A History of Menstrual Activism | Our Bodies Our Blog A recent issue of the journal Health Care for Women International includes the article “From Convenience to Hazard: A Short History of the Emergence of the Menstrual Activism Movement, 1971-1992,” a succinct and fascinating history from author Chris Bobel. This article is well worth a read if you can get your hands on a copy (the link above is to the abstract only). The article highlights “Our Bodies, Ourselves” and the ways in which our classic book addressed menstruation and menstrual products over the years and editions. Bobel notes milestones in the history of menstrual activism, including growing concerns about menstrual products and changing attitudes and growing discussion about menstruation in the 1970s, concerns about toxic shock syndrome and the FDA’s inaction in the 1980s, and growing concern about toxins and interest in alternative products in the early 1990s.
Feminist theory in composition studies In composition studies, feminism’s goal is to foster a nurturing classroom that focuses on much positive, constructive feedback on writing. An instructor with a feminist pedagogy is unlikely to favor or focus on an androcentric direction of teaching nor will they give any sort of critique on the androcentric viewpoint. A feminist approach in composition “would focus on questions of difference and dominance in written language”.[1] Beginnings[edit] In the 1960s, the second wave of feminism began and one major goal was to raise society’s consciousness of the struggles of women. Mary P. Pedagogy[edit] Elizabeth Flynn writes that feminist theory “emphasize[s] that males and females differ in their developmental processes and in their interactions with others”.[1] Thus, a feminist instructor will take into account the implicit differences between male and female writers and teach appropriately, without favoring or focusing on androcentric or gynocentric studies. Research[edit] Works cited[edit]