Stigma, sustainability, and capitals: A case study on the menstrual cup

Lara Owen

Gender, Work and Organization, 2022, vol. 29, issue 4, 1095-1112

Abstract: This paper develops theory on stigma, capitals, and the female reproductive body, explored through analysis of empirical research on the uptake of menstrual cups, a reusable menstrual technology. Conventional menstrual products are single‐use disposables increasingly made of plastic and often disposed of by flushing, adding a significant load to marine pollution. Uptake of reusable products such as cloth pads, period underwear, and menstrual cups is increasing, but so far little is known about the effects of using such products on menstruators and on menstrual organization more broadly. My empirical research studied menstrual cup use in a small cohort of undergraduates in Melbourne, using a dual diary and interview technique. “Sustainability” as a key value was primary in participants' desire to try the cup, which most then found to be more convenient than other methods. These factors contributed to increased cultural capital surrounding menstruation, to the point where the cup and its use were described as “cool”. This new status facilitated articulation of menstrual experience with partners, peers, and families, rendering users greater agency and community in what has normatively been constructed as a solitary, silenced experience. Using the cup detached users from the menstrual disposability market economy, and therefore to some extent from its stigmatizing narrative and symbolic violence. Yet the cup had a significant paradoxical effect, in that users were able to “forget” they were menstruating during the day and in organizational settings, while encountering menstrual blood more intensely when they got home, differently enclosing the female reproductive body.

Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12808

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:gender:v:29:y:2022:i:4:p:1095-1112

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=0968-6673

Access Statistics for this article

Gender, Work and Organization is currently edited by David Knights, Deborah Kerfoot and Ida Sabelis

More articles in Gender, Work and Organization from Wiley Blackwell
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().