Book review: ‘Be Period Positive’ by Chella Quint (2021)
I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of Chella’s new book ‘Be Period Positive’ before it’s official launch. Here’s my review celebrating how this will be a vital, educational tool in the global fight for a menstrual justice future.
I continue to re-imagine and anticipate a better future for menstruators; a future where a global menstrual justice is a tangible possibility that will ultimately benefit everyone. In my vision, people who menstruate will be liberated to: 1) bleed without discrimination, stigma, or shame; 2) have adequate access to free menstrual resources, services, and their basic needs fulfilled; and 3) possess the agency and bodily autonomy to manage menstruation freely, safely, and with dignity.
Like Chella, I’m a big supporter of the old adage ‘knowledge is power’ and strongly believe that being armed with a comprehensive menstrual education is absolutely essential to the liberation of all menstruators across the world. Her new book Be Period Positive is the perfect, accessible tool for this and one that I highly recommend everyone reads, irrespective of whether you do or don’t menstruate.
It was such a pleasure to read and there’s so much to celebrate here. From hearing about Chella’s own period experiences and activist journey culminating to her writing this book; to the conversational Q&A style she uses to guide us through the following six chapters: ‘History’, ‘Period positivity’, ‘Blood’, ‘Hormones’, ‘Fertility and contraception’, and ‘Perimenopause and menopause’. It achieves the perfect balance of science and humour that feels like the reader is just having a good old natter about periods with a friend!
It’s an inclusive and informative text that invites readers to ‘ride the crimson wave’ and confidently champion period positivity into their everyday lives in mundane (but powerful) ways: from upgrading your vocabulary around menstruation, to demanding for menstruation and menopause policies to be introduced in your school/work environment. I thoroughly enjoyed consolidating and broadening my own menstrual knowledge (as you can never know enough about periods in my opinion!) and I was especially pleased to read the final chapter, ‘Perimenopause and menopause’ as this is a subject often overlooked by mainstream period discourse. I certainly learnt a lot about the menopause which I didn’t know before and wholeheartedly agree that it doesn’t have to mean the end of life as we know it!
A little side note: I absolutely love the term “Flobbalobba” which Chella uses to describe that big rush of period blood you get when you’ve been in the same position for too long. Finally, there’s a name for it!
Chella eloquently outlines how menstru-normativity and social stigma has become interwoven into the very fabric of our daily lives over the years, perpetuated through inadequate menstrual literacy, the media, and commercial advertising. She also highlights the very specific ways that deeply entrenched, societal structures impact marginalised people with periods differently. It is absolutely imperative that our menstrual solidarity and period positive action fights for menstruators across the globe who are Black, Brown, indigenous, LGBTQIA+, poor, fat, disabled, survivors of assault, trauma, or FGM, as they have the additional task of advocating for their menstrual health needs while also navigating our oppressive, normative society.
As a plus sized, Brown menstruator with PCOS, I can definitely attest that self-advocacy is exhausting in a menstru-normative world that expects you to bleed every 28 days and I often shudder when I see the words ‘normal’ and ‘periods’ together in the same sentence. It was so refreshing to see a whole page dedicated to PCOS (flick to page 107 for my fellow Cysters out there!) alongside other menstrual conditions including PMDD and endometriosis. I felt empowered reading that when it comes to this wonderfully intimate bodily function, normal is what is healthy and typical for me. And it’s completely okay that this may not align to my other fellow menstruators! A global menstrual justice future where we advocate for the multiple needs and resources of different menstruators is one that I want and one that we all desperately need.
Throughout the book, Chella makes thoughtful and intimate connections between menstruation and reproduction — after all, having a period signifies that fertilisation has not taken place (although as she explains, we should err on the side of caution with that statement!) Words like sex, vulvas, and masturbation are used openly to educate readers on the body and dismantle the societal shame, accompanied with insightful images and diagrams. This book is basically the sex health education we didn’t get at school, all in the form of a massive zine with digestible answers to the questions that we were too afraid to ask!
As Chella says herself, the very act of asking questions is period positive. It means we’re willing to grapple with the world as it currently exists, to address gaps in our knowledge, and be cognizant of the nuances of menstruation — as it is not a monolithic experience. It is through this inquisitiveness and curiosity that we will understand how our perceptions of menstruation have been shaped so far and think about what we can do to change this for the better.
Reading Be Period Positive reaffirmed to me that while great progress has already been made, there is still work to be done to truly achieve a global menstrual justice future. Menstrual capitalist companies that profit off gender essentialism and menstrual taboos to market their products need to be held accountable. The provision of free, safe, and accessible menstrual and reproductive resources for all body types and requirements needs to be a priority. We must strive to bring down oppressive systems and continue to support menstruators across the world to have safe, dignified periods. However, being equipped with this book is definitely a step in the right direction for enhancing our menstrual knowledge and enacting change at the more intimate, everyday level through period positive action.
To order your own copy of Be Period Positive, click here.
To learn more about Chella’s work in coining the term Period Positive and the global movement, visit the Period Positive website for more information and resources.
I eagerly look forward to attending her keynote workshop at the ‘Menstruation in the Media’ conference in October 2021 and excited to hear about her future endeavours in the period positive movement. Congratulations Chella on such a wonderful book!
Let’s go and change the future of menstruation. Together.
