Young Gabi in South Africa.
Accessibility to period products in developing countries has for long been a known issue and widely covered by the media. What some don’t know though, is that this is also a reality in developed countries, like the United States.
But young generations are bringing these issues to light by taking action and shaping the future they want to see and live in. To delve into this, we touched base with Gabi Wiggill. As a student at Georgia Southern University, Gabi is working hard to destigmatize periods and fight period poverty on a campus otherwise described as conservative, where menstrual health is a very stigmatised topic.
Gabi grew up in Pretoria, South Africa but is now based in Statesboro, Georgia (USA), where she studies Public Health and is preparing for Medical School.
Gabi making cupcakes for her classmates.
Gabi in Neuschwanstein in Fuessen, Germany.
Gabi and her family shortly before they left South Africa.
How was your experience with periods growing up?
I grew up in a very conservative society in South Africa. Even though I went to an all-girls school, we still never talked about periods. I would never dream of mentioning anything related to my period in front of guys.
My friends and I used to have code phrases to tell each other when we were on our periods, like “I have guests”. I often had to think of excuses as to why I couldn’t go swimming or why I felt sick. I was always worried about people noticing or leaking and smelling.
We didn’t speak much about periods in my household. Even though I knew I could speak to my mom, I was often too embarrassed.
Is it any different now?
I don’t think how society regards periods has changed, but I definitely have. By the age of 17/18 I was more confident and interested in science – I realised that it’s ridiculous to be so secretive about menstruation. That’s when I slowly started to normalise it for myself and eventually became an advocate for it. It definitely had a lot to do with moving to the US where people were just more open in general about things. Or at least the people I became friends with.
There’s still a huge stigma in southern US states and it’s very closely related to conservatism and religion.
Gabi and her best friend when they were 8 years old.
Have you personally experienced period taboos in your daily life?
Yes, many. Most of my life, I didn’t feel comfortable talking about it at all. Even looking something up about periods on the internet made me feel like I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to. When I went to Spain to do an internship, I was entirely on my own and noticed my discharge becoming abnormal. I decided to look it up online in incognito search mode and found a wealth of information that I never knew. It honestly made me angry that I was never exposed to this – that was definitely my turning point in advocating for menstrual health awareness.
© Georgia Southern University.
How are periods perceived in Georgia? Are there any social or cultural patterns you have noticed?
It honestly depends on the group of people. I have previously talked to people on my campus about petitioning to remove the sales tax for menstrual products in Georgia and was exposed to a whole range of opinions.
Men were surprisingly not so difficult to talk to. A lot of them realise that they can’t empathise, but they can sympathise. Many were willing to join the petition because it logically sounded like the right thing to do. There were, of course, men who didn’t want to talk about the topic either.
Menstrual health advocacy is associated with “the liberals”, a term used in a derogatory way for the democratic party.
There are two very distinct sides to the political spectrum in the United States that have become so ingrained in the culture, it seems comparable to cultural tribalism. One’s political affiliation has become an identity. Topics that are typically associated with people on one side of the spectrum, are vehemently opposed or not addressed by the other side, simply because it does not fall within their political identity. Not because of whether they actually agree or disagree. In my experience, people who are in stronger support of social change are more likely to support progressive initiatives like this.
Green Period Pantry
The Green Period Pantry (GPP) at Georgia Southern University is a grant-funded project proposed by Gabi. Scheduled to open this fall semester, the different sites across campus will offer students the choice of one menstrual cup or two cloth pads free of cost.
The pantry’s mission is to fight period poverty and bring environmental sustainability to the campus and expose people to these products so they may continue using them even when they have left university, ultimately making an impact across the country and world.
How did the idea for the GPP come about?
It started in my first year of university, as I was researching for an English paper on the sustainability of menstrual products. It was eye-opening for me to see the effect they had and how corporations exploit women’s needs for money. I went on a whole journey to bring unbiased and scientifically accurate health information to our campus.
By my second year, my goal was to make menstrual products available in restrooms across campus and I found out that my campus offered a sustainability fee grant programme – that’s when the environmentally-friendly period pantry popped into my head! It was a panacea because I had been trying to do this but lacked a funding mechanism.
Series of events that Gabi organised with her committee.
Fall 2020 schedule of events to spread health awareness on campus.
What was your individual motivation behind it?
I care deeply about giving people access to the most accurate knowledge, so they can make the best decisions in their lives. It angered me how little our society talks about these stigmatised topics. Knowledge is empowerment, especially for those who menstruate. Because periods are often considered a disadvantage in life, information is crucial to ensure people can live just as freely as those who don’t menstruate.
Strengthening people with tools, such as knowledge, is the best way to help.
On that note, I was also angered by how many people suffer from period poverty. Many of our students skip classes when they don’t have the products they need, which leads to them not receiving as high a quality education as those who don’t need to skip classes. This ultimately contributes to the gender gap in the workforce. In short, people need access to these products, as well as information in order to live better and healthier lives – I will do all I can to ensure that.
Period poverty in the US
Period poverty is traditionally linked with developing countries – how do you think it’s reflected in the US?
People who can’t afford health insurance often also can’t afford menstrual products. These products are viewed as luxuries by the IRS in many states and are therefore taxed as such. Not to mention the prices that are vastly inflated because companies know that people who menstruate are dependent on them and have to buy products, regardless of the price.
Here, period poverty is reflected through the state of our healthcare – money determines one’s (menstrual) health.
It’s easy for people to think that the US doesn’t have the same healthcare problems as developing nations – but that’s actually not true at all. The US has the highest maternal mortality rate of all G7 countries*, despite having twice the healthcare expenditure as most G7 countries. The reason we don’t know about this is because we don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about menstrual health either and where there is no discussion, there will be no progression. We can’t expect this problem to go away when we won’t even talk about methods to solve it.
What do you think needs to happen on a local or global scale for periods to be normalised?
It’s very difficult to change a society that’s set in its ways and does not believe it needs changing. People tend to follow the advice of who they admire, so those who have power in government or in the media need to start normalising periods by saying that it’s normal.
Companies manufacturing menstrual products also need to speak up, instead of further enforcing the stigma with advertisements that often display the secrecy and taboo around it.
In the end, it will simply take time. If we compare our society in terms of the menstruation stigma to the one 100 years ago, it’s evident that we have made some progress albeit slow.
Change is inevitable and we only control how fast or slow we progress, but it will always happen.
* The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its members are the world’s largest advanced economies and wealthiest liberal democracies.
Final thoughts
Gabi with the Georgia Southern University mascot GUS the Eagle.
Thank you
We’d like to express our gratitude to Gabi Wiggill, who was kind enough to share her story and thoughts with us. Her incredible work at Georgia Southern University (and beyond) continues to inspire us – hopefully you, as a reader, feel it too!
Stay up to date and get more behind-the-scenes pictures, videos and stories.
Be part of the project
Taboo Global Periods is a community-driven project. If you are interested in telling your story, we want to hear from you: show us how periods impact you or those around you.
Text, pictures and videos are welcome.
Accessibility to period products in developing countries has for long been a known issue and widely covered by the media. What some don’t know though, is that this is also a reality in developed countries, like the United States.
But young generations are bringing these issues to light by taking action and shaping the future they want to see and live in. To delve into this, we touched base with Gabi Wiggill. As a student at Georgia Southern University, Gabi is working hard to destigmatize periods and fight period poverty on a campus otherwise described as conservative, where menstrual health is a very stigmatised topic.
Gabi on a trip to Germany.
Gabi grew up in Pretoria, South Africa but is now based in Statesboro, Georgia (USA), where she studies Public Health and is preparing for Medical School.
Gabi making cupcakes
for her classmates.
Gabi and her family shortly before
they left South Africa.
Young Gabi in South Africa.
How was your experience with periods growing up?
I grew up in a very conservative society in South Africa. Even though I went to an all-girls school, we still never talked about periods. I would never dream of mentioning anything related to my period in front of guys.
My friends and I used to have code phrases to tell each other when we were on our periods, like “I have guests”. I often had to think of excuses as to why I couldn’t go swimming or why I felt sick. I was always worried about people noticing or leaking and smelling.
We didn’t speak much about periods in my household. Even though I knew I could speak to my mom, I was often too embarrassed.
Is it any different now?
I don’t think how society regards periods has changed, but I definitely have. By the age of 17/18 I was more confident and interested in science – I realised that it’s ridiculous to be so secretive about menstruation. That’s when I slowly started to normalise it for myself and eventually became an advocate for it. It definitely had a lot to do with moving to the US where people were just more open in general about things. Or at least the people I became friends with.
Gabi and her best friend
when they were 8 years old.
when they were 8 years old.
There’s still a huge stigma in southern US states and it’s very closely related to conservatism and religion.
Have you personally experienced period taboos in your daily life?
Yes, many. Most of my life, I didn’t feel comfortable talking about it at all. Even looking something up about periods on the internet made me feel like I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to. When I went to Spain to do an internship, I was entirely on my own and noticed my discharge becoming abnormal. I decided to look it up online in incognito search mode and found a wealth of information that I never knew. It honestly made me angry that I was never exposed to this – that was definitely my turning point in advocating for menstrual health awareness.
© Georgia Southern University.
How are periods perceived in Georgia? Are there any social or cultural patterns you have noticed?
It honestly depends on the group of people. I have previously talked to people on my campus about petitioning to remove the sales tax for menstrual products in Georgia and was exposed to a whole range of opinions.
Men were surprisingly not so difficult to talk to. A lot of them realise that they can’t empathise, but they can sympathise. Many were willing to join the petition because it logically sounded like the right thing to do. There were, of course, men who didn’t want to talk about the topic either.
Menstrual health advocacy is associated with “the liberals”, a term used in a derogatory way for the democratic party.
There are two very distinct sides to the political spectrum in the United States that have become so ingrained in the culture, it seems comparable to cultural tribalism. One’s political affiliation has become an identity. Topics that are typically associated with people on one side of the spectrum, are vehemently opposed or not addressed by the other side, simply because it does not fall within their political identity. Not because of whether they actually agree or disagree. In my experience, people who are in stronger support of social change are more likely to support progressive initiatives like this.
Green Period Pantry
The Green Period Pantry (GPP) at Georgia Southern University is a grant-funded project proposed by Gabi. Scheduled to open this fall semester, the different sites across campus will offer students the choice of one menstrual cup or two cloth pads free of cost.
The pantry’s mission is to fight period poverty and bring environmental sustainability to the campus and expose people to these products so they may continue using them even when they have left university, ultimately making an impact across the country and world.
How did the idea for the GPP come about?
It started in my first year of university, as I was researching for an English paper on the sustainability of menstrual products. It was eye-opening for me to see the effect they had and how corporations exploit women’s needs for money. I went on a whole journey to bring unbiased and scientifically accurate health information to our campus.
By my second year, my goal was to make menstrual products available in restrooms across campus and I found out that my campus offered a sustainability fee grant programme – that’s when the environmentally-friendly period pantry popped into my head! It was a panacea because I had been trying to do this but lacked a funding mechanism.
Series of events that Gabi
organised with her committee.
Fall 2020 schedule of events to spread health awareness on campus.
What was your individual motivation behind it?
I care deeply about giving people access to the most accurate knowledge, so they can make the best decisions in their lives. It angered me how little our society talks about these stigmatised topics. Knowledge is empowerment, especially for those who menstruate. Because periods are often considered a disadvantage in life, information is crucial to ensure people can live just as freely as those who don’t menstruate.
Strengthening people with tools, such as knowledge, is the best way to help.
On that note, I was also angered by how many people suffer from period poverty. Many of our students skip classes when they don’t have the products they need, which leads to them not receiving as high a quality education as those who don’t need to skip classes. This ultimately contributes to the gender gap in the workforce. In short, people need access to these products, as well as information in order to live better and healthier lives – I will do all I can to ensure that.
Period poverty
in the US
Period poverty is traditionally linked with developing countries – how do you think it’s reflected in the US?
People who can’t afford health insurance often also can’t afford menstrual products. These products are viewed as luxuries by the IRS in many states and are therefore taxed as such. Not to mention the prices that are vastly inflated because companies know that people who menstruate are dependent on them and have to buy products, regardless of the price.
Here, period poverty is reflected through the state of our healthcare – money determines one’s (menstrual) health.
It’s easy for people to think that the US doesn’t have the same healthcare problems as developing nations – but that’s actually not true at all. The US has the highest maternal mortality rate of all G7 countries*, despite having twice the healthcare expenditure as most G7 countries. The reason we don’t know about this is because we don’t talk about it. We don’t talk about menstrual health either and where there is no discussion, there will be no progression. We can’t expect this problem to go away when we won’t even talk about methods to solve it.
What do you think needs to happen on a local or global scale for periods to be normalised?
It’s very difficult to change a society that’s set in its ways and does not believe it needs changing. People tend to follow the advice of who they admire, so those who have power in government or in the media need to start normalising periods by saying that it’s normal.
Companies manufacturing menstrual products also need to speak up, instead of further enforcing the stigma with advertisements that often display the secrecy and taboo around it.
In the end, it will simply take time. If we compare our society in terms of the menstruation stigma to the one 100 years ago, it’s evident that we have made some progress albeit slow.
Change is inevitable and we only control how fast or slow we progress, but it will always happen.
* The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Its members are the world’s largest advanced economies and wealthiest liberal democracies.
Final thoughts
Gabi with the Georgia Southern University
mascot GUS the Eagle.
Thank you
We’d like to express our gratitude to Gabi Wiggill, who was kind enough to share her story and thoughts with us. Her incredible work at Georgia Southern University (and beyond) continues to inspire us – hopefully you, as a reader, feel it too!
Stay up to date and get more behind-the-scenes pictures, videos and stories.
Be part of the project
Taboo Global Periods is a community-driven project. If you are interested in telling your story, we want to hear from you.
Show us how periods impact you or those around you.
Text, pictures and videos are welcome.
The project is initiated by @AllMatters
and photographer Nikolaj Møller @nahmnahm