Representations of Menstruation in Contemporary US Self-Help and Popular Science Writing: The Impure, The Holy, and The Everyday

My research is focused on menstrual health education and the myths surrounding it. In both secular and Christian literary spaces, the menstruating body is conceived as a “problem,” and often rendered taboo due to popular notions of impurity. However, there are attempts from individuals in these spaces to combat these problematic notions. One avenue is through popular literature. My project, “Representations of Menstruation in Contemporary US Self-Help and Popular Science Writing: The Impure The Holy, and The Everyday,” aims to analyze how Christian and secular self-help literature produces both empowering and problematic discourses on menstruation. I look closely to see the language the authors use to address menstruation, if the authors address readers outside the those who menstruate, and whether the texts intersect ideas of Christian theology and medical knowledge. I aim to understand the discrepancy of menstrual health literacy among Christian adolescents.

Growing up in a Christian household, I was unaware of the underlying notions of shame and taboos that dictated how I learned and conceptualized menstruation, as something not worth understanding and instead should be kept secret. After starting this project, I realized that I wasn’t the only one; from both the secular world and parts of Christian culture, these taboos are being reinforced, and many young people just like me were and are unaware of the incredible, validating information of the menstrual cycle.

I was most excited to see how medical and theological self-help books addressed menstruation to empower young people to see their periods in a new light. However, I was surprised to see the lack of menstrual self-help within the Christian space, ultimately reflecting the lack of education of menstruation in a positive light, free of strings of menstrual taboos. My research hopes to address this issue and help health researchers find ways to engage more adolescents in health literacy, as well as understand how to utilize popular literature to promote accessible menstrual knowledge and self-acceptance in adolescents and women.