Normally we present you an annual overview with the highlights (and lowlights) that happened in the past year by now. This year’s overview would turn out to be an encyclopaedia. Menstruation became a bloody serious topic. See for yourself and scroll back on our social media. So we made you another overview. We proudly present: the Period Blog Post Top 10 for 2023. Have a great december month! See you next year! Menstruating during Ramadan   Photo’s: IStock and Shutterstock. Period! is an independent, online magazine about all aspects of menstruation. Period! is not intended as a subst ..read more

Sangita Khadka (photo above) is originally from Nepal. ‘A country where menstruation is seen as taboo and ‘chaupadi’ (also known as ‘chauppadi’) is still practiced in rural areas.’ This, among other things, inspired her to write this heartbreaking, but also empowering poem: Unbinding Shadows: A Poetic Tale of Period Equality.  – BY SANGITA KHADKA – In Nepal’s hills where echoes ring, A tale unfolds, a poignant thing. Chaupadi’s shadow, a silent plight, Affecting women, day and night.   In moonlit huts, secluded, cold, A story of anguish, untold. Periods bring a burden deep, In corne ..read more

Menstruation is still a sensitive topic, often surrounded by social taboos and discomfort. With a wife and a 14-year-old daughter at home in Canada, journalist Surjit Flora experiences their shame and embarrassment on a monthly basis. Time to tackle the taboos in this guest blog. – BY SURJIT FLORA – It’s sad to see so much misinformation about taboo topics, especially concerning young girls and women in our society. Being exposed to incorrect information perpetuates harmful stereotypes. We must tackle this issue directly and give accurate information to empower and educate girls and women. Th ..read more

We dislike it, detest it, or are even afraid of it. A shame, because menstrual blood turns out to be the new gold if you do research. You can do more with it than just ruin your underwear. We list the latest insights of what you can investigate or test by using menstrual blood. 1. Check the absorbency of menstrual products Duh, you might think. But read on. Because for many years the absorption capacity of menstrual products has been tested with a water-based salt solution (saline) or even with plain water – sometimes coloured blue. That can give inaccurate results. Logical, as menstrual bloo ..read more

Those who’ve been following the subject of ‘period shame’ for some time are probably less surprised by the story told in the documentary A Journey With A Hope. The film by documentary maker Amelié Truffert is about the Kenyan girl Jackline Chepngeno, who committed suicide on Friday, September 6, 2019, after she was mocked in front of the entire class because of a leakage stain in her school uniform. By a female teacher, would you believe. Jackline was 14 years old when she hanged herself at a nearby water source after being kicked out of class. ‘Upon soiling her dress, she was told she was ‘d ..read more

From ‘pigs in space’ to ‘cups in space’ (still from The Muppets). Menstrual cups are everywhere these days. In the supermarket. In museum collections. And in places where you don’t expect them. On board of a space rocket, for example, so astrobiologists can test whether cups can withstand the turbulence and microgravity during a (sub)orbital flight in space. One giant leap for womankind That two small Lunette cups recently completed a suborbital space flight (a flight that reaches space but returns to Earth before one full orbit) in a special container may seem ‘one small step for men,’ but ..read more

According to Dr. Google it’s a fact: the male menopause exists. In fact, there’d even be a male equivalent of PMS, called IMS. The only question is: is this correct? Men don’t have monthly menstrual cycles, do they? Also: women run out of egg cells at one point, but men continue to produce sperm cells throughout their lives. Plenty new fathers over the age of 65 around. Rod Steward was 66 when he had to change diapers again, Mick Jagger 73, and actor Anthony Quinn was even 81 years old. And those are youngsters compared to the Indian Nann Ram Jagi who broke his own record at the age of 96 whe ..read more

The sad news recently went viral: 16-year-old Anita Chand from Nepal’s Baitadi district died after a snakebite while she was in isolation due to her menstruation. As far as is known, she’s the first fatal chhaupadi victim since 2019. Her family denies that she was on her period when she died. Understandable, as chhaupadi (also known as chaupadi or chauppadi) has been prohibited by law since 2005 and the punishments are harsh. Nevertheless, welfare workers are seeing a resurgence of this ancient practice. What’s going on? Menstruation: a punishment for all the things you did wrong in previous ..read more

  Let’s be honest: gynaecological examinations are at the very least Very Very Uncomfortable. You’re lying with your knees up and spread wide. Your underpants off, your socks still on and your legs defenceless in the stirrups. ‘Just relax, ma’am’ is more difficult than it seems. Even though – as almost every patient website that explains the procedure insists – internal examinations shouldn’t hurt. Fact is that for some women examination by touching (feeling with the fingers) or looking with the help of a speculum (duckbill) is extremely painful and sometimes even downright traumatic. Li ..read more

Endometriosis often causes terrible pelvic pain. However, many women suffering from this disease are still told by the medical community that pain is normal for women. Caroline Louise Hamar of Femi.Listen wanted to find out how women with endometriosis experience pelvic pain. Interested in the medical respons, she also asked a GP what counts as normal period cramps and when there’s need for further investigation. – BY CAROLINE LOUISE HAMAR – Endometriosis is a chronic condition whereby cells, similar to the lining of the womb, start to grow in other parts of the body such as the bladder and b ..read more