Menstrupedia Comic
Menstrupedia comic is a guide to educate people around the world on menstruation. It was started by Aditi Gupta. Tuhin Paul and Rajat Mittal.[1] Menstrupedia aims to help people understand the process of puberty in women and men. It seeks to destroy myths around menstruation and to normalise the biological process.[2]
Menstrupedia Comic | |
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sample | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Menstrupedia.com |
Format | various |
Genre | Health |
Publication date | November 2012 to date |
Creative team | |
Created by | Aditi Gupta, Tuhin Paul and Rajat Mittal |
Background
When Aditi Gupta attained puberty at the age of 12, she found that menstruation is a taboo topic in her country.[2][3] She had to follow Indian traditional customs that implied that a menstruating person was impure.[3] As she grew up and moved away from her hometown, her perception of menstruation changed. She wished to spread more awareness to help girls understand their bodies better and not let society shame them for their biology.[2][3]
Gupta expanded what was initially her thesis project.[4] She researched on the topic on menstruation by interviewing doctors and many young girls. In November 2012, she and her husband Tuhin Paul, the co-founder, launched the Menstrupedia Comic to help educate people about the natural process of menstruation.
The Comic
Menstrupedia explains menstruation by using relatable characters. In the comic, Priya Didi who is also a doctor, explains puberty to her younger cousin Pinki, and Pinki’s friends Jiya and Mira. As Jiya gets her first period during Pink’s birthday party, Priya Didi uses the opportunity to talk to the girls about menstrual health, hygiene and puberty as they curiously ask her questions on the subject.[5][6][7]
Popularity
Since its launch, Menstrupedia has been gaining a lot of appreciation for its positive portrayal of menstruation.[8] In 2019 their Facebook page had 49,000 likes and their Twitter account had 4600 followers.[9]
As of 2017, the comics had been translated into 14 languages including Nepali and Spanish.[10]
The Blog
Menstrupedia also facilitates a blog which is a crowd-sourced platform. According to Aditi Gupta, "We have a community of 3000+ writers’ men, women and children as young as 12 years could. We don’t ask people their gender: they could identify as men/women/gender non-conforming. But we have a record of their names and ages."[10] The website also contains a Q&A and a Learn section.
References
- Bahukh, Shivani; i (2017-08-22). "In Conversation With Menstrupedia: Changing The Narrative Around Menstruation". Feminism In India. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "How an Indian Comic Book Is Teaching Girls About Their Periods". Time. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- TEDx Talks, A taboo-free way to talk about periods | Aditi Gupta | TEDxGatewayWomen, retrieved 2019-01-19
- "Aditi Gupta Is Breaking Menstrual Taboos Through Her Comic Book Guide, Menstrupedia". indiatimes.com. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "How an Indian Comic Book Is Teaching Girls About Their Periods". Time. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "Menstrupedia comic- read it for free!". www.menstrupedia.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- Lakshminarayan, Bhamini (2016-05-27). "Menstrupedia Comic: A Review". Feminism In India. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "Menstrupedia comic- read it for free!". www.menstrupedia.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- "Menstrupedia". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
- Bahukh, Shivani; i (2017-08-22). "In Conversation With Menstrupedia: Changing The Narrative Around Menstruation". Feminism In India. Retrieved 2019-01-19.