Jian
Jian is 18. She started her periods in year 9. They are irregular, which makes them a bit unpredictable, but she finds her pain and bleeding quite manageable. She reflected that her school worked to actively make talking about periods comfortable and normal, which helped people look after each other when they had their periods. When she started university she realised that others had different experiences of this and that talking about periods can make some people uncomfortable and that this might not always be seen as appropriate. She thinks that it would be helpful to teach people more about the different options to manage period bleeding – and to actively teach how to use these options, not just show people what they look like. She thinks it would be important to tell people more about health conditions that can be associated with periods. Clips are read by an actor.
More about me...
Jian doesn’t recall learning much about periods at primary school, but in her all-girls secondary school education, she had annual lessons in pastoral care about periods, sexual health, contraception, and tackling menstrual stigma (read by an actor).
Jian doesn’t recall learning much about periods at primary school, but in her all-girls secondary school education, she had annual lessons in pastoral care about periods, sexual health, contraception, and tackling menstrual stigma (read by an actor).
Can you tell me anything about what you do remember about what you learnt and when it was talked about at school?
To be completely frank, I think we had one... one lesson on this sort of thing, and it was... it was just about how a female body changes, but it was never about the period, so I... I didn’t learn about the period through school, it was just about from my sister and mum, yeah.
OK. So, school hadn’t really talked much about what to expect?
No, no, not at all.
And did that ever change? Did it ever get picked up kind of as you went through school? Was it ever something that they ever went back... like did you learn about it later on at all?
Yeah, so by school, you mean primary school?
Yeah.
So, in primary school it wasn’t touched upon. And then in secondary school there was a lot more of like a... a heavy front on it and they would talk... they would have at least a section. So, we had this thing called like ‘pastoral’ and we learned about certain stuff I guess that wasn’t particularly academic curriculum, and every year we’d have like one segment just purely on like periods and like sexual health and stuff like that. So yeah, so yeah, I guess it did change.
And what sort of things did they teach about in the period and sexual health section?
I don’t quite remember in much detail, but I think about periods, it was about uses of like pads, tampons, other things, and like it was... I think it was like getting rid of like the taboo around it, or like normalising different types of period, and stuff like that. Sexual health-wise, it was just about like how to be safe and like the legal parts of certain stuff, and... yeah.
Jian was told at school that everyone’s periods and period pain were different, and felt able to have conversations with her peers at school about this (read by an actor).
Jian was told at school that everyone’s periods and period pain were different, and felt able to have conversations with her peers at school about this (read by an actor).
I think it was so drilled into us, that it wasn’t gonna be the same, but I guess it did come into actuality and I was starting to like actually connect the dots that my period wasn’t your period, when, you know, I would see girls go on the pill, I’d see girls who would use pads instead of tampons. We actually would have discussions about like: “Which one would you use?” “And I would never use a tampon,” things like that. So that it... it really drilled it into my... like in my mind that that was how it worked in the actual world, yeah, instead of just the theoretical that everyone is different, kind of, but... yeah.
Jian thinks that pads are really expensive, but that period pants are ‘less known about’. Her school gave her a menstrual cup, but not any advice on how to use it. It’s still in her room, but she plans to learn how to use it someday (read by an actor).
Jian thinks that pads are really expensive, but that period pants are ‘less known about’. Her school gave her a menstrual cup, but not any advice on how to use it. It’s still in her room, but she plans to learn how to use it someday (read by an actor).
So, pads, yes.
Yeah, they’re so incredibly expensive, and considering they’re not reusable at all; whereas period pants, how much are they?
They’ve got a lot cheaper.
Uh-huh.
They used to be... they did actually used to be... I mean they’ve only been around... they haven’t been around for that long.
Oh, really?
No. And they’ve got a lot cheaper in that time, or more... or more people make them.
Uh-huh.
But they are reusable.
But they also... I don’t think they’re quite known about at all,—
No.
— considering like... I’m... I’m assuming they’re also like a lot more eco-friendly and things like that, sustainable, and stuff like that as well. So, the fact that like tampons and pads are just the most predominantly known product is bizarre, considering they’re so expensive and just... I... I don’t even know what to say, they’re so expensive, yeah….
They... yeah, yeah, yeah, no they are, which... well, so I’m glad they were freely available in your school. I think you said your school gave away menstrual cups as well?
Yeah, yeah, my school... It was very well advertised. They’d be on every single toilet stall. They’d send out emails and you’d just go to the reception. But I think no matter how... like our school is quite open about it, but like... like I remember me and my friends going there, so it would be quite a shy experience and going and coming and getting our first menstrual cup. I never ended up using it because I didn’t know how to use it, but...
So... so they gave them out but didn’t give you any instructions?
Yeah. But I still have it in my room, and one day I’ll know, yeah.
Jian went to an all-girls school where periods were talked about openly and supportively. She didn’t need to buy pads at any time during three years of secondary school (read by an actor).
Jian went to an all-girls school where periods were talked about openly and supportively. She didn’t need to buy pads at any time during three years of secondary school (read by an actor).
Yeah. Well, I went to an all-girls school, so I think that’s what made the front on like different types of periods a bit more like trying to like get rid of stereotypes, and stuff like that. But it was talking about like the age that... that it comes in, or like the types of flows, or the different uses of period products that other people would use. It would just be talk... like making it a regular conversation so it wasn’t, you know, something that people would be particularly too scared to talk about, yeah.
And did it work?
Yeah, absolutely. We... It was never... it was never a scary thing to talk about at my school, it just felt a lot more like supportive more than anything, and it like kind of led on this kind of... there would be period pads everywhere for everyone to access, it was wonderful. I don’t think I’ve had to buy a period pad for like three years in secondary school.