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