Writing Contest: Periods and Mental Health
Illustration Source: Design vector created by freepik – www.freepik.com
What are the effects of periods and period stigma on one’s mental health, sense of self and body? Can the right period practices and conversations help to positively impact a menstruator’s mental health?
Prompt #1
The sense of shame and guilt that many women and men have been taught to associate with menstruation has adversely affected not just the material conditions of young girls, women and trans people, but their self-esteem and overall mental well-being. It is high time we broke this norm of silence around periods- and what better way than to have healthy, active conversations around it?
Prompt #2
The menstrual cycle and mental health are closely connected and have to do with a range of factors such as levels of social acceptance, responses to physical pain, and hormone changes during the cycle. Yet, many people are too comfortable with reducing the issue to it being “shark week”. What according to you can be done to encourage sensitivity towards periods at the level of one-on-one interaction? What practices and sensitive mindsets can we inculcate in order to provide a period-positive environment for people who menstruate?
This contest is open to everyone! Whether it is your personal experience or medical perspective, your voice matters. Use the points above as a rough guideline to get you started! Get your creative juices flowing and write a poem or story. Maybe give us a playscript if you’re into all the drama! As long as it is your original, inspired work, you do you. Send us your piece and get a chance to get your work published on our blog!
What’s in it for you
- The winner gets a free Menstrupedia Comic Book, Master class pass and our signature t-shirt or a hot water bag cover, along with a personal message from our co-founder Aditi Gupta!
- The runner up gets a free Menstrupedia Comic Book and Master class pass with a personal message from Aditi!
- Third place wins a free Menstrupedia Comic Book along with Aditi’s personal message!
A few guidelines for the submissions:
- Your entry should be in English.
- Story/Sketch submission (written) – Article should be between 800 to 1000 words in a .doc/.docx file
- Poetry submission (written) – Should be more than 250 words in a .doc/.docx file
- A high-resolution picture of yourself, a short bio and your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter handles/links to your blog page to tag you!
Please note that the written piece should be your original composition. In case your story is inspired by some other piece of writing, share the link and reference and give due credits.
Send in your entries to write@menstrupedia.com
