Eunsoo Amy Han had had enough. Enough of the hush-hush culture surrounding female menstruation that hung around her at school, and in society at large. She was tired of whispering to her friends when she needed a sanitary pad or had cramps. She wanted to be able to just talk about it, like any other normal topic of discussion.
So when she was asked to name trending issues in her Current Affairs class at Tsinghua International School, the topic naturally came to mind. She discovered then that most of her female classmates felt the same way, and that the boys basically had no idea what menstruation was. Thus, the idea for a big school event to publicize the issue and start a conversation about menstruation was born.
The idea was to organize an event that normalized period talk, while also raising awareness and funds to help re-stock the sanitary pad vending machine in the girls’ bathroom, which had been empty for some time. Attendees would pay for a pack of pads to be used as currency at the event, then trade them for water balloons for a water fight. The rest of the school jumped on board, with the Science Club setting up a booth to demonstrate the absorption capabilities of various sanitary pads, and the Beauty & Fashion Club designing and selling a one-of-a-kind tote bag with the message “No Shame”.
“It went really well!” exclaimed Han during our phone interview afterward, “We started a real conversation about this at the school.” The event had been targeted at high schoolers, but even sixth-graders from middle school got involved. All in all, the event raised RMB 2,000 and plenty of pad donations, which Han estimates will stock the vending machine for about a year.
Each pad sticker represents a country and its menstrual myths are written on the back of the sticker
But you can’t start a revolution without some protest, and the event faced its fair share when a few parents got wind of what was happening and did not want their children talking about the female cycle. “Some classmates’ parents felt really uncomfortable talking about this,” laments Han. However, she’s quick to explain that she understands they were raised in a different time and only faults society for not being more open earlier.
Han’s quest to normalize period talk is just getting started though, and the school’s debate team has begun incorporating the issue into their discussions. “We’ve already started looking for successors to pass the torch to so that they can do this event again next year,” she shares. Keep fighting the good fight, girl!
Look out for more Period Talk in our upcoming series.
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Photos: Tsinghua International School
