Women's Leadership Conference + The Monthlies Project
By Alison Fiebig, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Bellin & Gundersen Health System, and Founding Member of The Monthlies Project.
That Moment When
The year was 1997 and I was packed for a weekend-long church retreat. I can’t remember if I was more excited or nervous. To be honest, I can’t remember much about the entire weekend, because I ended up spending the majority of it worrying about what happened moments before I boarded the bus. After a series of hugs, my mom said goodbye and I was minutes away from finding my seat on the shuttle. While I was strategizing on who could be my seatmate, I felt something happen so I ran inside to use the restroom before the hour-long trek north.
What I had “felt” was my first period. In the company of a few friends but mostly acquaintances and unfamiliar church staff, the first emotion that surfaced was embarrassment, followed by the thought, “What NOW?” which was quickly accompanied by, “WHY now?” Despite understanding what was happening, I still felt ashamed. Staring down at my messy underwear, I made the decision in that tiny church bathroom stall that I wasn’t going to tell anyone; I would use toilet paper until I could get home and tell my mom. That was two days away.
I was 12 years old—an awkward but outgoing sixth grader. I count myself fortunate to have a parent who made puberty and period education a priority so my body and the changes it endured as a young person didn’t come as a surprise to me. Yet the shame and secrecy was still present because of the stigmas associated with period talk.
I think of that moment a lot today in my work with The Monthlies Project, a volunteer-run community initiative providing period products to school-aged students across Northeast Wisconsin and raising awareness around period poverty. A relatively newer term, period poverty is defined as the lack of access to menstrual products (and more broadly, menstrual education). We believe that access to period products isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Not only does period poverty negatively impact physical, mental, and emotional health, it can create a barrier to equal opportunity in education. Research shows a direct correlation between period poverty and school absenteeism because the lack of access to menstrual health products cause students to miss or be late to class. This chronic absenteeism affects achievement in school and leads to educational inequity.
I’ve seen period poverty up close in our communities, and also in communities overseas. I’ve seen women in their 20s hold a pad for the first time—and the joy and relief on their beautiful faces upon learning how to use it to take care of their monthly cycle. The cultural barriers around the world vary, but the long-term effects are universal. In the last year, The Monthlies Project has distributed more than 40,000 pieces of product, as well as 845 pairs of period underwear and 720 leggings, to school districts and organizations across Northeast Wisconsin.
Change starts with talking about it. The Monthlies Project is working to normalize period talk—to bring periods out of the dark and into the spotlight! A period shouldn’t stand in the way of learning. Menstruators shouldn’t have to choose between a meal and tampons. As inconvenient, messy and costly as periods are, they are a part of life. We won’t stop until everyone has access to the products they need, when they need them.
Share your #thatmomentwhen period story in the comments or on social media by tagging Women’s Leadership Conference and The Monthlies Project! Our annual fundraiser, An Event, Period., is Thursday, October 12 at Poplar Hall in Appleton. More details will be shared our Facebook page and www.monthliesproject.com.
The Women's Leadership Conference presented by New Sage Strategies equips women with actionable strategies to overcome hurdles, but some hurdles are more difficult to overcome because of stigma and shame. This year, The Women's Leadership Conference is happy to partner with The Monthlies Project to shine a light on the issue of period poverty! Defined as a lack of access to menstrual products due to financial hardship, period poverty causes physical, mental and emotional challenges and can result in young students missing school or class. A topic that has long been stigmatized, The Monthlies Project is working to normalize period talk and working to ensure schools and community programs have access to tampons, pads and other resources! Programs can apply for menstrual health products and/or support product distribution.
Register for the 2023 Women's Leadership Conference today and make a monetary donation to The Monthlies Project at the event: https://womensleadershipwi.com/registration/.