system,” Ari said. “Yeah, it might have taken me a little bit to get used to openly talking about it in front of male figures in my life, but I really felt heard and seen when I took the time to make jokes, statements, just anything, expressing how I felt,” she added.

Supporting organizations that champion solutions to this issue, like the Arkansas Period Poverty Project, through donations and volunteer work can greatly help. Creating coalitions in your community dedicated to eliminating the tampon tax and menstrual inequity could also significantly reduce period poverty. Work with your legislators, community, and neighbors to formally and informally enforce a safer environment for menstruators. Ensure that young girls feel welcomed and that menstruators are safe, not embarrassed.

Lastly, be creative! Creativity sparks innovative, effective methods for advocacy. Try your hand at bake sales, benefit concerts, and literature and arts showcase to help support women and menstruators in your community. Employing your passion to take action and get involved in mitigating a systematic public health crisis is an excellent way to help your community.