ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a brief history of menstrual activism alongside its more recent iterations in both policy and radical social activism. It explores the analysis of menstrual humor, menstrual art and menstrual activism today. The chapter also explores the hazards and possibilities of doing menstrual activist work, including politics of menstrual language and the trivializations and hostilities that can plague this work. Menstrual activists have also faced hostilities from right wing internet trolls, bloggers, and journalists for the work they do, resulting in painful clashes about the value of making menstruation more public. Menstruation is, at once, deeply gendered and coded as women’s experience and also expansive and transgressive in its gender politics. The chapter proposes that feminists must challenge generations of silence and shame that obstruct evidence-based, student-centered, body-positive quality menstrual health education. Policy efforts are sometimes engaged as well, such as persuading governments to provide menstrual care resources–including menstrual products and menstrual health education–in government schools.
