Susan Kim (1) (1958–)

This book has produced interesting feelings for me. On the one hand, I'm so glad someone has decided to write an entire damn book about menstruation and it's cultural history. That's fantastic. And it's presented in a way that might invite those who are not strident feminists to pick it up. On the other hand, the joke-y tone and the lack of deeply researched content, kind of put me off. That and the fact that they sort of write off the fact that periods do cause some amount of suffering for a lot of women, more than mere inconvenience.

This book feels to me more like a collection of opinion essays more than a historical look at period culture. This is most evident in the early chapters where the authors talk about period experiences with the apparent assumption that most women bleed for four days, experience a few minor aches, pains, and bloating, and go on with their lives. I don't like this assumption because I feel that it invalidates the experiences of women whose periods are not nice and tidy. I'm sure this is not the authors' intent, but it is off-putting. The chapter where they discuss alternatives to disposable femcare also irked me. Mainly the feeling of closed-mindedness relating to these products. I get that it's something they were testing and something that takes most a while to get used to. But their reactions seemed so out of character with the rest of the book.

Overall, I think this is a great book for someone who is just beginning to dip a toe into feminist waters. It's cute, friendly, and ultimately non-threatening.… (more)