Houd je portemonneetje gesloten

Photos via Charlotte Luijendijk

A while back I sat down with Charlotte Luijendijk to talk about menstruation, taboos and tampons. She has written a book with the cool title: ‘Keep your wallet closed.’ In it she provokes with the question in which way you can, want and should talk about menstruation. She does this in a creative and open-minded way, we love it.

“With my project I want to break the silence that still exists around menstruation”

Talking tampons = talking taboos  

That Charlotte and I can talk extensively about menstruation is unfortunately not self-evident. Here in the Netherlands, 19% of girls  do not receive information before their first period. In countries like India or Bangladesh, this is even much higher. It is a taboo that needs to be talked about more and more, Charlotte also thinks. Her project was picked up by Women’s Health , Andc.tv  and VICE , among others .

Keep your wallet closed

Her research for her project shows that female characteristics are considered less valuable in our society and one of those characteristics is menstruation. It is often not appreciated when it is talked about. The taboo surrounding menstruation makes women feel ashamed and their bodies are censored.

At Yoni we are working every day to break the taboo surrounding menstruation. We are curious about your position on this topic. Send an email to Christel via christel@yoni.care and let’s break the taboo! You can read the full article about Charlotte Luijendijk via Simavi .