New Paper: “Desire for Diverse Menstrual Care: Contextualizing Period Poverty with Turkish Menstruators”
Period poverty, a term originating in the United Kingdom, refers to the inadequate access to essential products and services for menstrual care. It has been a prominent focus in menstruation scholarship for over a decade. To persuade decision-makers and donors, civil society organizations and scholars have often highlighted the negative consequences of the lack of access to commercial menstrual products like sanitary pads and tampons. In recent years, critical menstruation scholars and activists within the menstruation discourse have raised concerns about the excessive emphasis placed on the products. They argue that this narrow focus has constrained attention and hindered efforts toward achieving menstrual justice. However, the movement and scholarly discourse remain predominantly centered on the availability and accessibility of menstrual products.
In this Pardee Paper, Bahar Aldanmaz leverages her eight years of experience as a local menstrual justice leader, having served as a co-founder of Konuşmamız Gerek, the sole organization in Türkiye dedicated to addressing period poverty and combating menstruation stigma. Based on an online survey with 4,108 Turkish menstruators, this research aims to understand local menstrual experiences without solely focusing on expected period poverty narratives. Instead, it explores potential areas for improvement within the local menstrual justice movement, moving beyond mere product availability. The results reveal various ways to link the menstrual justice movement with reproductive justice, feminist health, and consumer and environmental rights. Additionally, she offers 10 policy recommendations targeted at civil society and grassroots organizations, government entities, donors, and menstrual product companies in Türkiye.
Bahar Aldanmaz is a PhD candidate in sociology at Boston University, with a research focus on global health, development, gender, and menstrual justice. Her doctoral research investigates the complex relationships between natural disasters, anti-gender movements, and efforts to promote gender equality, specifically examining the aftermath of recent earthquakes in Türkiye. As a co-founder of the Konuşmamız Gerek Association, Bahar is dedicated to advancing menstrual justice in Türkiye. Her written work encompasses a wide range of topics within reproductive justice and includes publications in Ms. Magazine, Think Global Health, Health Policy, Kadın/Woman 2000, and Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. Bahar has also co-authored a children’s book titled “Let’s Talk: Menstruation,” designed to provide information to Turkish-speaking children and their caregivers. She was a 2022 Graduate Summer Fellow at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.