LINA KIM | Let's Talk, Period.
Throughout history, menstruation has been used as proof of biological inferiority, and, despite scientific studies disproving incredulous misconceptions, there are still many today who believe that all menstruators are affected intellectually and behaviorally by this process. In this current world where we praise ourselves for having progressive mindsets, why do these past beliefs persist?
The word taboo can be traced back to the Polynesian word tapua, which means menstruation. The taboo on menstruation is mostly universal and seemingly timeless. We don’t talk about menstruation. In fact, we don’t even want to say the word menstruation, so we gave it the pseudonym period, and now we don’t even want to say the word period anymore.
This unwillingness to talk about menstruation is the source of various detrimental situations to both individuals and the society at large, such as self-shame, spread of damaging misinformation, and ignorance of public health and human rights issues. If silence is the cause of problems, then we must talk.
For my project, I brought in people from different backgrounds and asked them the same questions. “Let’s Talk, Period.” is simply a compilation of their answers. I ask that the audience listens to what they have to say and bring your thoughts to everyday conversations. Perhaps, with enough people talking and listening, we will finally be able to dispel menstrual myths and normalize menstruation.
Let’s Talk, Period. run time: unknown - 10 episodes or more, 3-6 minutes each
Cast:
Amanda Fox
Bridget Chen
Erin Kim
Evelyn Zhang
Hana O'Looney
Lucy Font
Margaret Johnson
Michelle Cho
Neha Majety
Sadhana Pani
Uma Fox
Yao Yang
Special Thanks:
Wings
JHU-MICA Film Centre