The 21st Biennial Conference of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research

Menstrual Health and Reproductive Justice:

Human Rights Across the Lifespan 

Thursday June 4th 

9:00-10:30am Welcome and opening Plenary 

Welcome 

Chris Bobel and Amy Agigian 

Opening Flash Plenary Session 

Nine different speakers and performing groups comprise this plenary session and they include a wide range of academics, practitioners, advocates, activists, and performers. Each speaker/performer has 3-5 minutes to present and they will be talking or performing about a variety of topics related to menstruation, women’s health, reproductive justice, and human rights – each with their own style. Individual presentations will include information on menstrual rights, media representations of menstruation, the history of SMCR, the medicalization of women’s health, new SMCR initiatives, bike tours, menstrual jokes, alternative health education, and much, much more! There will be a question and answer period after all 9 flash presentations are completed. We hope this flash plenary session will lead to a lively opening discussion and set the stage for a great conference!

Panelists:
Spokeswoman from Sustainable Cycles
Alice Dan – Menstrual Cycle Researcher and Founding Director of the Center for Research on Women & Gender at Univ of Illinois, Chicago

Jax Gonzalez – Menstrual Activist

Sharmila Murthy – Legal Scholar, Researcher of Water and Human Rights

Sharon Powell – Chicago-based Artist/Educator, SL Powell Public Affairs Services; Adjunct Faculty, Columbia College

Joan C. Chrisler – Feminist Psychologist and Menstrual Cycle Research

Arpan Yagnik – PhD Student in Media & Communications, Bowling Green State University

JoAnn Loulan – Psychotherapist & Author: Period: A Girl’s Guide

Crimson Wave – Menstrual Comedy Duo

Moderator: Heather Dillaway

12:30-2:00pm Lunch and Film Screening & Discussion 

Menstrual Man

MENSTRUAL MAN tells the inspiring story of an unlikely hero who stood up for India’s ignored. A critical and audience favourite, the film underscores the importance of empowering women to combat poverty, and the power in every individual to make a difference.


2:00-3:30pm Plenary

Menstrual Hygiene Management Across the Globe

Panelists: Leeat Weinstock (Grand Challenges Canada), Sinu Joseph (Myrthi), Murat Sahin (WASH in Schools, UNICEF), Archana Patkar (Water Supply and Sanitation Coordinating Council),

Beverly Mademba (WASH United)

Moderator: Megan White Mukuria (ZanaAfrica)


3:30-5:00pm Film Screening & Discussion
 

Things we Don’t Talk About: Women’s Stories from the Red Tent

Things We Don’t Talk About: Woman’s Stories from the Red Tent is a groundbreaking 72-minute documentary film by award winning filmmaker Isadora Gabrielle Leidenfrost. The film weaves together healing narratives from inside the Red Tent to shine a spotlight on this vital, emergent women’s tradition. The film provides us an opportunity to remember, to listen, to know, and to find what it is we need to bring back to our communities to help awaken the voices of women.


5:00-7:00pm Poster Presentations & Menstrual Art Exhibit

Poster Presentations

Knowledge, Practices and Restrictions Related to Menstruation Among Adolescent girls in the Buea Health District
Ettamba Agborndip & Domin Sone Majunda Ekaney

 Breaking the Silence 2015: Empowering girls and women and involving boys and men on menstrual hygiene management
Urmilla Chanam

Queer Periods: Attitudes toward and Experiences with Menstruation in the Masculine-of-Centre Transgender Community
Joan C. Chrisler, Jennifer A. Gorman, Jennifer Manion, Michael Murgo, Angela Barney, Alexis Adams-Clark, Jessica R. Newton & Meaghan McGrath

Eco Femme: action research for holistic menstrual health programs
Ilana Cohen

First Blood: Women’s Recollections of Menarche
Kimberly Koerth

Menstrual Abnormalities, Perceived Femininity, and Intimate Relationships in Adolescence and Young Adulthood
Eunhye Lee

Memories of Menarche and Attitudes Towards Menstruation: Data from Mexico and USA

Ma. Luisa Marván, Kristian Jasso, Joan C. Chrisler, Jennifer A. Gorman & Angela Barney

Menstrual Blood Art and Self-Identity

Sadie Mohler & Stephanie Dragoon

Age at menarche and self-assessed health and well being among Icelandic girls

Herdís Sveinsdóttir & Rúnar Vilhjálmsson

Menstrual sex and the taboo of menstrual blood

Crystal Zaragoza

 Menstrual Art Exhibit – “Beyond Menstruation Bathroom”:

Stimulating Social Change Through Visualizations of Gendered Blood 

Curator: Jen Lewis – Beauty in Blood

Featured Artists:

Diana Álvarez – Socially engaged art & radical self love

Gabriella Boros – Female impurity, menopause & Jewish tradition

Ingrid Goldbloom-Bloch – Humor & serious issues; menstrual repulsion

Lucy Madeline – Menstrual reactions, esteem & education

Kyle Peterson – Gender dysphoria, menstruation & mental health


7:00-7:30pm Evening Break

7:30-10:00pm Dinner and Sustainable Cycles Event

A Bikes and Periods Party

Join us for a potluck dinner, a cross-country story share and an alternative menstruation raffle to support the Sustainable Cycles bike tour.

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