Marlow Blog / Social Reflections

For some menstruators, period pain goes far beyond uncomfortable cramping. A possible solution? Menstrual leave. However, in practice, will this actually improve the quality of life of menstruators? Or only further add to the judgement and scrutiny around menstruation?

Picture this… it’s been a long week and you’re feeling a little under the weather. In an attempt to resolve your issue, you decide to take a trip to the doctor’s office. Upon your arrival, the doctor takes one look at your chart and swiftly gives you a diagnosis: Hysteria. Your treatment? A vibrator-induced orgasm.

While consuming and making pornography can be a positive experience for some viewers and artists, the porn industry itself is filled with misogyny, racism, sexism, sexual exploitation, sex-trafficking, and much more, all to generate profits.

Feminist-themed ads – aka “femvertising” – link consumption to social causes for corporate profit. If consumers are buying products as a ticket to a social movement, is it still reasonable to consider this social activism?

Depictions of menstruation in film and TV history have rarely been positive or accurate representations of authentic experiences. It's time to expose past period-related content for what it is - a bloody mess - and draw attention to a few other contemporary examples that are doing it right.

Racism has permeated our society and institutions not only within the US, but in Canada and the rest of the world. Racism in healthcare is a particularly pressing matter - with bias existing in research, in medical professionals’ perceptions, and in the policies in healthcare systems. 

Medical research has a gender bias problem; women are often excluded from participation in clinical trials, are systematically under-treated for pain in hospital settings, and for heart attacks have double the risk of dying. In this week's blog, we discuss how this has led to a need for feminist based medicine.

We shove tampons in our sleeves as we sneak to the bathroom. There’s so much taboo and stigma surrounding these products that we’ve come to accept the bare minimum because we’re so uncomfortable asking for anything more.