On May 28, 2022, Menstrual Hygiene Day, the Open Library of Humanities will publish a new open-access volume, The Politics and History of Menstruation: Contextualising the Scottish Campaign to End Period Poverty. Here is the publisher’s description:
In 2021, Scotland became the first country in the world to make universal access to free period products a legal right. This has attracted extraordinary attention internationally, positioning Scotland as a leader on menstrual policy. Yet, little is known about why Scotland has been able to take on this role, and why at this historical moment of watershed change in many practices and policies surrounding menstruation, including sustainable period products, transgender menstruation, workplace menopause, tracking apps, menstrual disorders.
This special collection tracks the roots of the current developments through the history of politics, activism, medicine, public health, the arts and education around menstruation in Scotland and transnationally. It is the first collection to analyse and contextualise Scottish menstrual policy. Using archives, interviews, and case studies from other countries and historical periods, our collection poses the question: Why Scotland? Why menstrual rights? Why now?
The volume is edited by Bettina Bildhauer (University of St Andrews), Camilla Røstvik (University of Leeds) and Sharra Vostral (Purdue University, USA). A few of the essays have already been published. If interested, head over to the Open Library of Humanities (here) to read these essays:
- Bettina Bildhauer, Uniting the Nation through Transcending Menstrual Blood: The Period Products Act in Historical Perspective
- Lara Owen, Researching the Researchers: The Impact of Menstrual Stigma on the Study of Menstruation
- Camilla Mørk Røstvik, Bee Hughes and Catherine Spencer, The Red Gown: Reflections on the In/Visibility of Menstruation in Scotland
I’m excited to read the entire book!
