At the Whitehouse, Washington DC
Menstrual Hygiene Day holds great significance for me this year. Partly due to the work I've been doing lately, the long days of riding and speaking about menstruation, and partly due to the influx of menstrual awareness in the global media over the past few months. For example, check out this article in The Guardian today about Menstrual Hygiene Day. There are events being held across the world, and conversations to be had not just today, but every day about menstruation.
Menstrual hygiene cuts to the core of many other areas of social and environmental justice globally. Poor menstrual hygiene prevents women accessing education, jobs, and enjoying their lives. One of the biggest reasons this issue seems so hard to solve, is the shame, taboo and stigma that has been doled out on women the world over for menstruating. However we are moving into an age of openness. The conversations are happening, this issue is moving into the spotlight, and people everywhere are realising that it is OK, and in fact essential, to talk openly about menstruation, and it is every menstruator's right to have access to safe, hygienic sanitary options. People are also realising that many of the options we have been sold for so long are not safe, and that there are alternatives available. That's what Sustainable Cycles is all about.
Menstrual hygiene cuts to the core of many other areas of social and environmental justice globally. Poor menstrual hygiene prevents women accessing education, jobs, and enjoying their lives. One of the biggest reasons this issue seems so hard to solve, is the shame, taboo and stigma that has been doled out on women the world over for menstruating. However we are moving into an age of openness. The conversations are happening, this issue is moving into the spotlight, and people everywhere are realising that it is OK, and in fact essential, to talk openly about menstruation, and it is every menstruator's right to have access to safe, hygienic sanitary options. People are also realising that many of the options we have been sold for so long are not safe, and that there are alternatives available. That's what Sustainable Cycles is all about.
Giving a workshop in Philadelphia
I am writing this from New York, a couple of hours before presenting with Sustainable Cycles at a Menstrual Hygiene Day event. This time next week, we will be at the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research Conference, at Suffolk University in Boston. I will have ridden from Austin, Texas, over 4000km, through fourteen states of America. The perspectives gained and lessons learnt on this journey have been both fascinating and impactful. Three days ago we rode 111 miles (179 km) from Philadelphia to New York in one day. I'm so much looking forward to brining this knowledge and experience home to Australia, and integrating it all into the next phase for Sustainable Menstruation Australia. This is just the beginning!
After riding over 100 miles to New York
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