Denna studie handlar om representationen den menstruerande kvinnan i reklam från Bodyform mellan 2004–2018. I studien undersöks forskningsfrågorna: Hur ser representationen av den menstruerande kvinnan ut om man tittar på reklamfilmer från Bodyform mellan 2004 - 2018? Hur och om kan man argumentera för att reklamfilmen Bloodnormal från Bodyform bidrar till en förändring av diskursen kring den menstruerande kvinnan i reklamfilm? Frågorna i studien besvaras med hjälp av en diskursanalys baserad på teorier om den manliga blicken, stereotyper i reklam, diskurs & representation. Materialet som analyseras är tre reklamfilmer från Bodyform. Resultatet av studien bekräftar stereotypa bilder av den menstruerande kvinnan i tidigare reklamfilmer från Bodyform. Studien bekräftar även en förändring av den stereotypa representationen av den menstruerande kvinnan i reklamfilmen Bloodnormal, jämfört med det tidigare materialet från Bodyform. Denna nya representation fungerar som ett motstånd mot normerna i de tidigare reklamfilmerna från 2004 och 2009.

This paper aims to examine the debate regarding free period products in Sweden. Whether politicians on a local and national level view free period products as a private or political matter as well as how the view of gender in different societal levels reflect on political statements will also be examined in this study. The paper will take a feminist approach by using a feminist theory called “Gender Systems” created by Yvonne Hirdman. The Gender System theory identifies three themes, the social, economic, and political order. These three themes were used to categorize and analyze the political debate on free period products. The course of action was to analyze political motions and statements in newspapers by politicians regarding free period products. The method of this study was a content analysis. The conclusion of this study is that the debate regarding free period products is larger on a local than national level. Also, motions on a national level have not reached a breakthrough, in contrast to the local level, where motions have been passed and free period products are offered in some schools or at sport facilities. Lastly, the study showed that some politicians aim to challenge norms about menstruation and distinguish the question about free period products as political and of great importance in the work towards gender equality. However, some politicians see the question of period products as a private matter. In the debate we found that more politicians are positive towards free period products, nevertheless, the question has not gained a national breakthrough.

The topic of menstruation has gained traction in the last couple of decades amongst critical menstruation scholars and feminist theorists, but it was not until 2015 (“The Year of the Period”) that the topic of menstruation entered mainstream conversations, and policymakers across the globe started taking tangible steps towards menstrual equity. Yet, there is little sociological work done on menstruation, an experience that is still shrouded in stigma and taboo in many cultures. To address this gap, this study aims to explore the experiences of menstruation among young women in the Swedish context.  This study uses a phenomenological approach and is based on 10 interviews with 18 young women in a Stockholm high school. From the interview data, four major themes arose: maturity, solidarity, fear & panic, and personal vs. political. These findings shed light on the complexity and situatedness of the menstrual taboo and highlight how strong social bonds and feelings of solidarity help the young women find embodied worth and develop prevention strategies. Overall, this research contributes to our understanding of the social and cultural significance of menstruation in the Swedish context amongst young Gen Z women.

Many women self-report discomfort, depression, mood changes, and irritability in conjunction with menstruation which has been termed Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). Prior to the creation of the disease/disorder category PMS, disorders with similar symptoms like “hysteria” and “involutional melancholia” were ascribed to women reporting those types of complaints. These diagnoses were based on archaic claims about women’s anatomy and behavior. Modern medical researchers contend that women’s complaints have a physiological basis, yet they cannot definitively tie PMS to any specific physiological etiological pathway, either hormonal or neurological. This thesis explores the argument that the social norms for women’s roles and their associated behaviors are related to the appearance of a disease/disorder category named PMS in the United Kingdom and the United States. Many of women’s complaints may instead be symptoms of social problems (with social remedies) related to role conflict or role strain.

This project examined the effects menstruation may have on visual attention in women. A recent study examined electroencephalographic (EEG) gender differences using a visual object recognition task. Results indicated certain EEG amplitudes (specifically, P300 and N400) are greater in women than men. This study extended the previous findings to determine if these increased EEG amplitudes vary across menstrual phases. Eighteen female participants participated in a series of 3 EEG recording sessions using the same visual object recognition task from the previous study; 18 male participants completed this task once. Analyses from 15 of the 18 female and 16 of the 18 male participants support the previous finding of larger P300 amplitudes in response to relevant stimuli for women compared with men. While there was no distinctive N400 component in this study, there was a late negative (LN) component which was found to vary significantly between men and women. In addition, multiple visual evoked potential (VEP) components varied significantly across the menstrual cycle. In particular, the N200 component appeared to provide greater differences between menstrual phases than either the P300 or LN components; however, the results varied greatly by head location. The differentiation found with VEP components in response to the pop-out task used in this study provide support for basic visual processing variation across the menstrual cycle and between genders.

Curious Cycles responds to the tensions that arise when designing technologies for menstruation and menstrual cycles, touching upon notions of curiosity, noticing, sharing, taking or making space, and our relationships with our bodies and their fluids. The project follows a Research through Design approach, guided by Soma Design and feminist research methods. Curious Cycles are a set of cultural probes; objects and interactions designed to gather experiences and insights from ve people who menstruate, throughout the duration of a cycle (approximately one month). The objects are meant to "cultivate curiosity", provoking reections on the ways we currently relate to our bodies and bodily uids and speculating on how we might relate to them in the future. This work seeks to approach the design method of cultural probes from a feminist perspective and contributes through the concept of "cultivating curiosity", a way to design menstrual cycle technologies by attending closely to the changing social and material experiences of the body, which in turn can challenge the cultural taboos surrounding menstruation. / Curious Cycles svarar mot spänningarna som uppkommer när teknologier designas för menstruation och menstruationscykeln, genom idéer kring nykenhet, att märka, att dela med sig, att ta eller göra plats, och våra relationer med våra kroppar och deras vätskor. Projektet följer en Research through Design metodik, guidad av Soma Design och feministiska forskningsmetoder. Curious Cycles är en uppsättning cultural probes; föremål och interaktioner designade för att samla erfarenheter och insikter från fem menstruerande personer genom deras hela menstruationscykel (vilka pågår cirka en månad). Föremålen är menade att kultivera nykenhet för att framkalla reektioner kring de sätt vi för närvarande relaterar till våra kroppar och kroppsliga vätskor på, och även för att spekulera kring hur vi kan relatera till de i framtiden. Detta arbete närmar sig cultural probes från feministiska perspektiv och bidrar med konceptet "cultivating curiosity", ett sätt att designa teknologier för menstruationscykeln genom att ingående uppmärksamma förändringar av sociala och materiella erfarenheter av kroppen, vilket i sin tur kan utmana kulturella tabun kring menstruation.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att ge en förståelse för hur tonårstjejer på landsbygden i Tamil Nadu i södra Indien upplever menstruation. Aspekter som tillgång på information, hygien och traditionella sedvänjor diskuteras. Initiationsriterna som hålls för alla flickor kopplas till ritualteori av Turner, Bell, Rappaport, Staal med flera. En genomgång från det antropologiska fältet ges genom Buckley och Gottlieb. Centralt för uppsatsen är uppfattningar om orenhet och symbolisk förorening som finns inom hinduismen. Detta diskuteras med hjälp av Mary Douglas. Den till huvuddel kvalitativa studien består av intervjuer med fem fokusgrupper, bestående av tjejer i åldrarna 12-25 år, och kompletterande intervjuer med personal på NGO:s och andra med kopplingar till området. En enkkätstudie genomfördes samt en observation. Resultatet visar att tonårstjejer är i stort behov av mer reproduktiv kunskap och att det finns fördelar med att uppmärksamma och samtala kring de traditionella sedvänjorna, eftersom delar av dem upplevs som negativt av tjejerna. Det är tydligt att det finns ett behov för bekväma, hygieniska och hållbara alternativ för kvinnors mensskydd. I uppsatsen presenteras också olika projekt som syftar till att sprida information om menstruation och mensskydd. / The purpose of this thesis is to give an understanding about how adolescent girls in rural Tamil Nadu experience menstruation. Aspects on access to information, hygiene and traditional menstrual customs are discussed. The initiation rite that all girls go through is connected to ritual theory by Turner, Bell, Rappaport and Staal et al. An understanding from the anthropological field is given through the work of Buckley and Gottlieb. Central for the thesis is notions about impurity and pollution, which are discussed with the theories of Mary Douglas. The mainly qualitative research consists of focus groups interviews with girls in the age of 12-25 years and complementary interviews with NGO workers and others connected to the field. A questionnaire study was conducted as well as an observation. The results from the study show that adolescent girls are in great need of more reproductive knowledge and that there could be benefits to further bring up the traditional customs to discussion, since part of them make girls feel uncomfortable. It is seen that there is a need for comfortable, hygienic and sustainable solutions for women´s sanitary protection. Presented in the thesis are also different examples of projects that aim to spread information about menstruation and the use of sanitary pads.

Mens, denna otroligt naturliga kroppsfunktion, omges fortfarande av både tabu, skam och kunskapsluckor. Trots att vi kommit lång väg i att prata mer öppet om mens finns det en tystnadsnorm som bidrar till att många unga känner sig helt oförberedda vid första mensen. Problemet sitter bl.a. i invanda normer och otillräcklig kunskap för att förebygga ännu en generations menstabu. I hopp om förändring möter därför mitt examensarbete de globala målen 3 (god hälsa och välbefinnande), 4 (god utbildning) och 5 (jämställdhet) med en berättande och informativ bilderbok som handlar om mens i vardagen. I mitt examensarbete skapade jag bilderboken “Billie Upptäcker Mens” som på ett barnsligt, busigt och ärligt sätt ska normalisera och avdramatisera att prata öppet om mens från tidig ålder. Oavsett vem du är och vilka du har omkring dig. Boken kan vara ett hjälpmedel likaväl som en fnissig historia för att bidra till en uppväxt utan mensskam.

This thesis brings period tracking apps into the discourse of menstruation. How we speak of and communicate around periods contribute into building the idea of the menstruation and, by extension, the female body and femaleness. This is also true for visual communication, which is why this thesis analyses the form, function and representation of three of the most popular period tracking apps. The questions posed are: What are the most important characteristics of the general visual appearance? How are the apps meant to be used? In what ways can form and function be placed into a cultural historical context with focus being on symbolic representation? To answer these questions a method of semiotic analysis paired with case studies are used. Previous research has shown that period tracking apps in some ways play into the idea of menstruation as a taboo. This essay shows that the notion of menstruation as something to be kept and handled in private is present in the design of the apps.

Recent biomedical advancements, cultural practices, and individual preferences have altered the ways in which biological process such as menstruation are perceived and managed. Increasingly, women are interested in suppressing menstruation to alleviate its negative symptoms, including bloating, menstrual cramps, fatigue, and irritability. This topic is especially relevant for adolescent girls, as mothers and daughters might have to negotiate attitudes towards daughters’ menstrual suppression. Therefore this study aims to examine how this topic is discussed and understood within the mother-daughter dyad. It is also important to consider how these attitudes are shaped by cultural background, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and religion. Through this knowledge health care providers can have a more holistic understanding of how their patients’ view menstruation. If health care providers know these basic demographics and the perspectives on this issue, they can be better prepared in administering information and educating their patients. My data collection included literature review, a five category survey, and participant observation in a clinical setting. There were 72 mother-daughter pairs with a total of 144 participants that completed designated surveys for mothers and daughters that had a total of five categories emphasizing participant details, menstrual cycle, reproductive health history, attitudes towards their period and menstrual suppression. Through the experiences of my participants I have found that there is a great desire to learn more of menstrual suppression among both mothers and daughters and that there is some degree of influence of religion and ethnicity on perceptions of menstrual suppression in this population. Age on the other hand, turned out to not be an important factor shaping the positive or negative attitudes toward suppression.