2 minute read

Changing the menstruation conversation

from The Ontarion - 190.2

by The Ontarion

from The Ontarion - 190.2, page 21

Valentine’s Day chocolates at ...

SPORTS & HEALTH

24 | SUPER BOWL LV

PHOTO CREDIT: PEXELS

There is a stigma around menstruation.

According to a 2019 Healthline article, menstrual blood is viewed as more dirty or aversive than other bodily fluids.

While there are many large organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), advocating for an end to period stigmas around the world, there are also many local organizations working towards changing the conversation around menstruation and reducing period poverty, which affects millions of people in developed and developing countries, according to a 2021 Global Citizen article.

Furthermore, the UN reports that across the globe, “12.8% of women and girls live in poverty and struggle to access the resources to manage their periods.”

In 2020, Queen’s University student Isabela Rittinger created Bleed the North, a non-profit that fights menstrual stigma and period poverty. Through donations, Bleed the North gives out free menstrual products to those that request them. Additionally, the organization aims to educate people about menstruation and plans to create a toolkit for teachers. On Nov. 7 of 2020, Bleed the North created events around National Period Day, the first in Canada.

Waterloo-based social enterprise Changing the Flow was founded in 2019. Through awareness and education, members hope to achieve menstrual equity. They offer consultation services for organizations wishing to achieve period equity, and accept monetary donations for “period packs” which they deliver to organizations in need. Changing the Flow has a period game available for purchase, which helps players learn more about the menstrual cycle. They also have an initiative called The Period Project which sells period shirts with period-related icons on them, including a tampon, pad, or menstrual cup. Profits are used to donate period products to organizations in the Waterloo region and Guelph community.

In Guelph, Holly Mastrogiacomo of Smitten Apparel has embraced Tampon Tuesday since 2016, and provides boxes of free menstrual hygiene products to community hubs across Guelph. In May 2019, Mastrogiacomo organized an event for Menstrual Hygiene Day which raised awareness to reduce stigma around menstruation.

Menstruation REDefined is an organization that brings awareness to menstrual inequity and accessibility. Larissa Maltese, a third-year arts and science major at the University of Guelph, is the president of the Guelph chapter. They held a holiday drive and raffle in December 2020 to support Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis. All of these great organizations are helping to decrease the stigma around menstruation and increase accessibility to menstrual products. What can you do to help?

Check out these organizations: follow them on social media, donate, or volunteer: • Sign Bleed the North’s petition that asks the federal government to subsidize menstrual products during the COVID-19 crisis. • Talk publicly about menstruation. • Teach children (of all genders) about menstruation. • Check out the documentary

Period. End of Sentence.