Critical Menstrual Studies: Watch The Archived Class
Welcome to Critical Menstrual Studies.
Watch the archive of this class from 2022 and 2024. Feel free to follow along with the course reader.
This course is an introduction to the meaning of menstruation - now termed “critical menstrual studies.” Critical menstrual studies is the study of the menstrual life cycle as a category of analysis. All of menstrual life, which is a trajectory that begins before first menstruation, and continues afterwards post-menopause, is deeply impacted by systems of power and cultural knowledge. Critical menstruation studies seeks to understand who benefits from social constructions regarding menstrual life.
Critical Menstrual Studies has six sessions together:
Intro to Critical Menstruation Studies
Menstruation: Context & Meaning
Self Objectification, Shame, and Menstrual “Hygiene”
Menstrual Regulation: Laws, Policies, and Menstrual Activism
Data, Marketing, and Menstrual Consumerism
Reclaiming Menstrual Knowledge Production
“Menstruation and more broadly, the menstrual cycle are often dismissed and derided. The same goes for menopause, at the further end of the reproductive life span. It is transgressive to resist the norm of menstrual (and menopausal) concealment. With notable exceptions, across cultures and historical eras, we socialize this biological process—including serious inquiry into its form, function, and meaning—into hiding. This is shortsighted and at the same time deeply revealing, as it shines a bright spotlight on the need for change. After all, a dearth of attention to a fundamental reality and indeed a vital sign is not only a profound knowledge gap, it is an exposure of the power of misogyny and stigma to suppress knowledge production. And when we lack knowledge, we cannot effectively act to effect Change” - Chris Bobel
Welcome to Critical Menstrual Studies.
Watch the archive of this class from 2022 and 2024. Feel free to follow along with the course reader.
This course is an introduction to the meaning of menstruation - now termed “critical menstrual studies.” Critical menstrual studies is the study of the menstrual life cycle as a category of analysis. All of menstrual life, which is a trajectory that begins before first menstruation, and continues afterwards post-menopause, is deeply impacted by systems of power and cultural knowledge. Critical menstruation studies seeks to understand who benefits from social constructions regarding menstrual life.
Critical Menstrual Studies has six sessions together:
Intro to Critical Menstruation Studies
Menstruation: Context & Meaning
Self Objectification, Shame, and Menstrual “Hygiene”
Menstrual Regulation: Laws, Policies, and Menstrual Activism
Data, Marketing, and Menstrual Consumerism
Reclaiming Menstrual Knowledge Production
“Menstruation and more broadly, the menstrual cycle are often dismissed and derided. The same goes for menopause, at the further end of the reproductive life span. It is transgressive to resist the norm of menstrual (and menopausal) concealment. With notable exceptions, across cultures and historical eras, we socialize this biological process—including serious inquiry into its form, function, and meaning—into hiding. This is shortsighted and at the same time deeply revealing, as it shines a bright spotlight on the need for change. After all, a dearth of attention to a fundamental reality and indeed a vital sign is not only a profound knowledge gap, it is an exposure of the power of misogyny and stigma to suppress knowledge production. And when we lack knowledge, we cannot effectively act to effect Change” - Chris Bobel
Welcome to Critical Menstrual Studies.
Watch the archive of this class from 2022 and 2024. Feel free to follow along with the course reader.
This course is an introduction to the meaning of menstruation - now termed “critical menstrual studies.” Critical menstrual studies is the study of the menstrual life cycle as a category of analysis. All of menstrual life, which is a trajectory that begins before first menstruation, and continues afterwards post-menopause, is deeply impacted by systems of power and cultural knowledge. Critical menstruation studies seeks to understand who benefits from social constructions regarding menstrual life.
Critical Menstrual Studies has six sessions together:
Intro to Critical Menstruation Studies
Menstruation: Context & Meaning
Self Objectification, Shame, and Menstrual “Hygiene”
Menstrual Regulation: Laws, Policies, and Menstrual Activism
Data, Marketing, and Menstrual Consumerism
Reclaiming Menstrual Knowledge Production
“Menstruation and more broadly, the menstrual cycle are often dismissed and derided. The same goes for menopause, at the further end of the reproductive life span. It is transgressive to resist the norm of menstrual (and menopausal) concealment. With notable exceptions, across cultures and historical eras, we socialize this biological process—including serious inquiry into its form, function, and meaning—into hiding. This is shortsighted and at the same time deeply revealing, as it shines a bright spotlight on the need for change. After all, a dearth of attention to a fundamental reality and indeed a vital sign is not only a profound knowledge gap, it is an exposure of the power of misogyny and stigma to suppress knowledge production. And when we lack knowledge, we cannot effectively act to effect Change” - Chris Bobel