The Sage Encyclopedia of Menstruation and Society

The encyclopedia will be interdisciplinary, bringing together scholars from, and of interest to, a wide range of disciplines across arts, humanities and the sciences. It brings together expert knowledge including from sociology, history, queer studies, anthropology, media studies, art history, development studies, sports studies, education, public health, film and television, law, medical science, reproductive health, organization and management studies.  The encyclopedia covers wide ranging medical, political, economic, psychological and cultural issues related to menstruation.

Critical menstrual studies is a new and rapidly emerging discipline which “is premised upon menstruation as a category of analysis: asking how systems of power and knowledge are built upon its understanding and, furthermore, who benefits from these social constructions” (Bobel, 2020, p.4). The Global menstruation movement addresses a number of issues ranging from research and policies addressing the barriers to accessing products and education, to initiatives fighting the on-going stigma experienced by girls, women and people with periods. Understanding the social context of menstruation is key for both health benefits and social justice. The encyclopedia will cover the personal and the political, the intimate and the public, the physiological and the socio-cultural. It shifts the discourse away from the discourse of health and hygiene to structural issues of gender inequality, politics, and human rights.

This proposed encyclopedia comes at a crucial time when menstrual policies and practices are evolving rapidly gaining scholarly and media attention not least through global networks such as the Menstruation Research Network and Menstrual Health Hub. It will address issues such as: (1) how is menstruation evidenced and explained across cultures? (2) how does menstruation affect gender equality and the use of sustainable technologies public health, and economic activity? (3) how is menstrual stigma challenged through creative arts involvement and activist-based activities?