Menstruation: How the story we tell online impacts the menstrual stigma

Abstract

Social media has changed how we interact, especially to the extent that it allows us to participate in global discussions about controversial or difficult topics. Historically, menstruation has been a subject that was never meant to be mentioned outside the home and is still heavily stigmatized today. Looking at a series of tweets from 2018, this project examines how the story of menstruation is told online. A content analysis of 675 tweets suggests that online discussions of menstruation could be lessening the menstrual stigma through discussion and advocacy.