First things first: sorry, at the moment it’s only available in Dutch. What is? ‘Mooi rood is niet lelijk’, the book about menstruation. Written by Period! magazine’s founding editor Paula Kragten, it focuses on what’s a ‘normal’ menstruation, but also on why menstrual blood in commercials is always blue. The launch party, however, was a pretty red affair. With of course Paula Kragten (pictured below, in the middle), and Period! team members social media coordinator Mariëtte van der Lingen (left) and managing editor Yayeri van Baarsen (right).

‘Mooi rood is niet lelijk’ (in English: ‘Pretty red isn’t that bad’) features the tragic, comical, cultural and beautiful sides of a subject that really deserves a lot more attention. After all, despite the fact that all women deal with it at some point in their lives, it’s still considered taboo. There are over 5,000 euphemisms, from ‘Code Red’ to ‘Grandma is coming to visit’, because apparently we’re too afraid to say ‘menstruation’. Why is it that we still feel ashamed about our periods?

Mooi rood is niet lelijk went on sale in the Netherlands on March 8, 2017. Why on International Women’s Day? Because the fact that menstruation is still a taboo subject, has consequences for girls and women all over the world. They’re considered inferior and/or miss school or work because they don’t have access to sanitary items. Also closer to home there are still menstrual issues. Like women who deal with extremely painful periods because they think that’s normal. Or the many disposable pads and tampons that end up in the bin every month.

No worries, ‘Mooi rood is niet lelijk’ isn’t the manifest of a menstrual activist. It’s an interesting book with colourful images, full of facts and figures. Curious? Have a look at the preview of publisher Splint Media or order a Dutch copy online. And when the book will be available in English, you’ll read it here on Period! magazine.

More:
About Period! magazine
About the Period! team
Period! in the media