'The Periodical' is a series of zines chronicling menstruators' experiences in India. The zines seek to cover a range of issues that capture the complexity of the worlds that are affected by periods; the environment—hygiene and disposal of pads, work culture and paid period leave, and education in schools among others. These are intended to be distributed in schools, colleges, offices, libraries, apartment complexes and digitally as well to engage in conversation and spread awareness. Each zine was designed and illustrated based on conversations about periods with different people across genders, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
'What's the Good Word?' looks at understanding multiple meanings of the word period itself. It opens up into a crossword, of the various codenames that people have for 'that time of the month'.
‘Bare Necessities’ talks about the environmental effects of using certain period products. Most menstruators use sanitary pads, however, they are made of non-biodegradable materials and add to waste in landfills.
Even though there are biodegradable pads, they turn out to be very expensive and still end up in landfills. When they end up in landfills, the rag pickers are exposed to it, many of them being menstruators themselves. The rotting sanitary pads have harmful effects on the air, water and land nearby and hence those living in the vicinity are exposed and affected by it. There are other sustainable ways to maintain period hygiene. These include switching to menstrual cups/ discs, reusable pads and reusable period panties. The end of the zine has a QR code that takes the reader to sites that talk about these alternatives in-depth and hence clear the ignorance around these sustainable products.
‘Skirting the Edge’ talks about the experience of staining a skirt in school. Most schools do not have sanitary pad dispensers in washrooms and often have light-coloured skirts, making the stains visible. Additionally they often don’t talk to both boys and girls about periods. This leaves young girls extremely confused and frustrated while dealing with their period. When one stains their skirt in school, usually a sweater is tied around their waist to cover the stain, and all the girls end up knowing. It’s hidden as though it’s shameful and can often create unnecessarily confusing experiences. Looking for a pad when your period suddenly finds you, is complicated as it needs to be whispered around and cannot be openly spoken about.
‘I Don’t Bleed Blue’ talks about the realities of experiencing a period versus what TV ads portray them to be. Ads show blood to be blue, women wearing white, extremely happy. The reality is quite untrue. Most women spoken to said the ads were extremely unrelatable— most menstruators don’t wear white, are not as happy and everyone bleeds in shades of red.
‘Menstruation not Mensuration; It’s Biological and not Mathematical’ talks about paid period leave. Women face terribly painful periods at times but are calculating how much leave they can take without losing their salary.
