We went to Sussex Period Pride

Now a national event celebrated on the 18th February, ‘Period Pride’ first started in 2015, launched by the  Newcastle University feminist society . The idea is to challenge the stigma around periods, as Rianna Garguilo, Welfare Officer at Sussex Student’s Union, told The Tab:

“The main idea is to try and challenge the shame and stigma around periods and try get people to celebrate them and see that they’re natural and it’s also sort of linked into the free period campaign… we sell our tampons and pads at the shop at cost price and give out free sanitary products on Wednesdays thanks to Natracare. And the NUS today have launched a load of resources for the students unions around the country to do the same – we’re sort of celebrating that as well.”

The day’s activities

She also tells us about how  people are still embarrassed to collect free sanitary products and the aim of this day is to stop that from happening:

“Our union’s running one of the biggest free period campaigns and I stand at the stall pretty much every week and you can still tell, even though people here at Sussex are probably a lot more open than in other places, people still are embarrassed to come up and collect them, they won’t collect them if they’re with their friends, sometimes I ask people if they want some and they just sort of blush and laugh and run away… and it’s sort of quite sad. You can tell that people want to come get some but still feel really prohibited about what they can do. Especially depending on who they’re with … So we’re just trying to break that down and make it a bit more of a normal thing.”

“I’ve had lots of interviews and been asked what’s the one thing you want people to take away from this, and it’s more about if you do end up with period on your clothes or you see someone walking around with a box of tampons, or you sell someone sanitary products, not to feel embarrassed about it and not make others feel embarrassed.”

After chatting with Rianna, we tried out the event for ourselves, and we weren’t disappointed.

Ru: Apart from the slightly overwhelming feminist reading which was playing on the projector when we came in, which wasn’t the most inviting welcome for people who need a little more convincing or don’t have periods, it was fun!

Kyle: As we step in,  ‘IT IS OKAY FOR THE PENIS TO SPIT ON PEOPLE, SPIT. SPIT. SPIT.’ echoes in the room. A projector is playing a video Stacyann Chin, who is talking about her first period like she is in a frenzy. It is oddly terrifying. As me and my friend Anthony look at each other, our faces paint a thousand words. We aren’t in Kansas any more.

Stacyann on the projector

Kyle: I wonder what I have gotten myself into, for the whole event I felt awkward as if we gatecrashed a exclusive party. To break the tension we decide to dive in and take part in the many activities, whilst the Vagina propaganda is playing in the background. “YOU ALL CAN CHANGE THIS WORLD, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS” screams Stacyann.

We notice vagina play-doh modelling  we sit down and start to play around, hopefully trying to learn something in the process. The projector then starts to play a rap battle between mooncups and tampons. I wince at the lyrics: “everything you absorb includes natural moisture though, whilst we only collect from the menstural flow.”

We <3 vaginas

Kyle: Whilst designing my vagina (never thought I would ever say that), Anthony offers me a cupcake in which we could decorate it with red food colouring. Overall I was quite proud of my vagina, I decorated it with red glitter and googly eyes to make it less threatening. I am then given a pair of pants to dye with red paint to show ‘leakage’. I guess the whole point is to get over this taboo subject by taking part in symbolic activities, but I think it was lost cause for me as it was way over my head. I drew a smiley face.

The vagina is always watching

Ru: I enjoyed making vaginas out of play dough and decorating underwear. I think a lot of the problem comes from people who are just missing the point, or still feel like periods are taboo.

Funky fresh pants

Kyle: So what have I learnt? I didn’t learn the ins and outs of the biology behind periods and to be frank, I didn’t want to. What I did learn was that my own awkwardness was self-imposed- I came in with a closed minded mentality and set myself up to ignore what the real message of the event was. Every woman there was happy and open talking about periods , providing moral support to each other. Before, I had thought Period Pride was a bit extreme, a way of just promoting this militantly-feminist culture that a woman is loud and proud but now, I kinda get it. Its a normal part of a life and its cool to talk about it. I still feel that it should be a subject among people who have periods as cis men really are lost on this, but if you are among friends and they’re open then why the hell not?

A colourful spread