User:Mandehm/sandbox

Article Evaluation-"Pro-feminism"
The article appears to be very focused on one topic, and does not stray into other areas at any point. Most of the facts are linked to a reference; however, there are a few claims made that use vague pronouns, such as "others" or "some" that need to be identified and referenced. In addition, a few of the references do not come from independent sources, for example, the White Ribbon campaign website. The talk page consists of people discussing additional references or theses they wrote for graduate programs that pertain to the article. This article is a part of the WikiProject Gender Studies and is also related to WikiProject feminism. Finally, this article is similar to what we have discussed in class, in regards to having people that are not directly affected by an issue still helping. These people are essential because they really help to push movements forward and reach people that might not have cared before.

Article link: Pro-feminism

Wikipedia Assignment 3
We will be adding a significant portion to the Free Bleeding Movement page, which only has short sections on history and products at the moment. We intend to add sections on the differing social and cultural norms around menstruation, how menstruation is portrayed in the media, sex education, and the impact that advertising and stigmas associated with menstruation have on women.

Erin’s Sources:

Use of advertising in a positive way Agnew, Shire, and Susan Sandretto. “A case for critical literacy analysis of the advertising texts of menstruation: responding to missed opportunities.” Gender and Education, vol. 28, no. 4, 2015, pp. 510–526., doi:10.1080/09540253.2015.1114073.

Culture of silence around mentraustration that has led to negative body images and objectification of women Sveinsdóttir Herdís. “The Role of Menstruation in Women's Objectification: A Questionnaire Study.” Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 73, no. 6, 2017, pp. 1390–1402., doi:10.1111/jan.13220.

Offers insight on how boys come to learn of mentraustration and later perspectives of men (Does not necessarily need to be included, but I thought it was an interesting aspect of the topic to look into) Allen, Katherine, et al. “More Than Just a Punctuation Mark: How Boys and Young Men Learn About Menstruation.” Journal of Family Issues, vol. 32, no. 2, 2011, pp. 129–156.

Abby’s Sources:

Sutherland, Amy Lembcke. “A Critical Analysis of Menstrual Health Websites in Relation to the Needs of Pre- and Early Post-Menarcheal Girls.” University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, Dec. 2017, conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/191951.

McCabe, Maryann, and Timothy de Waal Malefyt. “Women's Bodies, Menstruation and Marketing ‘Protection:’ Interpreting a Paradox of Gendered Discourses in Consumer Practices and Advertising Campaigns.” Women's Bodies, Menstruation and Marketing “Protection:” Interpreting a Paradox of Gendered Discourses in Consumer Practices and Advertising Campaigns, 2 Feb. 2016, www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/10253866.2015.1095741?scroll=top&needAccess=true.

Sveen, Hanna. “Lava or Code Red: A Linguistic Study of Menstrual Expressions in English and Swedish.” Women's Reproductive Health, 6 Nov. 2016, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23293691.2016.1237712.

Rabia’s Sources:

Costos, Daryl, et al. “Recollections of Menarche: Communication between Mothers and Daughters Regarding Menstruation.” Sex Roles : A Journal of Research, vol. 46, no. 1-2, 2002, pp. 49–59., doi:10.1023/A:1016037618567. Chrisler JC, and Levy KB. “The Media Construct a Menstrual Monster: A Content Analysis of Pms Articles in the Popular Press.” Women & Health, vol. 16, no. 2, 1990, pp. 89–104. Kissling, Elizabeth Arveda. “Bleeding Out Loud: Communication About Menstruation.” Feminism & Psychology, vol. 6, no. 4, 2016, pp. 481–504., doi:10.1177/0959353596064002.

Gurbani’s Sources:

Garg, Suneela, Nandini Sharma, and Ragini Sahay. "Socio-cultural aspects of menstruation in an urban slum in Delhi, India." Reproductive health matters 9.17 (2001): 16-25. (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0968-8080%2801%2990004-7?needAccess=true)

Johnston-Robledo, Ingrid, and Joan C. Chrisler. "The menstrual mark: Menstruation as social stigma." Sex roles68.1-2 (2013): 9-18. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-011-0052-z

Oppong, Christine. "Notes on cultural aspects of menstruation in Ghana." Research Review 9.2 (1973): 33-37.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Christine_Oppong/publication/268425358_BULLETBULLET_NOTES_ON_CULTURAL_ASPECTS_OF_MENSTRUATION_IN_GHANA/links/56f01bbd08ae01ae3e70f31b/BULLETBULLET-NOTES-ON-CULTURAL-ASPECTS-OF-MENSTRUATION-IN-GHANA.pdf

Michaela’s Sources:

Mags E. Beksinska, et al. “Acceptability and Performance of the Menstrual Cup in South Africa: A Randomized Crossover Trial Comparing the Menstrual Cup to Tampons or Sanitary Pads”. Journals of Women’s Health, vol. 24, no. 2, 2015, pp. 151-158l, doi: 10.1089/jwh.2014.5021

Durkin, Abigail. “Profitable Menstruation: How the Cost of Feminine Hygiene Products is a Battle Against Reproductive Justice”. Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 131-172.

Grose, Rose Grace and Grabe, Shelly. “Sociocultural Attitudes Surrounding Menstruation and Alternative Menstrual Products: The Explanatory Role of Self-Objectification”. Health Care for Women International, vol. 35, no. 6, 2014, pp. 677-694, doi: 10.1080/07399332.2014.888721.

Lead Section
The quality of menstrual education in a society determines the accuracy of a people’s understanding of this biological process (Allen et al.,151). This is in part due to the segregation by sex of for education about menstruation, as well as its overall inadequacy. Failure to teach a scientific understanding of menstruation has social implications for gendered relationships and the objectification of women’s bodies. Discomfort arises for males as a result of these inaccuracies and causes the normalization of the belief “that menstruation is gross and should be kept hidden” (Allen et al.,152). This belief objectifies the female body in that it devalues an essential biological process to be framed as something that needs to be concealed for its repulsive portrayal. Menstruation in this viewpoint is meant to be a women’s secret. Objectification theory in this context is based on the notion that women’s self value is determined by “unrealistic definitions of what it means to be desirable” (Sveinsdottir, 1391). Therefore objectification based on menstruation is a result of girls needing to conceal the existence of their menstruation in order to be desirable despite the fact that menstruation is a normal biological process. As such youth girls ensure that no sign of menstruation is evident due to the commonality of sexual harassment and teasing that is evoked by the mere knowledge that a girl is menstruating (Allen et al., 152). Research has shown that there is a correlation of objectification and body shame to poor mental health and eating disorders for female youth (Sveinsdottir, 1392).

Final Draft
Education

Menstruation education is frequently taught in combination with sex education in the US, although one study suggests that girls would prefer their mothers to be the primary source of information about menstruation and puberty (Sooki et al., 1). One Nigerian study showed the following breakdown in menstruation education: “parents of 56.1%, friends of 53.18%, books of 45.56%, teachers of 44.15%, internet of 45.19%, and health centers of 54.14%” held the most influence in terms of menstruation education. (Sooki et al., 2). As this study shows, information about menstruation is often shared among friends and peers, which may promote a more positive outlook on puberty (Hatami et al., 2015).

Impact of Misinformation

The quality of menstrual education in a society determines the accuracy of people's understanding of the process (Allen et al.,151). This is in part due to the segregation of male and female peers during educational sessions. Failure to teach an accurate understanding of menstruation to students of all genders has social implications for gendered relationships and the objectification of women’s bodies. Discomfort arises when students do not have access to the same information, reinforcing the belief “that menstruation is gross and should be kept hidden” (Allen et al.,152).

Girls are encouraged to conceal the fact that they may be menstruating in order to be considered desirable. Sexual harassment and teasing about menstruation cause girls anxiety as they must struggle to ensure that they give no sign of menstruation (Allen et al., 152). Research has shown that there is a correlation between these forms of body shaming and poor mental health and eating disorders for female youth (Sveinsdóttir, 1392). Training the Teachers

Effective educational programs are essential to providing children and adolescents with clear and accurate information about menstruation. Several education and sexual health experts have studied the key features necessary for such programs. Some experts maintain that schools are an appropriate place for menstrual education to take place because they are an institution that young people attend consistently. Schools are intended to expand students’ knowledge and thus serve as an appropriate site for conveying menstrual education (Kirby, 2002). Other experts argue that programs led by peers or third-party agencies are more effective than those taught in the school classroom. This may be due to the use of small group interactions, the ability of these programs to target specific populations, or the possibility that many teenagers choose to participate voluntarily in these programs, rather than being mandated to attend school programs (Kirby, 2002). A study of teachers’ outlooks toward students’ sexual health in a Ugandan secondary school found that the quality of sexual health education taught in schools is inevitably affected by the personal attitudes, beliefs, and superstitions relating to the subject (Iyer and Aggleton, 2011). In many places, menstruation is taught in combination with sexual health education, despite the fact that the two topics are in many ways distinct. Instead of assuming teachers are neutral providers of information, their attitudes and beliefs must be taken into consideration and addressed in the development of sexual health programs. These results support the importance of ensuring that teachers are properly trained before they begin to provide information about menstruation, e.g. being able to use scientific facts to counter cultural or societal beliefs, such as those related to menstrual taboos (Iyer and Aggleton, 2011). Effective educational programs share several characteristics. Some of these include at least 14 hours of instruction, preferably in small group settings; a variety of teaching methods designed to urge participants to personalize the information to their individual lives; opportunities to practice communication and negotiation skills to boost self-confidence; and essential training for implementing the programs into real life applications (Kirby, 1995). Changing preconceived ideas and attitudes is challenging, especially those related to health among adolescents. Thus, changing the teaching methods can help to correctly educate more people over time (Iyer and Aggleton, 2011).

References

Allen, Katherine, et al. “More Than Just a Punctuation Mark: How Boys and Young Men Learn About Menstruation.” Journal of Family Issues, vol. 32, no. 2, 2011, pp. 129–156. Sveinsdóttir Herdís. “The Role of Menstruation in Women's Objectification: A Questionnaire Study.” Journal of Advanced Nursing, vol. 73, no. 6, 2017, pp. 1390–1402., doi:10.1111/jan.13220. Sooki, Zahra et al. “The Role of Mother in Informing Girls About Puberty: A Meta-Analysis Study.” Nursing and Midwifery Studies 5.1 (2016): e30360. PMC. Web. Hatami, Mahnaz et al. “Effect of Peer Education in School on Sexual Health Knowledge and Attitude in Girl Adolescents.” Journal of Education and Health Promotion 4 (2015): 78. PMC. Web. Costos, Daryl et al. “Recollections of Menarche: Communication between Mothers and Daughters Regarding Menstruation.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, vol. 46, no. 1-2, 2002, pp. 49–59., doi:10.1023/A:1016037618567. Iyer, Padmini and Aggleton, Peter (2012) ‘Sex education should be taught, fine…but we make sure they control themselves’: teachers' beliefs and attitudes towards young people's sexual and reproductive health in a Ugandan secondary school, Sex Education, 13:1, 40-53, DOI: 10.1080/14681811.2012.677184 Kirby, Douglas. “Sex and HIV/AIDS Education in Schools.” The BMJ, vol. 311, 12 Aug. Kirby, Douglas (2002) The impact of schools and school programs upon adolescent sexual behavior, Journal of Sex Research, 39:1, 27-33