#SMCR2015 Plenary Session Video Presentation

Mainstreaming the Flow: (Still) Selling My Soul to Start the Conversation

Keynote Address by Tomi-Ann Roberts, PhD, to the 21st Biennial Conference of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, Friday, June 5th, 2015, Boston, MA

“I want to bring menstruation out of the closet.”

In this presentation Tomi-Ann Roberts, a professor of psychology at Colorado College, talks about her efforts at “mainstreaming the flow” and presents some of the many challenges and satisfactions of moving from scholar to advocate and educator for non-academic audiences on the connections between objectification, sexualization, and menstrual wellness. Hear how she addressed the “thigh gap” controversy in a blog post for teenage girls in her role as a U by Kotex advocate, while at the same time worrying that she is giving girls ideas for self-objectification. Learn how she is contributing to a class action legal case on behalf of incarcerated women that is arguing for menstrual privacy as a civil right, yet concerned that she might be reifying negative attitudes and emotions about menstruation. Robert’s journey from scholar to advocate to educator demonstrates the power of a “shared voice” to demystify and destigmatize menstruation.

Videography provided courtesy of Robert Lewis.