RESEARCH REFLECTIONS

The objective of the research, as outlined in the introduction, was to gain a deeper understanding of the effect of menstrual stigma, as an understanding of how this stigma affects gender construction and gender power relations. This research achieved a greater understanding of the impact social representations of the women’s bodies on girls’ gender performances within their narratives. Not a single participant’s account was unaffected by dominant discourse on menstruation. In fact, it seemed the most ‘tom-boy’ of the participating girls (i.e., those who challenge stereotypical gender norms) were the most influenced by the required concealment of their period. Thus, this research achieved its aims by demonstrating the wider implications for gender power relations suggested by the particular discourses drawn on and the positions taken up by participants in their personal narratives.

On the other hand, however, the study also had its limitations in terms of the knowledge that was generated on the topic of menstrual poverty itself. I was unable to draw conclusions on the many intersecting ways that culture and social class may build gendered subjectivities in the context of menstrual poverty. Rather, the data provided a basic grasp on the important link between socio-economic factors and a girls’ ability to menstruate in a ‘successful, feminine’ manner. I discuss this limitation further below in the context of researching a sensitive and stigmatised topic and reflect on how these might be addressed in future research on the topic. I include some recommendations as to how researchers may prompt girls to discuss menstrual poverty in future studies.

3.1. The need for a broader view of the issue

Given the qualitative design of this study, we cannot be sure of the extent to which menstrual poverty is an issue in New Zealand. Nor can we know the frequency of its occurrence. This is a task that could be taken up in other kinds of research, which my findings may inform. The methodology I used allowed girls to describe their experiences with menstruation, which permitted participants to choose whether they disclosed menstrual poverty status or not, thus many chose not to and the findings were somewhat limited by their silence.

Given the complex nature of studying associations between menstrual poverty and educational outcomes, future research could seek to increase knowledge and evidence on consistently linking the two. Demographic data of menstrual health, inclusive of menstrual poverty across all ages, would help formulate arguments for structural strategy changes. Scoping the extent of the menstrual poverty in New Zealand is therefore an important future prospect. Menstrual poverty should also be monitored as sanitary items hopefully become more available through schools. Menstrual poverty statistics would be invaluable to understanding the prevalence of the issue and would generate a base point to extend future research. Alongside this, a basic statistical reference would allow future interventions to assess whether reductions have been made in menstrual poverty over time, currently this is unavailable. Any intervention needs to be aware of the difficulty young woman may have seeking help, and should not rely on the women to initiate contact.

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2. Stigma and silences in the research

What we are able to conclude, however, is the extent to which taboo and social stigma still have an effect on this issue, even in a developed context like New Zealand. Given the extent to which menstrual taboo and stigma shaped these accounts, it is not surprising that I unfortunately was not able to generate an in-depth understanding of menstrual poverty. An expected challenge faced throughout this research was getting people to discuss menstrual

poverty. There is a difficulty in researching menstruation as a topic; it holds such high sensitivity that I was not able to dig deeper into experiences of menstrual poverty without risking distressing the participants. I found that asking for assistance with menstrual poverty is risky. It requires admitting to failed femininity and spoiling one’s identity.

If research is to be continued in this field, there needs to be more effective ways of encouraging participants to express their menstrual poverty experiences and the effects of this. Future researchers may consider taking alternative approaches that are less direct, such as questionnaires or qualitative surveying (Braun & Clarke, 2013). Other methods through which participants remain anonymous may also increase participant comfort in discussing sensitive experiences. Alternative qualitative methods such as photo-elicitation or spending more time with participants to build closer connections should also be considered.

3.3. Participant diversity

This research also sought to include diverse understandings of menstrual poverty. Through accessing the participants within the high schools, it was envisaged that a diverse range of individuals would partake in the study. However, participants did not represent a wide range of cultures and therefore this element of the research was limited. Future research may consider participants across wider population groups.

The scope of this thesis was confined to high school girls aged 16 and above, as parental consent would have been required for any potential participants under the age of 16. The decision was made to avoid parental consent concerns, as it was perceived that this would hinder girls desire to participate in the research; taking the time to talk about a stranger about menstrual poverty was considered enough of a challenge without bringing parents into the equation. However, this age bracket is a limitation to the study, as it cannot speak to the experiences of alternative ages. Menstrual experience is something that evolves across the

lifespan and how an adolescent negotiates their menstrual identity differs to women outside of that age range. Also as participants touched on, pre-menarche girls seem to hold a different opinion, even perhaps excitement, towards beginning their period. Older women may have differing ways of understanding menses again. Due to this, future research may seek to understand where along the way this opinion changes, and the role of menstrual poverty in this negative affect.

Further to this, this particular study was projected at women only and has excluded men’s perspectives and the experiences of people who are gender fluid; these are further avenues for future work. It is not only cisgender women who menstruate and trans men are not exempt from experiencing menstrual poverty. The challenges and menstruation related issues for menstruating men may be compounded, and will certainly differ in degree from those discussed in this research. While it was beyond the scope of this research to address these challenges, it may be a possible future research avenue as the experiences of transgender people, who should not be excluded or overlooked.