Defying the curse: Political articulations of menstrual activism

Abstract

Menstrual activism connects with the reflection on how menstruating bodies are socially configured in the current neoliberal, productivity focused context. Menstruation activates a set of perceptions about gender, sexuality and femininity which can be found at the very base of gender relations. The present article pursues further analysis on the different political positions menstrual activism embraces. When talking about menstrual activism we mean those practices willing to resignify menstrual cycle. Through semi-structured interviews and ethnographic techniques, we tackle the discourses comprised within the heterogeneous menstrual activism movement linking it to several other feminist, yet sometimes conflicting. It is our aim to explore activisms connecting the criticism of the hygienicpharmacological industrial complex to the criticism of productivism and all the processes of exploitation and self-exploitation defining market economy, as well as to the appropriation process accomplished by biomedical culture. Finally, we will discuss the position of menstrual activism sandwiched in between neoliberal feminist policies and radical politics.