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In recent years, there has been a growing concern from politicians, journalists and activists alike about a rise in people in the UK who are unable to afford menstrual products on a regular basis. The rise in so-called ‘period poverty’ to enforced austerity measures by the current government. ‘Period poverty’ is said to result in a wide array of issues (ranging from to ). A of 1000 women and girls by Plan International UK, suggests that ‘period poverty’ could effect 1 in 10 girls in the UK.

The ‘Period Poverty’ Project

The way ‘period poverty’ is shown in the media highlights new social and cultural formations within the current moment of austerity as narratives of gender inequality, feminist activism and social justice come to the foreground. As of yet, despite this surge of public and media discussion, there is little academic investigation into ‘period poverty’. There is little research that analyses how ‘period poverty’ is shown in the media, considers how such representations are made meaningful by people and if this all challenges or furthers current social inequalities under austerity.

Project Aims

Through conducting interviews and analysing demographic information, policy and media representations, The ‘Period Poverty’ Project aims to:

• Analyse the representational and empirical landscape of ‘period poverty’
• Examine how social inequalities materialise through this landscape
• Examine the relationship between representations of ‘period poverty’ and empirical experiences of ‘period poverty’
• Further theoretical understandings of how culture shapes the social through investigating the relationship between the representation of ‘period poverty’ and empirical experiences of ‘period poverty’

Many high profile public figures are increasingly speaking up about ‘period poverty’ (from royals, to models, to filmmakers, to celebrities, to politicians), alongside charity groups stepping in to try and stem ‘period poverty’, as this distinctly classed and gendered inequality occupies mainstream public debate. This increasing focus on ‘period poverty’ has resulted in a rise in representations of menstruation and poverty, visible through news media, social media, television and filmmaking since early 2016.

Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project

Dr Sara De Benedictis - Sara joined Brunel in May 2017. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Communications in the Department of Social and Political Sciences. Sara’s research explores the cultural politics of gender, class, reproduction and activism. She has published on topics like televisual birth, ‘period poverty’, ‘poverty porn’ or #MeToo, and has contributed to public and political debates on such topics. Sara is currently writing a monograph on the cultural politics of reproduction (under contract with Manchester University Press), which brings together various case studies on this topic from over a decade of research in this area. Sara teaches various modules in Media and Communications and Sociology at Brunel. She has taught on media studies, cultural studies and sociology courses at various universities at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, such as City University London, King’s College London and the London School of Economics. Before entering academia, Sara worked for charities in the women’s sector.

Project last modified 16/01/2024