(birds chirping) - hmm, periods. hmm, periods. - my palms are sweaty. - i feel awkward about it 'cause it's really weird. like there's a reason if you like cut yourself, then it starts bleeding, but i don't really think there's a reason if you just start bleeding from your private. - i'm kind of nervous speaking about periods, to be honest. - well, i call my period my evil best friend because she always come on time, she give me a hard time, and sometimes i'm happy to see her, if you know what i mean, so she's my evil best friend. - i fucking hate having my period. sorry, if i can't say that. i hate having my period. i hate having my period. - i love talking about my period and i love sharing my period stories and i love hearing people's period stories. - i'm supposed to get my period any minute. - jamie, when do you think i'll start having periods too? - the second you get it, your mom goes, "you're a woman now, and that's disgusting." (audience laughing) ♪ mommy, daddy, look at me ♪ i went to school and i got a degree ♪ - every month a woman has this time when she gets very angry, at everything. ♪ i got the big d - menstruation should be a welcome phenomenon for women. ♪ i got the big d - menstruation is a blessing, stigma and life. ♪ is your muffin ♪ would you like us to send someone ♪ ♪ to button your muffin - it pushes it out! put the other tube in your vagina. look! it came out of the plastic, i'm holding it. - it's kind of the same thing. the tampons look the same. - do you change your life for one week because of that time of the month? - midol's still the same. - why feel bad when you can feel good with my midol? - there's gotta be a better way. (upbeat music) - knowledge is power. menstrual knowledge is power. - that's freak tonight. - i feel like a defective typewriter. - huh? - i skipped a period. - biology is destiny unless you know what it's doing to you. - if you're only gonna learn one thing about your cycle, it's you're most likely to get pregnant before you ovulate. - we have a history about not caring about menstruation. - i'm menstruating. why is that a big deal? - we don't need to hear about that, thank you. - we have a history about not caring of pms or endometriosis, so that's in our history. - it's just part of life and we have suppressed that knowledge and made it seem shameful or unusual or only for women to know. - stigma grows in the dark. ♪ on the chaise longue ♪ on the chaise longue ♪ on the chaise longue all day long ♪ - everyone is here because some woman didn't have a period, so periods are extremely universal. they're like butt holes. everyone has a butt hole and that's kind of beautiful. - i don't know how my day job's gonna feel about me once i start talking about my vagina. (naomi laughing) - are women scary in a way to society because we're so magical? - it's like quiet. you have stuff for cramps, quiet. we've given you stuff if you bleed too heavy. it's fine, just relax. - we menstruate and break open and heal and do it again and again and again. - we're out here running, bleeding, bleeding, creating, taking care of our babies, and then on top of that, we're supposed to be quiet? no! (upbeat music) - my favorite color is sparkle and cheetah print. (madeleine laughing) i have a very, very, very long period and i have a heavy period. i just always have. i used to hate it. i love my period now. i try and reconceptualize it as my superpower. anything you can do, i can do bleeding. i love going on a run in central park when i'm on my period and being like, yeah, like you're running, but are you running like me today? i am studying public health policy and i hope to eventually go to law school and work in reproductive and menstrual justice. period activism lights a fire under my booty every morning when i wake up. it's like wake up, menstrual equity. i think it's because it is something so natural to our bodies, like this is, i can't change it. like i can't change it, so i gotta learn to love it, and in learning to love it, finding out that i have to then pay a tax on it. - tampons are subject to sales tax in 38 states because they're not classified as medical necessities. no, yeah, but some dandruff shampoos, lip bombs and condoms are, so that means that there's no tax for a horny, flaky scalp, lizard-lip man. (audience laughing) yeah, but i have to pay an extra 9% to soak up my monthly nightmare on panty streak. - why this is unconstitutional is because one is being taxed for their natural bodily function and that breaks the equal protection clause because chiefly, though not exclusively, women are bearing the burden of paying for the tampon tax. that is just rogue to me. in michigan, there's a class action lawsuit going on to get rid of the tax on menstrual products. simultaneously, a bill has been introduced to also eradicate the tampon tax. this is an extraordinary situation that we're seeing in michigan and you need either one to pass before the other fails, so that's why we rally, that's why we have to mobilize. if michigan fails, this could set the menstrual justice movement back decades. - michigan may be the next state to eliminate what's known as the tampon tax. two democratic senators have introduced bills making menstrual products exempt from the state sales and use taxes. - it brings in millions of dollars every year, but that lawsuit contends those items should not be taxed at all. - what about it is unconstitutional? - well, the constitution says you can't treat women and men differently. there has to be some legitimate reason, and in this case, i think a strong argument could be made that tampons are like a medical product. - we live in a society where people who menstruate are not being treated equally and equal treatment is a guarantee in our us constitution. - the majority of people menstruate, but don't have access to the products that they need to manage that menstruation. access to menstrual hygiene really depends on your zip code. (upbeat music) - i like to say i'm a full-time student, full-time activist, both of those. i think the biggest thing that stands in the way of fighting period poverty is the stigma around menstruation itself and the fact that even today there are students who literally have to whisper that they're on their period in the hallways, make up excuses to go to the nurse's office because they don't have access to mensural products. one in four students miss class due to lack of access to period products in the united states. you don't have to have a phd in menstruation studies or be a lawyer to make an impact. i remember when i had this idea of starting an organization at the ohio state university. we had started a period chapter. so period is the largest youth-run women's nonprofit in the world. it says "period, the dream team" 'cause we're honestly a really small team, but we're a mighty one, you know. having a really diverse team, that was something that was very important to me when i was building my team at ohio state to really address period stigma and period poverty. okay, is it a place where we can set up a packing party? how about we do like a circle or something where like, yeah. - [student] these are regulars. - [anusha] so 'cause that's what each care package can have, four tampons, there's things, underwear, and this one we have candy lipstick. well, we get all of the products from product drives that we run at period. - goes to low income menstruators, typically people in shelters or other people who can't manage their periods, which is, you know, creates obviously a lot of psychological stigma and it keeps people out of the workplace. - i remember when i did did start like talking about it with my mom, she was like, "did you know like i couldn't even use pads like in india? we couldn't afford." - it's something that when i like started here at period, i didn't realize it really happened in america and i know that's such a privileged point of view. - [anusha] period poverty is the inability to purchase period products because they are too expensive. someone will go to the grocery store and literally have to choose between bread and tampons. - people tell stories about how their daughters in columbus don't go to school when they're on their period. i like that the products that we package go directly to our community. - there are two main tropes that portray menstruating women in popular culture. the first is that menstruating women are simply crazy. - when i think about pop culture and periods and blood in general, i mean i think about the movie carrie. - which opens with her being tortured after she gets her first period because other girls are pelting her with tampons in the shower. - [corinne] and they're like plug it up. - she doesn't know what's going on. she thinks she's dying. she goes home, her mother locks her in a closet and suddenly the protagonist has these dangerous powers. - so i mean i like that 'cause that's kind of like a heavy warning signal to other people not to fuck with women on their periods. - and the second trope that really drives a lot of popular culture narratives is that periods are disgusting. until the 1970s, you couldn't even advertise pads or tampons on tv even though courteney cox used the word period in 1985. - it can actually change the way you feel about your period. - most other ads were still not openly talking about periods. they would show pads with blue liquid. seemingly period blood's too disgusting. - feel this clean. - this trope is really underlined in the film "superbad." - is that blood? oh, fuck. oh my god. - i think when you look back at that, it looks outdated, terrible, insensitive. - then you get to 2015 when donald trump disparaged megyn kelly. - you've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals. - you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. - that same year in 2015, the musician kiran gandhi ran the london marathon. - i was at the start line of the london marathon and i realized i was about to get my period. i remember kind of analyzing my options. one of the main reasons why i chose to freely is because i didn't know what would happen to a person who runs a marathon while bleeding. i knew it was radical. i don't think i've seen people bleeding in the streets. i haven't seen people bleeding and so there are tights when they're running, but to me i kind of was like what's gonna happen? nothing. women and people who bleed, trans folks, are waking up every day, all day around the world doing incredible things on our cycle. we're actually expected to hide it away in shame. it's the complete opposite and i'm glad the story went viral. there was so much conversation that came out of the symbolism of running a marathon free bleeding and i think humanity eventually always arrives at the truth, so i'm happy to be a participant in the truth. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc caused damage rinvoq came through by visibly repairing my colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief... lasting steroid-free remission... ...and the chance to visibly repair the colon lining. check, check, and check. rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections and blood clots, some fatal; cancers, including lymphoma and skin cancer; death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least 1 heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. put uc in check and keep it there with rinvoq. ask your gastroenterologist about rinvoq and learn how abbvie can help you save. every day, more dog people, and more vets are deciding it's time for a fresh approach to pet food. they're quitting the kibble. and kicking the cans. and feeding their dogs dog food that's actually well, food. developed with vets. made from real meat and veggies. portioned for your dog. and delivered right to your door. it's smarter, healthier pet food. get 50% off your first box at thefarmersdog.com/realfood the first time you connected your godaddy website and your store was also the first time you realized... well, we can do anything. cheesecake cookies? 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(soft music) - when i got my period at 10, i had such a huge support group like i had, i got the period talk when i was nine and i got it from my mother and my auntie, everybody else who already had their period. they didn't tell me i was gonna bleed until i was 50 though, and i'm like, "all right, i'm done, i did it, i did my five days." and they're like, "all right, well, okay, next month sis, it's coming." i had such a great experience having a support group. i want that for other people. i want that for girls that look like me, especially. a lot of us don't have the privilege, we don't have the freedom to just know about our bodies. we don't even have the access to just love our bodies. sex ed is not mandatory here in america. schools are not teaching their students about periods, even though it's clear that they have students who menstruate. - so our students, when they come in in ninth grade, they take a health class and in that health class there is units in regards to to sexual education, certainly, and then as well as they have biology, which the freshmen take as well, but it is not a specific course in regards to sexual education. i definitely think that there are politics at play and people have a different feeling in regards to menstruation. some things could be private. - for us, with happy period, with our programming, we are filling in that gap. plenty of seating here. we're actually going into institutions and challenging them to really be allies for their students. does anybody here know exactly what a period is or menstruation is? who knows what a period is or what menstruation is? okay, who has a period? oh okay, so some people who have a period don't know exactly what it is. - "why on earth do we menstruate?" is a very good question and there is no absolute answer to that. only 4% of mammals on this planet menstruate. (upbeat music) - [narrator] hey, i'm a uterus here to explain human embryos require a lot of resources, so unlike other mammals, i prepare my lining before anything has the chance to attach. this is how. when the strongest egg is ready, it sends out a signal and then waits for the perfect match. that's when my walls start to get thick, creating the coziest spot to potentially grow an embryo. but if the egg doesn't find the right match, i simply shed it all. this monthly reset allows me to maintain control so i can be ready when the right match comes along. - so the menstrual cycle is this very complex, very well-integrated and orchestrated discussion that tells your brain to release hormones. it lasts anywhere from 21 to 40 days, depending on the person. - i like to almost think of it as like the brain is the orchestra conductor and it's just kind of training the ovaries. it's a stronger and stronger signal. that starts stimulation of the lining of the uterus. - the uterus kind of grows along and if you could think about that, it's like your lining. - the menstrual cycle is a dance that will continue to go on probably for the next 40 years of that woman's life. - i think it's super important for us to really make sure that we are teaching sex ed and menstrual health all in one. tampon inserts in the vagina, but what do you call outside of the vagina, like the actual face? when you actually look at yourself, where your pubic hair is, that is not your vagina on the outside. it's called a vulva. and this is a huge reason why i kind of encourage you to look at yourselves in the mirror down there because the only way you would know what you look like is if you actually look. - the truth is we aren't given enough information in sex ed. the us is notorious for really shitty sexual health education and so by the time someone comes to see me in the gynecology office, i'm not surprised if they don't understand their body. the sooner you understand when you ovulate, what ovulation is, the sooner you also understand different things that happen in your body as it relates to sex. when people start becoming sexually active, if you know when you're gonna ovulate and you you know that that means i am fertile, i don't wanna get pregnant, you're more proactive with how to prevent it. and i think that's sort of at the crux of why a lot of this information is kept down in a lot of these states. people say it's a funding issue, we can't fund proper sex education, but the truth is knowledge is agency and if you give people, specifically women, more knowledge, more agency, then you have less power for the people who used to be making decisions. - okay, so who can tell me what ovulation is? - during the menstrual cycle, the ovulation phase, which is about a week, is the only time a woman can get pregnant during the month. every woman has her own normal. it can happened anywhere from day seven to day 14 after menstrual period. - when we're talking about teen pregnancy, we're just showing them abstinence and here's a condom. when we're talking about reproductive health, it's always centered on abortion. religion is thrown in there and the state is thrown in there. honestly, like i tend to just stay in my lane when i'm talking about sex ed. my lane is the menstrual health part of it. - there's a lot of things we don't know about fertility, ovulation in general, women's health in general. - extending back the medical establishment was really, really male-dominated. women were excluded from it for a very long time. we're coming from a place that was very wary of women's bodies, pathologized women, pathologized menstruation specifically. really-entrenched stigma is hard to shake entirely. - so the word hysteria comes from the word hystera, which is greek for uterus because people started to say that women were crazy because their uteruses were wandering all over their bodies. women are sick if they don't get enough penis inside them. hysteria was not taken out of