I'm often pretty surprised how much men (in my bubble) are involved in the whole topic of menstruation. It starts by being open to listening to everything I tell them about nookees and what happens in our bleeding universe, until quite a few who are really integrated and are willing to make a change. Three things that just surprised me recently when it comes to the involvement of men in my topic:
They love to learn: most of the time men are really shocked about the issues that come with menstruation e.g. period products full of chemicals until the fact that there are 500 million menstruating girls and women without access to period products suffering under period poverty. I figured out that they are super interested in everything I share and often can't really believe what is happening.
They are happy to be part of it: let's face it, even for us women it is sometimes hard to understand what is going on in our bodies due to all the hormonal chaos happening every day of our cycle. I figured out that the men who surround me are super thankful whenever I talk openly about my emotions and feelings during particular times. As soon as they understand where it all comes form, it is way easier for them to understand and to be able to react. Win-win for everybody!
They create impact: I am impressed by the wonderful men I got to know during my period poverty work, who are driven to be part of the movement. Who organize events to create awareness in the corporate world or even create new products for thousands of women in the global south. You guys rock and are the future.
It gives me goosebumps to see where we are hopefully heading: a world where men and women are part of everything that comes with menstruation and find solutions together. I know it is still Prenzlauer Berg thinking, but at least we are steering in the right direction and that gives me hope.
