Own Your Period A Fact-filled Guide to Period Positivity

by Quint, Chella; Medeiros, Giovana

• ISBN13: 9780711256644
• ISBN10: 0711256640
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2021-10-12
• Publisher: words & pictures

Summary

Having a period is an incredible thing – Own Your Period celebrates what the body can do and provides young people (age 9+) with everything they need to be prepared… and empowered.  
 
This fact-filled guide to periods is bursting with positive, honest advice on managing and understanding menstruation, covering every aspect of periods as well as lots of advice on puberty and growing up in a warm, friendly and reassuring way.

Topics covered include the fascinating science behind why things happen, with all the details of menstruation through to the menopause explained, as well as answers to all essential questions like what’s a vulva and what does it look like, what do periods actually feel like, and what happens if blood stains your clothes?

Menstrual expert and educator Chella Quint’s witty text slays superstitions, busts common myths and fights period shame, while providing practical information about menstrual products, tracking cycles and sharingher own personal stories.
 
Funny, insightful and warm illustrations with friendly chatty text makes this an everything-you-need-to-know essential handbook, which pre-teens can refer to before their periods start, and will appreciate when their cycle is more established. 

This complete guide will prove an invaluable companion to any young person about to start their first period, and will help them embrace their cycle with positivity and pride, and grow into healthy, happy people!

Author Biography

Chella Quint is a Brooklyn-born, Sheffield-based designer, writer, and performer. A former drama teacher and head of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economics Education), Chella coined the phrase ‘period positive’ in 2006 and founded #periodpositive to use humour and joy to challenge menstrual taboos, and find long-term solutions to period poverty. She became a leading expert on menstruation education in the UK, advising on regional and national policy on menstruation education and period poverty. She created the Period Positive Pledge as a framework for developing menstruation-inclusive policy and outreach. Chella writes and performs solo shows, delivers public engagement projects and designs installations on themes inspired by science, health, taboo, product design and social justice.

Giovana Medeiros is a Brazilian illustrator, based in Lisbon, Portugal. She graduated in Fashion Design at SENAI/Criciúma, Brazil, and went to Dublin to study a Higher National Diploma at BCFE. Giovana's work focuses mainly on children's illustration, but has also been applied to a series of different mediums such as books, magazines, textiles, advertising, games, and apps. She works mainly digitally, but in her spare time likes to explore traditional painting with watercolor and gouache. Her main inspirations come from nature, women, daily life, literature, and her travels. 

Table of Contents

Contents
Hello from Chella 4
Who is this book for? 6
1 - the Basics 8
Periods and puberty 10
What’s a vulva? 12
Inside your body 16
Periods and hormones 18
Menstrual cycle phases 20
Life cycle of a period 24
Having babies?!?  28
Period stats 30
2 - Managing periods 32
What do periods look like? 34
What do periods feel like? 36
Charting your cycle 40
All about discharge 44
When periods are a pain 46
Asking for help 48
Maintaining good period health 50
Menstrual supplies 54
Sustainability 64
Stains and odour 66
3 - Period positivity 68
Menstrual shame 70
Busting myths and slaying superstitions 36
Media messages: a timeline 78
Being a period positive consumer 82
Talking about periods 84
Navigating periods at school 86
Share the Period Positive pledge 88
Own it! 90
Glossary 92
Index 94
About the author and illustrator 96