- No more cultural appropriation. The spiritual menstruation movement, in particular, seems to labour under the delusion that a) Native American culture is the best example of a female honouring culture ever, and b) native American wisdom and stories can be used by anyone. They can't. Instead of this, let's provide advice to and discussion on the issues surrounding menstruation and women's health to women in diverse communities - for example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, Native American women, African American women, Latina women, Jewish women, Muslim women, Christian women.
- Both parts of the movement are fantastic about providing advice on talking to daughters about menstruation. But the advice needs to be wider than that - providing support and a voice to parents who need to talk to their transgender children, for example, or daughters with severe intellectual disabilities.
- The movement should focus on a wide range of issues - menarche, menstruation, birth control, pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, menopause, post natal and pre menstrual depression, metal health, ovarian and breast cancer, etc.
- More support for a wider range of women! This would include support for women in mandatory detention, in prison, homeless women, pregnant teen girls, etc. The movement currently seems geared towards young, white, Anglo, middle class women.
- An active campaign presence - the menstrual activism movement is currently centred around the internet. We need leaflets and magazines, talks, lectures, billboards, books, audio books. We need these to be available cheaply or freely in community centres, churches, schools, synagogues, mosques, libraries, etc.
- No more Women=body and earth, Men=mind and heaven/sky. The spiritual menstruation does this a lot. This is still sexist, even with good intentions.
- More support for women's community initiatives - the Malala fund, Kiva loans, homeless and women's shelters, etc.
- More advice aimed at poor and working class women. Advice, especially health advice, tends to suggest things like 'getting plenty of exercise!' 'eating good fats like brazil nuts and avocados!' and 'using cloth pads!' Do they realise how expensive brazil nuts are? And cloth pads, which you first need to buy and then need to wash? I know it's cheaper in the long run to use reusables, but not everyone has the outlay to pay for them to begin with.
- Support for transgender women and men. Feminists are generally good about this, but the spiritual menstruation movement tends to ignore the issue.
So, what else would you add/take away? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading.
