The First Museum in Asia Dedicated to ‘Period’
Found on a bustling street, The Red House Period Museum carries out its mission to promote period as “biologically normal”.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — It’s hard to imagine that the ability to purchase sanitary pads is indeed a privilege.
Period poverty, or the lack of access to sanitary products and menstrual hygiene education, is a global health crisis. Those experiencing period poverty don’t have the means to buy the sanitary products they need and, in many cases, feel embarrassed about their menstruation. Poor menstrual hygiene could lead to health risks, such as reproductive and urinary tract infections, which further lead to infertility and birth complications.
The Red House Period Museum in Taipei City
While those suffering period poverty face mental health challenges and physical health risks, the shame surrounding menstruation remains largely unaddressed in many parts of the world. Many cultures see menstruation as dirty, and so-called menstrual taboos prevents individuals from talking about it, be it in public or private.
Three years ago, Lin Wei founded With Red, a Non-Governmental Organisation that strives to end period poverty and stigma in Taiwan. It came to Lin’s attention how people around her don’t like to talk about menstruation. “They would always use codes when referring to this biological phenomenon,” she said.
According to a survey published in 2016, women around the world use some 5000 euphemisms when addressing menstruation. In Taiwan, the most popular codes that people use when referring to period are “that”, “best friend” and “aunt”.
Education is an important step to fighting against period stigma. With Red launched the 50/100 initiative, which aims to have the entire population (100%) understand the menstrual cycle that women—50% of the population— are experiencing. With Red has also been distributing sanitary products for free to women around Taiwan—with reportedly 600 recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic—in the hope of putting an end to period poverty.
This June, Lin Wei took a step further to address this world-wide issue by founding The Red House Period Museum.
The Red House Period Museum may be small, but it has everything it needs. Its permanent exhibition presents an introduction on menstruation, alongside an in-depth study on issues like period poverty and stigma. The museum’s collection consists an array of sanitary products, as well as artefacts like menstrual rags from the 1940s, Tampex tampons from 1986, and menstrual pads made of different materials. Besides education material, the museum displays works of art that speak to this biological phenomenon experienced by women around the world.
The wall on the museum’s upper floor, as well as the staircase’s handrails, is painted in blood red, as if visitors who are entering the second floor were transported back to the mother’s womb. Found written on the wall are quotes that express anxiety commonly associated with menstruation: “I’m bleeding”, “I just want to lie down”, “Do you have menstrual pad?” “Can’t say it out loud”.
In Taiwan, period stigma is present when one makes an in-store purchase of sanitary products. For those who’ve bought menstrual pads at a local drugstore or convenient in Taiwan, you would know that the cashier would always offer you paper bag for free. Many customers would find this gesture extremely thoughtful, without realising that period-shaming is the main reason that makes people want to hide these intimate care products.
An installation that writes “You’re about to leave this place. Are you ready to love this world?” is found on the wall above the staircase.
In early November, Legislative Yuan in Taiwan just passed a proposed legislation for schools to provide free sanitary products to female students by the next school year. While the Taiwanese government is now making an effort to tackle period poverty, issues like period stigma may be harder to resolve; and this is where The Red House Period Museum comes in.
The Red House Period Museum is the first museum in Asia to address period poverty and stigma. Not only does it serve as a physical location for With Red to promote menstrual health, it’s also a place that congregates like-minded individuals, and encourages discussion on how to fight menstrual stigma. Found on a bustling street where a wet market is located, the Red House Period Museum looks forward to the day when people at large come to understand that “menstruation is just as ordinary as the wet market,” Lin said.