'Our Revolution Has Style': Menstrual Product Activists 'Doing Feminism' in the Third Wave Chris Bobel

Home , Alternative culture

University of Massachusetts Boston

From the SelectedWorks of Chris Bobel

2006

Available at: http://works.bepress.com/chris_bobel/6/ Sex Roles (2006) 54:331–345 DOI 10.1007/s11199-006-9001-7

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

“Our Revolution Has Style”: Contemporary Menstrual Product Activists “Doing Feminism” in the Third Wave

Chris Bobel

Published online: 3 October 2006 C Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2006

Abstract An in-depth content analysis of five web sites that gobbles and trashes and fucks us over ... and eight paper zines (self-produced and distributed maga- in response to the dirty business ... zines) was conducted to uncover the inspiration, content, and we have made this recipe book. unique strategies associated with text -based contemporary as an act of resistance to the system menstrual product activism. Menstrual product activism is that tramples over the homegrown d.i.y. style loosely defined as various attempts to expose the hazards we are sick of how they co-opt our life of commercial “feminine protection” to both women’s bod- to spit out into franchises ... ies and the environment and the promotion of healthier, less to over package our needs into taxed luxuries ... expensive, and less resource-intensive alternatives. This ac- we are sick of the garbarators tivism’s discourse draws on many traditions to produce its re- that insists to dismember ... sistance to mainstream menses management. The movement, we are sick of how it insists to hide first and foremost, is the legacy of several decades of related and disguise our experiences activism, dating to the mid1970s. Contemporary menstrual fuck the mark up they make on their lies ... product activism updates and modifies this tradition with the “do it yourself” ethic and anti-corporate philosophy of Punk DOWN WITH THE INVENTORS OF NECESSITIES! culture and Third Wave feminist ideals of anti-essentialism, to the uprise when we stop popping tampons inclusion, humor, irony, and reappropriation. To date, this and the popping big business medicines ... activist agenda has received little scholarly attention, yet it we fuck the poisons promises to yield meaningful insight into so called Third that kill our free remedies ... Wave feminist theory and practice and reveal the resilience when we fuck the complacency of a woman-centered modern history of resistance. to build the uprising ... to bleed and use weeds . . Keywords Menstruation Women’s health activism to stop feeding the corporate greed Third wave feminism when we ax tampax and what it embodies (The Bloodisters, Red Alert #3, circa late 1990s, p. 3). ax tampax. This piece–part poetry, part manifesto, and part statement in spirit of challenging and collapsing of conscience–shouts from a publication produced and the insidious nature of the corporate monster distributed by a Montreal-based activist group called “The Bloodsisters.” They are dedicated to exposing the risks as- C. Bobel () sociated with conventional so-called “feminine protection,” Department of Women’s Studies that is, menstrual products, and raising awareness about University of Massachusetts, Boston alternatives, such as reusable cloth pads, internal collection 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, USA e-mail: [email protected] devices, including sea sponges and various cups, such as the Keeper, and organic and/or natural commercial tampons and

Springer 332 Sex Roles (2006) 54:331–345 pads (For a more detailed description of menstrual care prod- precedented activism when they penned a brochure enti- ucts taken from the perspective of a menstrual product ac- tled “Menstruation,” which devoted a full page to menstrual tivist, see Appendix A). Their writing (never attributed to an product use including a discussion of the sponge and the individual but always to the group) is a poignant example of diaphragm as alternatives to conventional pads and tampons the kind of discourse typical of the contemporary “menstrual (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1977). At the product activism” practiced by a small but spirited number same time that BWHBC released this brochure, the Society of mostly young women in the US and Canada. Angry, for Menstrual Cycle Research was founded. These events inventive, tongue-in-cheek, anti-corporate, and evocative of marked the legitimization of the menstrual cycle as a worthy an earlier era, menstrual product activists are simultaneously subject of scholarly research and provided an active context the product of an earlier phase of this movement–inspired and network for members to promote menstrual health. In by the Second Wave feminist health movement—and the 1979, Jeanne Pavarti published her now classic Hygieia: A creators of a new style of activism infused with the energy Woman’s Herbal. In addition to promoting a positive view and attitude of contemporary young women. Before delving of menstruation as a source of women’s pride and power, deeply into contemporary menstrual product activism, I will the book included a pattern for homemade cloth menstrual offer a brief overview of the roots of this movement. pads. Still, at that time, only the fringe of the women’s health movement took notice of menstrual products and considered A Brief History of Menstrual Product Activism alternatives until a medical crisis hit and thrust tampon safety into the public consciousness. Menstrual health activism is rooted in the women’s health movement of the 1970s and 1980s, which challenged the The Toxic Shock Syndrome Crisis male-dominated medical establishment and empowered women to take control of their bodies and their health. Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is a rare but potentially fatal Through the development of various self-help methods, disease caused by a bacterial toxin, most commonly strep- feminist-run clinics, and a plethora of resources (such as the tococci and staphylococci. TSS struck very small numbers ubiquitous Our Bodies, Ourselves ﬁrst published as Women of people until Procter & Gamble, a newcomer to the san- & Their Bodies in 1970 by the Boston Women’s Health Book itary protection market, introduced a new super absorbent Collective), women learned to rely on themselves and each synthetic tampon called Relyr . The TSS epidemic reached other to meet their health care needs (Morgen, 2000; Ruzek, its peak in 1980 with a total of 813 cases of menstrual- 1979; Weisman, 1998; Zimmerman, 1987). This movement, related TSS, including 38 deaths (Food and Drug Adminis- which interrogated the status quo surrounding every aspect tration [FDA], 1999). By 1983, more than 2,200 cases had of a woman’s embodied experience, naturally led some been reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and activists to ask questions about how women managed their the majority of those cases involved menstruating women menstrual cycles. For example, early in the movement, (Tierno, 2001). Under extreme pressure from the FDA and Lorraine Rothman pioneered menstrual extraction, primarily to avoid the imminent threat of a damning product recall, as a self-help means of abortion, but some women used P&G “voluntarily” withdrew Relyr from the market and her patented “Del Em” apparatus to shorten their menstrual removed itself from the tampon production business until it period from a matter of days to a matter of hours (Copelton, bought Tambrands (makers of Tampaxr ) in 1997. 2004; Federation of Feminist Women’s Health Centers, The TSS crisis stimulated a wave of activity aimed at 1991, 1995; Ruzek, 1979). Menstrual extraction involves tampon safety. Tampon manufacturers themselves, engaged manually extracting the contents of the uterus around the in a bit of damage control, ceased using polyester foam— time of the month when a woman anticipates her menses implicated in toxin production—in their products. In 1981, or up until approximately 8 weeks from the ﬁrst day of journalist Nancy Friedman (1981) published Everything You the last menstrual period (Federation of Feminist Women’s Must Know About Tampons. The book with the arresting ti- Health Centers, 1991, 1995). But the dawning of a critical tle discusses the tampon-TSS link and alternative products. menstrual product consciousness did not occur until the mid Also in 1981, Rome and Culpepper updated their brochure 1970s. In Delaney, Lupton, and Toth (1977) published The “Menstruation” with an addendum titled “Toxic Shock Syn- Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation, which devoted a drome: A 1981 Update,” a very clear message of extreme full chapter to the “sanitary protection” industry, questioning caution for consumers. Around the same time, ostensibly in the biodegradability of disposable products and challenging response to activist demands in the wake of the TSS crisis the industry’s use of “gimmickry to liven up sales” (p. 110). but unwilling to issue a mandate, the FDA requested the A year later, Boston Women’s Health Book Collective Association of Testing & Materials (ATSM) to convene a (BWHBC) members Esther Rome and Emily Culpepper group that consisted of tampon manufacturers, consumers, launched what would become more than a decade of un- the FDA, and other interested parties to write a private,

Springer Sex Roles (2006) 54:331–345 333 voluntary, tampon standard. Three members of the BWHBC, During the next several years, a vigorous wave of activity Judy Norsigian, Esther Rome, and Jill Wolhandler attended took place. Several alternative menstrual product companies on behalf of consumers. Sadly, the ATSM group disbanded were founded: Lunapads (1993), Ecologique (1994), after 3 years of virtual intransigence (Rome & Wolhandler, Organic Essentials (1996), Instead (a disposable menstrual 1992). cup) (1996), and Goddess Moons (1997). Harry Finley Although the FDA was unwilling to mandate safety and opened his “Museum of Menstruation” in the basement of his performance standards, it did issue a regulation that requires Maryland home in 1994; the museum tells the history of the tampon package labels to advise women to use the lowest industry and raises questions about product safety. In 1995, absorbency tampon to meet their needs. This regulation, en- Penny Wheelwright and Theresa MacInnes (1997) released acted in 1982, encouraged companies who had voluntarily their independent documentary film Underwraps: A Film printed such information on the exterior of boxes to move About Going with the Flow (it has since been renamed Men- the statement to box interiors. Around the same time, Nancy struation: Breaking the Silence). Their film featured a num- Reame, nursing professor and reproductive science research ber of members of what they called “the menstrual under- scientist at the University of Michigan and SMCR mem- ground,” and brought visibility to an otherwise little-known ber, appeared on The Today Show with Jane Pauley to dis- movement. cuss tampon safety (Reame, personal communication, June In the next several years, several key texts appeared and 9, 2004). In the fall of 1983, the FDA, independent of ATSM, stimulated young women to pick up and continue the work extracted an agreement from tampon manufacturers to put that Rome and others began in the mid 1970s. In 1995, writer lowest-absorbency-needed advice on the outside of pack- Karen Houppert, angered by the rising cost of tampons while ages. This advice, however, was practically meaningless, the number of tampons per box decreased, wrote an inves- because there was no uniform product labeling across the tigative expose for the Village Voice titled “Pulling the Plug industry. In response, activists Rome, Wolhandler, Reame, on the Sanitary Protection Industry.” This widely read and and the not-for-profit public advocacy group Public Citizen very controversial feature later grew into her 1999 book The initiated a campaign to standardize absorbency ratings. This Curse—Menstruation: The Last Unmentionable Taboo.In battle was won in 1990. 1998, Third Wave feminist Inga Muscio published Cunt: In 1989, microbiologists Philip Tierno and Bruce Hanna A Declaration of Independence, which challenged (mostly (1989) published the results of their research on tampon young radical feminist) readers to rethink the ways they man- ingredients and the link to Toxic Shock Syndrome in the age their bleeding. Soon thereafter, the Student Environmen- Review of Infectious Diseases. Their research established tal Action Coalition, a national, grassroots, student, environ- a link between super absorbent synthetic materials and the mental organization, founded its “Dioxin Out of Tampons” production of the bacteria-causing TSS, legitimized fear of campaign in 1999, and the first ever Anti -Tampon confer- tampons, and helped to create and maintain a market for ence was held in 2000 at James Madison University. Also in alternative products in the US. 2000 the poet/writer Geneva Kachman and filmmaker Molly In Britain, 1989 was a watershed year. A small group Strange established “Menstrual Monday,” a “holiday” de- of feminist environmental activists led by Bernadette signed to challenge menstrual taboos, secrecy, and negativity Vallely organized a national media blitz designed to enrage (see www.moltx.org). It is in this context that contemporary consumers and motivate them to take action. Vallely and menstrual product activists articulated their call to arms to fellow activists Josa Young and Allison Costello published “Ax Tampax!” the Sanitary Protection Scandal, which inspired the national network television program World in Action to air a program on the hazards of chlorine gas bleached paper products. In a Contemporary Menstrual Product Activism mere 6 weeks, all of the major British sanitary protection producers, except tampon manufacturers, pledged to eliminate Concerns the use of the chlorine gas bleaching process (Armstrong & Scott, 1992; Vallely, personal communication, September 5, Today’s menstrual product activism, sometimes called “rad- 2003). In 1990, while listening to a keynote address deliv- ical menstruation,” “menstrual anarchy,” “anti-tampon ac- ered by Vallely, nature photographer Liz Scott was inspired tivism,” “alternative menstruation” and my favorite (the to export the British success to North America (Armstrong, name of an e-zine) “menarchy,” is loosely defined here as personal communication, November 5, 2003). Two years various strategic attempts to expose the hazards of commer- later, Armstrong, together with environmental lawyer cial “feminine protection” to both women’s bodies and the Adrienne Scott, published Whitewash: Exposing the Health environment and the promotion of healthier, less expensive, and Environmental Dangers of Women’s Sanitary Products and less resource-intensive alternatives. But why? What’s an Disposable Diapers—What You Can Do about It. wrong with “feminine protection” in its current form? Why

Springer 334 Sex Roles (2006) 54:331–345 aren’t some consumers satisfied with the gains already made Not only does the production process generate contaminated in the area of tampon safety? In short, menstrual product wastewater, but also tampon applicators wash up on beaches activists advance five main concerns and focus their dis- and pads and tampons and their packaging clog landfills, approval primarily with what’s now called the “femcare” sewers, and water treatment plants. Estimates vary, but if industry. a woman uses five tampons a day for 5 days per month First, the activists are troubled by the environmental and for 38 total menstruating years, she consumes and disposes personal health impacts associated with the bleaching pro- of 11,400 items (see Fawn, 2001; Houppert, 1999;SEAC cess used to make products “whiter than white.” Tampons 2004) Activists regard this amount of waste as irresponsible sold in the US are made of cotton, rayon (made from cel- and unnecessary. lulose fibers derived from wood pulp), or blends of rayon A fourth concern is cost. Activist Fawn P., as cited in and cotton. A bleaching process is employed to transform Wilkins (2000, p. 17) stated “the average menstruating con- the wood pulp into rayon. Until the late 1990s, chlorine gas sumer will spend at least $2,137.00 on feminine products was used to bleach the wood pulp, and this process produced during her lifetime” (though this appears a low estimate trace levels of dioxin in tampons. Dioxin is a part of a large given rising costs). Activists encourage women to avoid sup- class of chemicals called organochlorines, which have been porting an industry they regard as potentially hazardous to linked to cancer, toxic shock syndrome, endometriosis, and both menstruators’ bodies and the environment and to chan- birth defects among other health problems (see Armstrong nel their resources elsewhere. & Scott, 1992; Costello, Vallely, & Young, 1989; Houppert, The fifth and final activist concern is more abstract but 1999). These very toxic compounds are the source of much nonetheless potent. Activists resist the use of commercially controversy. In the late 1990s, the major commercial tam- produced disposables because, in their view, they are de- pon brands began switching from dioxin-producing chlorine signed to obscure the reality of menstruation. Products are gas bleaching methods to either elemental “chlorine-free” marketed to women to hide the fact of their bleeding by or “totally chlorine free” bleaching processes (FDA, 1999). using materials that can be wrapped up and tidied away. But whereas the industry maintains that the dioxin risk is Menstruation is constructed as a “problem” that needs to non-existent, even the FDA admits that the first method, be “solved.” Premiums on discretion, convenience, modesty, “elemental chorine-free,” “can theoretically generate diox- and cleanliness, activists say, are industry-promoted (if not ins at extremely low levels, and dioxins are occasionally created) and cost women their self esteem and a positive, detected in trace amounts in mill effluents and pulp. In prac- affirming, menstrual experience (Houppert, 1999;SEAC tice, however, this method is considered to be “dioxin free” 2004). (FDA, 1999). Activists, such as the organizers of the national “Tampaction” campaign (formerly known as the Dioxin Out Influences of Tampons campaign mentioned earlier), a campaign of the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), question As shown, contemporary menstrual product activism springs industry claims of total safety because: from a tradition of agitation and progress of nearly 30 years. the tests that have been done were provided by the tam- Yet, although it is inspired by this history, it is also a move- pon manufacturers, and no tests that have been done can ment shaped by other recent cultural and ideological de- prove that any tampons are completely dioxin free. When velopments. In particular, contemporary menstrual product dealing with the most absorbent part of your body, why activism is influenced by the Punk movement and emerging take the risk? (SEAC, 2004, n.p.) Third Wave feminism. Second, contemporary menstrual product activists question the safety of the common tampon material, rayon, inde- Punk pendent of the bleaching process used. Miniscule amounts of rayon can be left behind in a menstruator’s vagina when she The Punk movement dates back to the late 1960s in North wears a tampon (especially after prolonged use), activists America and the 1970s in the United Kingdom (see Leblanc, allege, and fiber loss has been implicated as a health risk. 2001). It is difficult to provide a coherent history of Punk In addition, rayon has been linked to vaginal ulceration and because, as ethnographer of girls’ Punk subculture Lauraine peeling of the mucous membrane, thus producing a breed- Leblanc (2001, p. 33) stated, “there is little agreement about ing ground for infection (Bloodsisters, n.d.; SEAC, 2004, its geographic origins, its ideologies, its membership, and Wilkins, 2000). even ...its continued existence.” There is agreement, how- A third activist concern regarding conventional menstrual ever, that Punk began as a subculture based on music that products is the environmental devastation brought on by the more generally enacted a disgruntled and direct opposition use of commercial, non-biodegradable, disposable products. to authority and mainstream culture. Further, it is agreed that

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Punk has historically existed as an overwhelmingly white and eight zines produced by various menstrual product ac- subculture. tivists. Most of the paper zines are still available through Rather than subscribing to norms of compliance and various zine distribution services, called “distros” in the obedience expected of youth, Punks, including “hardcore,” DIY/Punk community. For a complete listing of the materials “Spirit of ’77,” “gutter,” “crusty,” “postcard,” “new school,” included in this analysis, see Appendix B. and “old school” (see Leblanc, 2001, for in depth descrip- Zines are defined as “noncommercial, nonprofessional, tions of each Punk type) embrace their own stylized norms of small-circulation magazines, which their creators produce, opposition “as members of a “reflexive” subculture. Punks publish, and distribute by themselves” (Duncombe, 1997, seek “to remain outside the dominant culture, while illumi- p. 6). According to Duncombe (1997), zines in their distinct nating central features of it” (Levine & Stumpf, 1983, as form were born in the 1930s when fans of science fiction be- quoted in Leblanc, 2001, pp. 63–64). gan producing what were then called “fanzines” as a means A key feature of Punk, called DIY: Do It Yourself, first of communicating with each other as consumers, critics and materialized as a form of self-reliance when Punks picked producers of science fiction. In the 1970s, fans of Punk rock up guitars and taught themselves and each other how to music started producing their own zines in which they dis- play. This enabled them to found their own self-styled cussed the genre and culture unique to Punk. In the 1980s, the garage bands. DIY is also the means used to produce home- Sci Fi and Punk tradition of zine making was joined by fans made, handmade, photocopied, and self-distributed maga- of myriad other cultural genres, alienated self-publishers ig- zines, called zines (more information on zines will follow). nored by the mainstream, and political dissenters from the Self-help or DIY is the bridge that links the women’s health 1960s and 1970s, and thus, the current generation of zines movement’s focus on self-help with Punk. were born. The “fan” has been dropped, and, according to Duncombe and others (see Vale, 1996, for example) the culture of zines has grown dramatically. Due to the ephemeral Third Wave Feminism nature of any self-published and distributed product, however, it is difficult to find an accurate number of zines in cir- Existing alongside and often intersecting with Punk is an- culation, let alone track a growth curve from past to present. other movement mostly associated with youth, though re- One zine researcher cited between 10,000 and 50,000 zines cent scholarship has disputed a generational specificity traded or sold to an estimated readership of 1–3 million (Chu, (Henry, 2004). Third Wave feminism, the newest wave of the 1997). Regarding e-zines specifically, the Directory of Elec- women’s movement, is gaining increasing attention as a force tronic Journals, Newsletters, and Academic Discussion Lists to be reckoned with among activists, academics, and anyone includes over 3,400 titles, a 100% increase over the previous who takes seriously the theory and practice of contempo- year’s count of 1,689. The number of e-journals (which in- rary feminism (Bail, 1996; Baumgardner & Richards, 2000; cludes titles classified as “e-zines,” or magazines) makes up Garrison, 2000; Henry, 2004; Heywood & Drake, 1997;Orr, 72% of the total, with 2,459 listings, whereas e-newsletters 1997). Scholars and activists struggle with the notion of the account for 955 entries (Mogge, 1998). Why study zines to Third Wave. Is it a movement? Is it a generational variant better understand contemporary menstrual product activism? of the Second Wave? Because Third Wave is very much in According to Chrisler and Kaufman (1988) magazines are development, a consensus has not yet been established, but a popular source of health information for women. In fact, certain themes have emerged that seem to characterize Third they found that young women prefer magazines as a source Wave and set it apart from its First and Second Wave femi- of their information about health. It may follow, then, that nist predecessors. Most significantly, Third Wavers are noted zines, the magazines of many contemporary youth, serve a for their attempt to break with the past of the Second Wave, similar function. especially the racism, heterosexism and classism of much In order to locate the materials appropriate for this study, of that era’s theory and practice and to reckon openly with I engaged in a thorough search between September 2001 contradictions such as critiquing consumerism while partic- and January 2003. During that time, I searched various ipating in it, or, as Rebecca Walker (1995) wrote, “using and on line “distros,” using the key words “menstruation” and much more than we use either/or” (p. xxxv). “tampons.” I also searched using the engines google.com and yahoo.com for appropriate web-based or e-zines. I Method quickly discovered the self-reflexive community doing the work of menstrual product activism. The websites linked to In order to better understand contemporary menstrual prod- one another and often referenced the paper zines I then set uct activism, I conducted an in-depth content analysis of five out to acquire. In some cases, a website also has a paper web sites or e-zines (I will use these terms interchangeably) zine version. Most of the materials I located were produced accessed during the period September 2001–January 2003 from the late 1990s through 2002.

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In general, the websites and zines utilized a similar for- of resistance update menstrual product activism. These in- mat. In most cases, the zines and websites begin with an fluences, I show, produce a unique form of activism that is explanation of what’s wrong with the conventional or main- contemporary and innovative. stream “feminine protection industry” in terms of hazards to women’s health and devastation to the environment. Typi- Part One: Legacies of the Past in Contemporary cally, this expose´ is followed by a detailed discussion of al- Menstrual Product Activism ternatives to mainstream, commercial, sanitary napkins and tampons. Usually, this in-depth description is written as a Theme 1: “I’mworking at familiarization”: Promoting down personal narrative in which the writer shares her experiences and dirty self-awareness. A key theme that recurs in the with each of the alternatives. Finally, the zines and websites menstrual product activist discourse is self-awareness, or as typically provide a list of resources for further information— one zinester put it, “familiarization.” The narrative unfolds other zines, websites, and sources for purchasing alternative similarly: social stigma and an exploitative industry have products. Sometimes, the zine or website includes a pattern discouraged women from knowing their bodies. A neces- for making one’s own homemade, reusable, cloth, menstrual sary step in liberating women from this dual oppression is pads. It is important to note that the zines, as self-published, to unlearn the shame, resist the corporate brainwashing, and, independent publications, typically lack dates of publication literally, get our hands dirty learning how our bodies work. and page numbers, which is often frustrating for researchers This newfound awareness will lead us to care better for our studying the materials. menstruating (and non- menstruating) bodies. The excerpt Once I collected all available zines and identified all cur- below exemplifies this approach to developing a new men- rently active web sites/e-zines,1 I employed the axial coding strual consciousness. The author of the zine It’s Your Fucking method of thematic analysis (Lofland & Lofland, 1995)to Body #2: Reclaim Your Cunt (n.d.)wrote: reveal how the selected texts aimed to expose “the indus- I think it has definitely been ingrained in all of us to not try” and promote the use of alternatives. In particular the want to touch ourselves when we’re menstruating. There key themes, tensions, and strategies employed to meet the is an intrinsic fear of that blood. And that just seems really activists’ goals were interrogated. fucking unnatural. Its just blood (sic). I don’t have nearly as many weird mental ties with the blood that comes out of my knee when I scrape it as I do with the blood that Results comes out of my cunt. And I mean, the blood coming out of my cunt on this somewhat regular cycle SHOULD be The present analysis is divided in two parts. Part One demon- comforting and normal to me. I’ve come a really long way strates how contemporary menstrual product activism is re- I think as far as familiarizing myself with my vagina goes, flective of the philosophy and strategies associated with the but I STILL have this innate fear of getting blood on my earlier phase of this movement, positioned as a direct descen- hands and on my sheets. I’m working at it, though. I’m dant of the Women’s Health Movement. Through the discus- working at familiarization. (p. 3) sion of three interrelated themes, I attempt to show specifically the legacy of previous activists in the work of today’s The commitment to self and body awareness is clearly a menstrual product activist zine producers. In brief, earlier legacy of the feminist health movement when women gath- efforts–inspired by the feminist health movement—are evi- ered in their living rooms armed with hand held mirrors, dent in contemporary menstrual product activist’s attempts flashlights, and plastic specula and began to examine their to displace authority and challenge the secrecy and misin- own cervices (Federation of Feminist Health Centers, 1991, formation about women’s bodies. The activists perceive cor- 1995) Usually, however, cervical self-exam was conducted porations as nefarious institutions that engineer campaigns in a group setting. I am not aware of a similar group dynamic to keep women ignorant and therefore dependent on unsafe at work among the menstrual product activists. Bleeding is and expensive commercial products when in reality, they still a private matter, even if less stigmatized and shamed. claim, the products are hardly problem-free, and alternatives It would be a bit more logistically challenging to gather a do indeed exist. group of menstruating women to examine their blood or ex- Part Two reveals legacies as well, but of different sources. I periment with their new Keepers, for instance, but it would aim to show how a Third Wave feminist sensibility combined not be impossible. Why, then, are women not “working at fa- with a Punk critique of consumer culture and various tactics miliarization” together? Women do, however, gather for “pad making workshops,” sometimes called “Stitch n’ Bitch,”2 in

1 Since conducting this analysis, I have identiﬁed several more menstrual activist zines in circulation; thus, this analysis should not be 2 Feminist legend has it that “sewing societies” of the 19th century construed as exhaustive but, more accurately, representative. operated as places where women surreptitiously hatched strategies for

Springer Sex Roles (2006) 54:331–345 337 which they teach one another how to make their own cloth, presenting a picture void of negativity. Personal experiences reusable, menstrual pads. are not sanitized here. They are real and messy and some- Theme 2: “Profit(ing) from my misadventures”: Using times contradictory. You, the reader, are smart enough to personal narratives to educate and inform. A related theme make your choices—so goes the discourse—and we refuse involves using the self as “guinea pig” and sharing the re- to insult your intelligence (and buy into the corporate model) sults of a self-study, as done in the e-zine S.P.O.T. On her by leading you to purchase a product that may not be right web page, creator Tracy Bennett provided a detailed per- for you. Or as S.P.O.T. stated on page 1, “Explore the site, sonal account (written by journalist Karen Houppert, 1995) read articles written by others, look at alternatives, and then of trying each of several alternative products, including cloth make up your own mind.” pads, the Keeper, the Diva Cup, the Moon Cup, the Sea Theme 3: “Just a little Random Girl:” Self -effacement as Sponge, Chlorine-free Disposable Pads, and Non-chlorine strategy. At times, the approach of foregrounding personal Bleached 100% Cotton Tampons. Her strategy is widely experiences as a tool of decision-making crosses the bound- used in the zines and websites of menstrual product activists. ary to self-effacement. Take for instance, e-zinester’s pen (Whirling Cervix, an e-zine, does the same, for example). name: RandomGirl which seems to imply that she is neither The narrative reads nothing like a series of commercials, an expert nor attached to an institution, but simply just one but rather, like personal testimonies that expose the pros and girl with something to say. At one point in her website (when cons of using each product from one woman’s perspective. she is marketing herself as a distributor of the Keeper), she No general claims or promises are made, but rather an of- undermines herself as the best source for this product, per- fer of experiences readers might consider as they embark haps communicating her ambivalence about participating in on their own “misadventures.” This self-as-example/self- the world of commerce, as she stated (RandomGirl, n.d.): as-study approach enjoys a rich tradition in the history of And if you don’t feel comfortable getting a Keeper from feminist self-help. For instance, when self-helper Lorraine me, but you still want one, PLEASE check out Eco Rothman first developed and practiced menstrual extraction Logique, Inc, which is the major distributor of The Keeper. in 1971, she insisted on trying the controversial procedure You should definitely go and buy from them, if you feel on herself before offering it to others; she provided an ‘if its funny mailing your payment to a little RandomGirl ...or good enough for me, its good enough for you’ form of reas- if you want to use a credit card ...then again, they proba- surance (Copelton, 2004). For instance, read the following bly deserve your business more than I do regardless, ‘cuz less than rousing description of using cloth pads mounted on ∗they∗ were doing this when I was still running around S.P.O.T.’s page and attributed to Karen Houppert (1995): wearing o.b. (p. 3) Major bummer for the city dweller who hasn’t got her Another convention of de-centering the self as omniscient own washer and dryer and sometimes doesn’t do laundry is the use of ramble. Random Girl titled her 1997 webpage, for weeks at a time. Plus, it’s very much a drag when “Random Girl Rambles About the Keeper,” in which she did you discover, a week or two after the fact, that you’ve little actual rambling and much dispensing of detailed clearly forgotten a used pad, now buried and fermenting at the organized information. Similarly, the e-zine Whirling Cervix bottom of your gym bag. True, cloth pads are comfier and heads the first of 11 well-organized and comprehensive pages less bulky than commercially sold paper ones, but it’s a of information with the title “I babble about menstruation,” little like comparing a corset with a girdle. (n.p.) again suggesting that the information the reader encounters This strategy of sharing personal experience—the good, is to be taken as nothing more than one individual’s “take” the bad, and the ugly—serves to reassure the reader that she on one “topic.” is getting a (at least one woman’s) true account, one she can I do not wish to overstate the self-effacing tone because trust to be reliable. These raw stories contrast sharply with it must necessarily be seen in context. The purpose of di- the slick advertising campaigns most of us are left to decode minishing the self as authority has two functions. First, by and decipher when faced with making a product choice. The making very clear that the writer is just one “RandomGirl” activists, it seems, work very hard at speaking woman-to- for instance, the reader is empowered to value her own expe- woman, consumer-to-consumer, and steer painfully clear of riences and opinions. Critical thinking and personal exploration is modeled and championed. ‘If I did this (resisted, experimented and even wrote a zine or website about it) so gaining suffrage and staged other gender-based social change actions. For example, a popular contemporary T-shirt worn by young feminists can you,’ goes the narrative. The point is not to suppress reads “Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society.” It also appears on free expression but stimulate more of it. The second related the back cover of one of the Bloodsisters’ zines. Whether the women de- purpose of the tone of ‘little ole me’ is to place noticeable dis- signing and naming these events are conscious of this historical (though tance between so-called, often self-described, “experts” who undocumented) historical reference is a matter for further inquiry. disempower women by dictating what is right and wrong

Springer 338 Sex Roles (2006) 54:331–345 and invite no dialogue (often purveyed as paternal reassur- menstrual politics manifested outright hostility. For instance, ance). In the context of menstrual product activism, public the S.P.O.T. included the following superhero-inspired tale enemy number 1 is, of course, the “feminine protection in- written by journalist Karen Houppert (1995): dustry” (a.k.a, “the corporate creeps” as one zinester put My foray into the world of alternative menstrual products it). According to the activists, the obvious agenda of the takes the shape of a super hero’s quest. Special powers: marketers of the feminine protection industry is to position a death-defying ability to contort my vagina around re- themselves as knowing best what women need and want calcitrant products. Shazam! An unruly sponge is tamed. when it comes to managing menstruation. Arguably, think- Holy nappies! One more double-thick pad is wrestled into ing for one’s self and making informed choices that take submission beneath jeans. My mission: to make the world into consideration both personal and environmental health safe for femi-nazis. My motto: no super plus is too great, are not the concern of the industry. The activists vehemently no junior/lite too insignificant. Only one thing can bring resist this message and, thus, perhaps overcompensate by me to my knees. The Kryponite of the body-and-blood packaging their own message as individualized and part of set: celebrate-our-cycles liturgy. Sadly, New Ageans dom- a plurality of voices unafraid, even encouraging, to be chal- inates this market. Take New Cycle Products for exam- lenged. The activists, then, seem very aware of the threat ple. The catalogue cover looks innocuous enough. Just of cooptation and work hard to keep their distance from the another sea nymph dangling from a slivered moon. But tactics of the offenders. Keeping in mind the ways that men- inside affirmations—“May our sunlight-consciousness il- strual product activism echoes earlier women’s health ac- luminate the vessel of our moon-womb-chalice”—attack tivism, I turn now to the ways the movement departs from this me from all directions. Moon Bowls, pots to soak used tradition. pads in before washing them and returning this “rich soak- ing water” to plants and gardens for “amazing results,” Part Two: Reflections of Punk and Third Wave in reinforce the over-riding theme: “Women have an innate Contemporary Menstrual Product Activism understanding of the Universe that is directly linked to their ability to cycle.” And catalogue copy is not con- Theme 1: “I’m desperately attempting to not sound really tent with your cycles. It wants your firstborn as well. First cheesy and wombmoon-ly: Menstrual product activist’s dis- timers are sucked into celebrating menarche with the “Cy- comfort with Cultural Feminism. A recurrent theme in the cle Celebration Crown Kits.” (n.p.) discourse of menstrual product activists centers, not surpris- What is being resisted here, exactly? Mama Sutra’s Men- ingly, on identity. In particular, many activists seem com- strual Moon Magick, a now-defunct e-zine originated in pelled to enunciate very clearly who they are not. They are 1998 by Kirsten Anderberg,4 is an example of the approach not, as the writer of e-zine Whirling Cervix (n.d.) stated, some zinesters oppose. It focuses more on cultivating “men- “the type to enthuse about becoming one with the chalice strual pride” and less on exposing hazards of conventional and the Goddess ...” but, she continued, “cramps still suck, products. Anderberg invoked goddess imagery, especially of but it’s nice to be a little more in touch with ‘that time of lesser-known goddesses Baubo and Sheela-na-gig and pro- the month’ (p. 7). Her words suggest that although she in- claimed, “By exalting our menstrual cycles in art and myth, tentionally dissociates from a particular tradition of body we honor the womb of all things” (p. 1). For Anderberg, a awareness-the cultural feminist celebration of the body, the self-identified anarchist, Punk, and DIY zinester, reclaiming goddess, and all things natural and earthy–she connects with the Goddess is a political act, one that challenges patriarchal the tradition inasmuch as she finds value in getting a lit- control of women’s bodies by referencing powerful images tle more in touch with her body’s cycle.3 Repeatedly, in of women throughout history, an alternative to the shame, many of the various texts I studied, this theme of distancing secrecy, and misinformation that surround women’s expe- from the goddess strain of feminist discourse was present. riences of menstruation. On the opening page just below In some cases, this disenchantment with a goddess-inspired an illustration of a naked, bejeweled woman squatting and menstruating, the site stated: 3 Simply, cultural feminism, a branch of radical feminist theory, refers to the body of feminist theory and political action that celebrates the Women give blood without hurting ourselves. Our blood is differences between women and men and invests energy into the recla- the womb for life to grow if that is to be. It is a powerful, mation, creation and nurturance of women’s culture (see Gilligan, 1982; Rich, 1977; Ruddick, 1983) for poignant examples. One product of this orientation is the study and practice of goddess-centered spiritual tra- 4 While Mama Sutra’s Menstrual Moon Magick is no longer online, ditions (see Christ, 1997; Christ & Plaskow, 1979; Gimbutas, 1989; Anderberg’s “vulva museum” expresses a celebration of the histori- Starhawk, 1982, Stone, 1976, for just a sampling of this vast literature cal Goddess tradition and its potential for reclaiming women’s power that exploded primarily in the 1980s). as embodied agents. See http://resist.ca/1kirstena/pagevulvamuseum1. html.

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heavy, magic, life-giving force. It comes as no surprise We are terrible singers that in a Patriarchy, menstruation is shrouded in shame We are dirty girl power and feelings of dirtiness. Women are something to be (Attributed to the Blood Sisters in Femmenstruation Rites “sanitized,” we need “protection” from our life-giving Rag, n.d., p. 38.)5 forces! The medical profession has treated menstruation Still, a rift does exist. And why? Why are menstrual as a female “problem” for a long time. This mentality product activists who emerged from the ground of Third regarding women’s monthly flow has raised generations Wave feminism and Punk culture uncomfortable, even hos- of women who are embarrassed, rather than empowered tile, to one particular expression of Second Wave feminist by their natural state. (p.1) thought and practice? The answer may well lie in one of the However, most activists spent less time and energy cre- main three constitutive elements of menstrual product ac- ating marked distance between themselves and the goddess tivism: Third Wave feminism. As mentioned above, goddess- feminists. In the bulk of instances, a more mild form of centered thought and practice is an aspect of Second Wave detachment, still often expressed with the humor and irony cultural feminism, features of which are the celebration of of the S.P.O.T.’s approach, sufficed to make readers aware certain so-called womanly qualities of nurturance, care, em- that this kind of menstrual product activism isn’t soft or pathy, and compassion, and, in some cases, advocacy for sappy or at risk of breaking into a round of chants, how- women-only spaces in which to cultivate and strengthen such ever inaccurate or unfair this characterization. For example, qualities. Women, say cultural feminists, are oppressed be- the author of It’s Your Fucking Body #2: Reclaim Your Cunt cause the qualities of womanhood are denigrated. To erad- confessed: “for me, personally, making my own pads and us- icate sexism, we must challenge this process of demeaning ing the Keeper has created so much more intimacy between such gendered attributes. The oppression is not in the gender, me and my menstruating cunt. That sounds really granola- per se, but in perception of the gender (Dinnerstein, 1976; womyn-dykey but its true for me at least” (p. 4). Later, re- Gilligan, 1982). Of course, among feminist theorists, this garding the making and washing of reusable cloth pads, she particular strain of feminist theory’s promise for effecting wrote: social change has been questioned (see, for instance, Grant, 1993). I don’t really know what I’m trying to say here and I’m Third Wave feminists who do not necessarily identify with desperately attempting to not sound really cheesy and the woman-as-nurturer representation have soundly chal- wombmoon-ly, but it think there is a definite value to lenged that kind of thinking. Embedded in a historical post radical menstruation because it breaks down those sterile modern moment of cultural relativism, categorizations of any walls of individually wrapped plastic devices that keep sort are suspect, especially given how race, class, sexuality, us from becoming friends with our vaginas. (It’s Your and other layers of identity make any monolithic conception Fucking Body #2: Reclaim your Cunt, n.d., pp. 6–7). of woman impossible. Rather, Third Wave feminists argue, One piece of evidence that a real rift exists between contradiction is the stuff of women’s experience, and it must the pragmatic menstrual product activists and the goddess- necessarily be incorporated into any feminist politic. In her inspired activists is a brief bit of prose attributed to the Blood- introduction to her edited anthology To Be Real: Telling the sisters and published in Femmenstruation Rites Rag. Might Truth and Changing the Face of Feminism,Walker(1995) the Bloodsisters, clearly seen by activists as the most ac- wrote: complished and most well known group of menstrual prod- Constantly measuring up to some cohesive fully down- uct activists (nearly every zine mentions them; nearly every for-the-feminist-cause identity without contradictions and website and e-zine links to them), be attempting unification messiness and lusts for power and luxury items is not a of the two “camps? The following passage suggests that they fun or easy task ... For many of us it seems that to be regard the schism as unproductive and a product of patriar- a feminist in the way that we have seen or understood chal patterns of infighting that distracts from issue-oriented feminism is to conform to an identity and way of living solidarity. With these words, they imply that the movement must make room for a diverse range of perspectives and expressions. 5 Further evidence of repair to this rift is represented in the evolution of Kirsten Anderberg herself. She reports a dramatic transformation We are feminist terrorists since the mounting of her e-zine. Forged in the fire of street activism We are quiet moss bleeders and the experience of police brutality, she grew increasingly frustrated We are riot grrrl boy catchers with the status quo and grew more militant in her efforts to effect social change. She now identifies more with third wave feminists, though We are goddess thumpers she subscribes to neither the separation between the waves nor the dif- We are bloody Punk rockers ferentiation between feminists (Anderberg, personal communication, We are moon worshippers August 30, 2005).

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that doesn’t allow for individuality or complexity or less the cheer at a Halloween party while dressed as a bloody than perfect personal histories. (p. xxxi) tampon. This type of “in your face” humor, with a clear element of shock to awaken consciousness, is very common Womb imagery, for instance, rings hollow for women who in menstrual product activist discourse. Clearly, these tactics don’t identify with their procreative capacities (or lack of ca- prevent the criticism often leveled at Second Wave feminists pacities). Calling attention to the uniquely female experience that they are humorless, dry, or too serious and draw in read- of monthly bleeding excludes young girls, post menopausal ers who might otherwise find this taboo topic too gross or women, transgendered and transsexual women and women, personal to consider. who for myriad other reasons, cannot or will not bleed. Activists who engage in what is known as “radical cheer- Third Wave feminists are invested in inclusion, not essen- leading,” a stylized action connected with the Punk and tialism and thus, find cultural feminists ideologically rigid anarchist communities, perform cheers like the one described and backward. above. Radical cheerleading is one of many means activists Furthermore, the (usually temporary) gender-based sepa- use to recycle mainstream practices and subvert them to suit ratism that is often a part of feminism as a means to build the needs of their particular agenda. Other creative recycling women’s community and provide safe spaces for women or reappropriation is evidenced in Red Alert #2 (1999) in to explore, question, and heal from the ravages of sexism is which the Bloodsisters offered “thanks for the (respectfully) anathema to Third Wave feminists, who remain unconvinced stolen images” (p. 3) that pepper their pages. Notable images that so-called women’s culture has caused significant change from assorted zines include a skipping, pinafored-and-black- in the gender order. Besides, Third Wave feminists argue, we patent-leather-shoes-clad little girl (n.p.); models posing in a need to build more connections with men, not sever the al- circa 1950s sewing pattern publication (n.p.); cowgirls with ready weak ties. Furthermore, it is argued, we can’t expect the copy “why ride the ‘ol cotton pony? GET UNPLUGGED. Women of Color or poor women to deny their race or class Choose reusables” (n.p.); and a circa 1950 model sporting and identify only as women, when their identities are much a high style bathing suit and cat eye sunglasses with the more complex than that. Furthermore, for socially marginal- superimposed text “our revolution has style” (n.p.). Each ized women, connections to Men of Color or poor women of these images communicates a message very different are necessary for survival and solidarity. than the one the image was originally produced to convey. Theme 2: “Our revolution has style”: The use of humor, Sometimes the images are used as expose´ (e.g., pretty silly reappropriation and culture jamming as tactics of resistance. how those women are posing, isn’t it?) or reclamation (e.g., But how do menstrual product activists do their activism? We let’s celebrate the innocence of little girls rather than exploit now have some insight into how they make sense of the issue it, and/or she may look innocent but don’t underestimate this and conceptualize their identity, but what sorts of tactical someday-woman). In any case, the liberal use of images jux- moves constitute the very stuff of their activism? Remember taposed with self-generated renderings of Punk girls, comic that this analysis is limited to text and electronic productions strips of gender ambiguous protagonists, and provocative as I transition now to three key tactics common to the writing photographs of women in panties and semi-naked women of menstrual product activists. produce a message that is visually engaging and conceptually One unmistakable feature of the zines and websites is the complex. use of humor. When reading these zines, one will likely find Another form of reappropriation used in the zines is the oneself smiling, even sometimes furtively at the ribald writ- manipulation of existing, familiar images. Raggedy Ann, for ing. Make no mistake about it: ‘menstrual product activism example, is pictured in Red Alert #3 (n.d., n.p.) seated alone is fun,’ the zines seem to proclaim. No one can accuse these in the corner of an otherwise blank page looking very an- young feminists of lacking a sense of humor. The writers gry. Her eyebrows are redrawn as arched, and her mouth is of both the paper and e-zines utilize a plethora of tactics to down turned. She sits opposite the page that features a ma- engage the reader and infuse an element of playfulness in nipulated box of Alwaysr maxi pads. Now it is clear why the work of the movement, a legacy of Third Wave feminism Raggedy Ann is angry. Reappropration as subversion is not as previously discussed. For example, in Femmenstruation new, certainly, but what is notable here is the way it is so Rites Rag, “Cunt Woman,” a hand drawn image of a vulva clearly reminiscent of Punk culture’s tactic of taking known with arms and (hairy) legs, speaks in “thought bubbles” about artifacts (such as fish net stockings paired with baby doll key topics such as menarche, sex during menstruation, PMS, dresses and combat boots) as a direct affront to “propriety.” and tampon alternatives. Another piece in the same zine Deal with our glaring contradictions, say Punks. I am sexy, I includes a Blood Cheer set to a Beastie Boy tune that exam provocative, and I can kick your butt if you don’t respect horts women to “let it go, let your blood flow” and “smear me on my terms. In Pretty in Punk, ethnographer Lauraine it on your face and rub it on your body, it’s time to start Leblanc (2001) documented the contradictory use of images a menstrual party” (p. 19). The cheer’s author performed (in this case projected onto the body instead of onto the page

Springer Sex Roles (2006) 54:331–345 341 or computer screen) to subvert dominant understandings of “real” Americans run for president, or only letting the youth, gender, and sexuality. Menstrual product activists pro- “real” couples get married in your church. I wonder if this duce movement materials in much the same way. isn’t what we’re doing with menstrual product activism Still another common strategy used by the menstrual prod- sometimes. It’s true, we all come from cunt, but we don’t uct activists involves reproducing advertisements by the fem- all bleed, and menstruation isn’t the thing that makes us inine protection industry and altering them as a means of par- all “womyn.” (p. 3) ody. Reminiscent of graffiti seen on billboards, this strategy Marie A produced an insert for the second edition of her directly confronts what the activists regard as the industry’s It’s Your Fucking Body#2: Reclaim Your Cunt (n.d.) with dishonest and empty promises and rewrites the advertise- what she considers a realization regarding radical menstrua- ments to reflect a more authentic story, for example, that tion. She wrote: tampons are linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome. The transformation of the Alwaysr advertisement to read “Go Away” i’ve realized over the past few weeks that all of the re- sends a very clear message from activist to industry: We don’t sources I’ve come across concerning radical menstruation want you or your dangerous product. This form of activism (including the ones I have written) seem to neglect these is called “culture jamming,” a term coined in 1984 by the 2 really important facts: San Francisco-based band Negativland (Klein, 1999), and 1. Not all women menstruate defined as the “the practice of parodying advertisements and hijacking billboards in order to drastically alter their mes- 2. Not just women menstruate sages” (p. 280). Culture jammers, according to Klein, boldly Blanket statements that seem to be really prevalent within reject the passive absorption of advertising and challenge this movement like “all women menstruate” I think are what is intended as the one way flow of communication supposed to “bring us together” but do just the opposite. from advertiser to hapless, uncritical consumer, to a “talk Statements like that completely invalidate transwomen back” where the consumer reveals the truth in advertising, and nontrans women who do not bleed for a variety of rea- the story beneath the advertisement. sons. Not all women menstruate. Lots of nontrans women Taken together, the uses of humor, reappropriation, and don’t menstruate due to different diseases, cancers, sur- culture jamming subvert the feminine protection industry’s gical procedures, and just plain menopause and hysterec- control over women’s bodies. Laughing, cutting and past- tomy, although transwomen maybe don’t have the same ing, and ultimately redefining the symbols of femininity, need for this information, it’s still really crappy to exclude the menstrual product activists claim a stylized space where them from our definition of WOMAN by basing it com- bleeding is normal and every menstruator exercises agency pletely on a physical function that some of us experience and autonomy. Surely, the ultimate aim of the activists is and some us don’t. (n.p.) consistent with the aim of earlier activists, but their means to the end differ. The use of humor, the reworking of im- Here, the activist articulated more than a need to in- ages intended to objectify women and girls, and culture clude transgendered people and transsexuals, but ANY self- jamming are not among the tactics employed by earlier identified woman who, for any number of reasons, does not activists. menstruate. She argued for a truly inclusive movement rooted Theme 3: We all come from cunt, but we don’t all bleed”: in a non-biological definition of woman. She acknowledged Including transfolk in menstrual product activism. A final that some individuals may not want or need menstrual infor- theme involves issues of inclusion. As Fawn (2001) writes in mation, but the point is less about audience as it is about an her introductory essay to Red Scare #3: “I’ve been work- inclusive definition of woman that resists a false solidarity ing on menstruation-related stuff for quite a while now, based on biological realities that do not universally apply. and there’s an element of it that makes me uncomfortable” Notably, resistance to the “all women bleed” sentiment in (p. 3). She went on to challenge an essentialist definition of menstrual product activism is slim. The passages excerpted woman that necessarily includes bleeding, a definition os- above may suggest a trend at best, but they certainly do not tensibly advanced by many activists as a great universalizer represent a common awareness. Still, the fact that some ac- that connects women at the most basic level. Referencing tivists are engaging this issue of inclusion sets the movement the incredibly controversial “womyn-born womyn” policy a bit apart from the Second Wave feminism that championed of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, she wrote: a universal definition of woman as a mobilizing force.6 Why shut an M to F trannie out of your music festival (or a transitioning F to M)? Just to reduce things to this 6 For a classic statement of universal womanhood that obscures differ- minimum, to set up a fence, to establish a false qualifier ences based on class, race, and sexuality, see Redstockings Manifesto (1969). for all those who are allowed in? It’s like only letting the

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Discussion richer analysis of contemporary menstrual product activism must necessarily acknowledge these influences as well. What has this analysis revealed? And what remains to be Further, a number of limitations of this present study pro- explored and understood? Because scholarly study of men- vide portals to future inquiry. Because this article is focused strual product activism has only just begun, it seems safe exclusively on a small number of electronic and printed rep- to say that, at this early point, we have more questions than resentations of contemporary menstrual product activism, it answers. Nonetheless, some understanding regarding the ori- yields only a limited sense of the intentions and strategies gins, nature, and character of this particular type of activism of the activists. This discourse, of course, tells only part of is taking shape. Menstrual product activism is clearly an out- the story. Ethnographic data, including in-depth interviews growth of the work of earlier activists—themselves inspired with a wide range of menstrual product activists, promise to by the emerging women’s health movement—who pushed reveal much. Questions guiding future inquiry may include: for product safety and labeling and suggested the use of alter- do activist intentions correlate with their actions? Does the native products. Contemporary menstrual product activism’s text really tell the story? Are the contemporary activists self- resistance to andocentric and so-called objective authority is aware of the legacies I see at work in their movement? Do undisputedly a legacy of the same critique advanced by the they identify with the activists who preceded them? Do they women who challenged the menstrual product industry and know the history of their movement? Clearly, this work is the lack of government regulation by fighting to provide not finished. Until then, the present analysis offers a glimpse menstruators with safer options. into an important effort at putting women in control of their However, a closer look at menstrual product activism bodies and their health. A focus on the menstrual cycle, forces us to reckon with the myriad ways in which their in particular, the interaction between menstruator and the resistance breaks with the tradition of earlier efforts to behemoth “femcare” industry, illustrates the ways that ac- develop and promote a critical menstrual product conscious- tivists reinvent the movement to keep it alive and resonant. ness, as we know it. First, a Punk sensibility opposed to Above all, contemporary menstrual product activism, simul- mainstream cultural products, especially commodification taneously shaped by its past and its present, demonstrates the and commercialization, inspires activists to critique and persistence and resilience of feminist resistance, day-by-day, resist the “femcare” industry. Through a process of educa- year-by-year. tion and empowerment—facilitated by DIY/self-help paper and e-zines, consumers can take back their menstruation and achieve health at low cost to self and planet. But Appendix A: An Menstrual Activist’s Annotated List menstrual product activists past and present meet on the of Alternative Products (Adapted from RandomGirl’s common ground of standing up to misogynist conceptions e-zine:. http://www. RandomGirl.com/products.html) of women’s bodies that deny women their own agency and power. Thus the themes of resisting the dominant/status We all need something we can bleed on... quo standard of care and replacing it with empowered Clearly, I think a lot about menstrual products. I think self-knowledge and self-help (or DIY) are at work in about them, read about them, and try them. Clearly, ALL both phases of the movement. Second, contemporary women bleed and most of us don’t feel inclined to just let menstrual product activists draws on Third Wave feminism it flow wherever it may. It’s a pretty basic need, but most to update the movement and produce a form more relevant women really aren’t informed about the options. Is there life to many contemporary young feminists. The challenge to beyond Tampax? So, here’s a quick little list for you of your essentialism vis avis´ cultural feminist constructions of menstrual product options, ranked from what I see (based on womanhood; the use of humor, reappropriation, and culture what I’ve read and experienced) as the best options to the jamming; and the nascent but emerging attention to trans bad ones that you should never ever use. issues all reflect the values associated with the feminism that is gaining prominence in the early 21st century. Washable pads Nevertheless, my analysis leaves many unanswered questions. For one, it fails to address the many other Random Girl says: You should DEFINITELY use washable influences that bear on menstrual product activism such pads! as eco-feminism, voluntary simplicity/simple living and a more careful deconstruction of Punk which focuses on Good aspects Riot Grrrl, a derivative Punk community that combines the rebelliousness of Punk with a radical critique of patriarchy – They let your blood flow naturally, as it was meant to both within Punk and beyond (Starr, 1999). A fuller and – NO risk of toxic shock syndrome

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– No chlorine bleaching, so no worry about dioxin – They can fly out if you sneeze or laugh when they are – Reusable, hence better for the environment heavily saturated – Affordable – Technically, they are an animal product, so they’re a no-no – Soft and comfy for vegans – The fact that they are being harvested from the ocean Not-so-good aspects seems sketchy to me. this could be causing a problem with the ecology of the ocean – You have to be willing to wash them – Since they dwell on the bottom of the ocean, they are – Not so convenient when you’re out. You may have to carry probably chock full o’ pollutants and toxins the bloody pads home in a plastic bag – They aren’t generally sold as menstrual products, so you – Canbebulky just buy the sponges at any health food store – If you just wash them by hand, they get pretty hard and crunchy, so a washing machine is needed Non-Chlorine Bleached, all cotton tampons The Keeper Menstrual Cup Random Girl says: If you absolutely NEED to use a tampon, Random Girl says: You might want to try out the Keeper! these are the way to go! Good aspects Good aspects – COLLECTS blood. Does not absorb blood – No chlorine bleaching – Reusable, hence better for the environment – Convenient to wear and change – No chlorine bleaching – Organic ones are available and are not laden with pesti- – Lasts for 10 years cides – Affordable – They generally are applicator-free, so cause less waste – 3-month money back guarantee than traditional tampons – You can’t really feel them when you’re wearing them, much like a tampon Not-so-good aspects Not-So-Good Aspects – There is a chance of TSS – There is a slight chance of TSS – More expensive than mainstream tampons – It can be messy to change it, especially in a public bath- – Absorb vaginal lubricants that shouldn’t be absorbed; alter room the environment of the vagina – The suction effect is initially disconcerting – Disposable and wasteful – Only comes in 2 sizes, so it might not fit you perfectly – Clog up septic system – Takes a few tries to learn how to insert it properly – If you have a full bladder, it can knock it out of place and Disposable pads make it leak Random Girl says: These are not so good. if you are using pads, you should go for the washable kind! Sea Sponges Random Girl says: I have never used them personally, so Good aspects I can’t speak with authority here!! – No risk of TSS Good aspects – Let you flow like you’re supposed to – Reusable, hence better for the environment – Never a challenge to find where to buy them – Haven’t been linked to TSS – No chlorine bleaching Not-so-good aspects – Affordable – Use chlorine bleaching.. bad for you and bad for the envi- – You can’t really feel them when you’re wearing them, ronment much like a tampon – Disposable and extremely wasteful – You cut them to the size that is right for you – bulky, scratchy and uncomfortable – Most are made by companies that are just evil (e.g., Proctor Not-so-good aspects & Gamble (sic)) – It can be messy to change it, especially in a public bath- – Since you have to keep buying them, the cost adds up room – You have to be sure to clean them really well

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Mainstream Tampons E-zines/Websites

Random Girl says: Never, never, never, EVER use any of Menarchy. http://www.us.geocities.com/menarchy/ these things.. Tampax, o.b. and all of the rest are just awful! RandomGirl rambles about the Keeper www.RandomGirl.com/oldkeeper.html Good aspects www.RandomGirl.com/keeper.html – Convenient www.RandomGirl.com/products.html the S.P.O.T.: The tampon health website. www.spotsite. org Not-so-good aspects Whirling Cervix ezine http://www.digressonline.com/lgbtplus/ – Use chlorine bleaching. bad for you and bad for the envi- whirling%20cervix.html ronment Student Environmental Action Coaltion Tampaction Cam- – STRONG link between them and TSS paign www.seac.org/tampons – Disposable and extremely wasteful, especially the ones Bloodsisters. www.bloodsisters.org/bloodsisters with plastic applicators – Most are made by companies that are just evil (e.g Proctor & Gamble) References – Absorb vaginal lubricants that shouldn’t be absorbed; alter the environment of the vagina Anderberg, K. (2005, August 30). Personal communication. – Clog up septic systems Anderberg, K. (1998). Mama Sutra’s menstrual moon magick. Ezine. – You have to keep buying them, so they are expensive Retrieved 30 June, 2003 from http://www.angelfire.com/or2/ adoreyourself/pagemenstrualmagic.html (now defunct). – They are NOT sterile! In fact, they are filthy Armstrong, L. (2003, November 5). Personal communication. – Many add deodorants that should NEVER be in a product Armstrong, L., & Scott, A. (1992). Whitewash: Exposing the health that will be inside of your body and environmental dangers of women’s sanitary products and dis- – Contains artificial ingredients, such as rayon, and many posable diapers—what you can do about it! New York: Harper Perennial. other things.. companies are NOT required to label all of Bail, K. (Ed.). (1996). DIY feminism. St. Leonards, Australia: Allen & the ingredients in tampons Unwin. Baumgardner, J., & Richards, A. (2000). Manifesta: Young women, feminism, and the future. New York: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux. Bloodsisters. (1999). Red Alert #2; Self-published zine. Appendix B: Paper and E-zines/Websites Bloodsisters. (n.d.). Red Alert #3; Self-published zine. Bloodsisters. (n.d.). We are feminist terrorists. In Chantal & Brackin Paper Zines (Eds.) (n.d). Femmenstruation rites rag (p. 38). Self-published zine. Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. (1970). Women & their bod- (Note: Specific paper zines can be difficult to acquire. Runs ies. Boston: New England Free Press. are typically small and when a zine runs out, there are simply Chantal & Brackin (Eds). (n.d.). Femmenstruation rites rag: Stories of no more available. Web sites were active at the time of my wimmin’s blood & rites of passage. Self-published zine. analysis. The contact addresses and some websites may be Chrisler, J. C., & Kaufman, S. (1988, April). Health autonomy: An exploration of health attitudes and behaviors in college students. out dated by the time of publication. Dates of publication are Poster presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological As- given when known). sociation, Buffalo, NY. Christ, C. (1997). Rebirth of the goddess: Finding meaning in feminist Femmenstruation rite rag: Stories of wimmin’s blood and spirituality. New York: Routledge. rites of passage. Created by Chantal & Brackin., July 2001. Christ, C., & Plaskow, J. (Eds). (1979). Womanspirit rising: A feminist Contact: [email protected] reader in religion. San Fransisco: Harper & Row. It’s your fucking body. Created by Marie A., n.d.. Contact: Chu, J. (1997). Navigating the media environment: How youth claim a place through zines. Social Justice, 24(3): 71–85. [email protected] Copelton, D. (2004). Menstrual extraction, abortion, and the political It’s your fucking body #2: Reclaim Your Cunt. Created by context of feminist self help. In V. Demos & M. Texler Segal Marie A. n.d.. Contact:[email protected] (Eds.), Advances in gender research (pp. 129–144). London: JAI Pull the plug on the feminine hygiene industry. Created by Press, Ltd. Costello, A., Vallely, B., & Young, B. (1989). The sanitary protection erin w. July 2000. Contact: dialed into [email protected] scandal. London: Women’s Environmental Network. Red alert #2. Created by The Bloodsisters Project. Contact: Delaney, J., Lupton, M. J., & Toth, E. (1977). The curse: A cultural www.bloodsisters.org/bloodsisters history of menstruation.NewYork:Mentor. Red alert #3. Created by The Bloodsisters Project, n.d. Con- Dinnerstein, D. (1976). The mermaid and the minotaur.NewYork: Harper & Row. tact: www.bloodsisters.org/bloodsisters Duncombe, S. (1997). Notes from the underground: Zines and the Redscare#3. Created by Fawn P. Summer/Fall 2001, Con- politics of alternative culture. London: Verso. tact: [email protected] Fawn, P. (2001). Red Scare #3. Self-published zine.

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Friedman, N. (1981). Everything you must know about tampons.New RandomGirl.com. Retrieved January 24, 2003 from http://www. York: Berkley Books. randomgirl.com/products.html & randomgirl.com/oldkeepr.html. Federation of Feminist Women’s Health Centers. (1991, 1995). Anew Reame, N. (2004, June 9). Personal communication. view of a woman’s body. Los Angeles: Feminist Health Press. Rich, A. (1977). Of woman born: Motherhood as experience and insti- Food and Drug Administration [FDA]. (1999, July 23). Tampons tution.NewYork:Bantam. and asbestos, dioxin, and toxic shock syndrome. www.fda.gov/ Rome, E., & Culpepper, E. (1977, 1981). Menstruation. [Brochure]. cdrr/consumer/tamponsabs. Retrieved June 18, 2003. Boston: Boston Women’s Health Book Collective. Garrison, E. K. (2000). U.S. feminism-grrrl style! Youth (sub)cultures Rome, E., & Wolhandler, J. (1992). Can tampon safety be regulated? and the technologics of the Third Wave. Feminist Studies, 26(1), In A. Dan & L. Lewis (Eds.), Menstrual health in women’s lives. 141–170. (pp. 161–273). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and Ruddick, S. (1983). Maternal thinking. In J. Treblicot (Ed.), Mothering: women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Essays in feminist theory (pp. 213–230). Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Gimbutas, M. (1989). The language of the goddess. San Francisco: Allanheld. Harper & Row. Ruzek, S. (1979). The women’s health movement: Feminist alternatives Grant, J. (1993). Fundamental feminism: Contesting the core concepts to medical control. New York: Praeger. of feminist theory. New York: Routledge. Starhawk. (1982). Dreaming the dark: Magic, sex, and politics. Boston: Henry, A. (2004). Not my mother’s sister: Generational conflict and Beacon Press. third wave feminism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Starr, C. (1999). Because: Riot Grrrl, social movements, art worlds, and Heywood, L., & Drake, J. (Eds). (1997). Third Wave Agenda: Being style. Doctoral Dissertation. University of California, Irvine. feminist, doing feminism. Minneapolis, MN: University of Min- S.P.O.T.: The tampon health website. Retrieved June 24, 2003 from nesota Press. http://www.spotsite.org. Houppert, K. (1995). Pulling the plug on the sanitary protection indus- Stone, M. (1976). When God was a woman. New York: Dial Press. try. VillageVoice. Retrieved June 24, 2003 from the World Wide Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC). (2004). Tampaction. Web: http://www.spotsite.org.village.html. Retreived October 31, 2004 from http://www.seac.org/tampons/. Houppert, K. (1999). The curse—menstruation: Confronting the last Tierno, P. (2001). The secret life of germs: What they are, why we need unmentionable taboo. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. them and how we can protect ourselves against them.NewYork: Klein, N. (1999). No logo: Taking aim at the brand bullies.NewYork: Atria Books. Picador. Tierno, P., & Hanna, B. (1989). Ecology of toxic shock syndrome: Leblanc, L. (2001). Pretty in Punk: Girls’ gender resistance in a boy’s Amplification of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 by materials of subculture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. medical interest. Review of Infectious Diseases, 11(Suppl 1), S182- Lofland, J., & Lofland, L. (1995). Analyzing social settings: A guide 6–S186-7. to qualitative observation and analysis (3rd Ed). Belmont, CA: Vale, V. (Ed.) (1996). Zines!(Vol. I). San Francisco: V Search. Wadsworth. Walker, R. (1995). Being real: An introduction. In R. Walker (Ed.), Marie, A. (n.d.). It’s your fucking body. Self-published zine. To be real: Telling the truth and changing the face of feminism Marie, A. (n.d.). It’s your fucking body #2: Reclaim your cunt.Self- (pp. xxviiii–xl). New York: Anchor Books. published zine. Weisman, C. (1998). Women’s health care: Activist traditions Mogge, D. (1998, February). ARL directory tracks growth in e- and instutitional change. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University publishing. Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Newslet- Press. ter. Retrieved June 3, 2003, from http://www.arl.org/newsltr/196/ Wheelwright, P. (Writer/Producer) & MacInnes, T. (Producer). (1997). dej.html. Menstruation: Breaking the silence. [Motion picture]. (Available Morgen, S. (2000). Into our own hands: The women’s health movement from Films for the Humanities, P.O. Box 2053, Princeton, NJ in the United States, 1969–1990. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers. 08543-2053). Musico, I. (1998). Cunt: A declaration of independence. Seattle, WA: Whirling Cervix. Retrieved January 24, 2003 from http://nofuncharlie. Seal Press. com/whirlingcervix. Orr, C. (1997). Charting the currents of the Third Wave. Hypatia, 12, Wilkins, E. (2000). Pull the plug on the feminine hygiene industry. 29–40. Self-published zine. Parvati, J. 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