"Seeing Red": Alter-Geopolitics of Menstrual Management and Activism in the United Kingdom

Despite being part of the lives of half the global population, menstrual management has received little academic attention as a gender and environmental justice issue. In the context of third and fourth-wave feminism, "Seeing Red" will examine menstrual activism as a form of alter-geopolitics, a type of feminist geopolitics done through action and forged outside of elite geopolitical circles and the container of the state. The research aims to explore off and online spaces of menstrual activism in the United Kingdom through ethnographic research with menstrual activists and groups, who are working to address matters of period poverty and transgender discrimination. The collection and analysis of menstrual activism materials and imagery will form part of the qualitative methodology and this will be accompanied by semi-structured interviews with key actors instrumental to the rise of menstrual activism in the UK, such as founding members of movements and bestselling authors. The PhD will bridge the gap between menstrual activism and scholarship, and will make important contributions to feminist political and social geography.