Like a lot of people, I can be a bit embarrassed (to my own embarrassment) about menstruation. As I get older, I make more and more of an effort to be matter-of-fact about its practicalities and its health implications for me. The first time I just openly asked in an office whether anyone had a tampon felt very brave. It also felt ridiculous - I wouldn't hesitate to ask for a tissue. That, however, is the impact that the association of menstruation with shame in British society has for me.
So what has prompted me to think about my personal experiences in relation to Wikimedia? As an editor on English Wikipedia, who mostly writes biographies, I've started pages for a few women whose work intersects with menstrual rights e.g. Rosemery Mollo, Douce Namwezi N'Ibamba, Miliama Simeona, Jeanne Gapiya-Niyonzima, and others.
In August 2023, I was supremely lucky to attend Wikimania and Singapore - this is where I first heard about the work of WikiProject Women's Health. It's obvious, that just as women are under-represented in biographical articles on English Wikipedia, so too would medical content that is most relevant to many of us.
A recyclable sanitary bin that got me thinking ...
I think these things coalesced when I got back from the GLAM Wiki conference in Montevideo. The hotel I was staying in had a really interesting looking sanitary bin in the women's toilet. It was pink, it had flowers on it and was recyclable, and I hadn't seen anything like it. "I'll send this to my friend I thought" - of course though this changed to "I'll upload this Commons".
I usually use the Commons app to upload images from my phone as I'm going around, so it wasn't until I was back home that I started looking at adding structured data and seeing what other photos there were of similar containers. I was pretty shocked to find:
One of the first images of a sanitary bin on CommonsLooking on Commons, I could initially find one other example!!! What!! And there was no Commons category (there is now) I found this very surprising: looking for an equivalent, there are approx. 200 images of condom machines on Commons (of course, more usually found in men's public toilets)
Sanitary napkin incinerator at Rajkot railway stationSearching further on Commons (in English), I found a photo of a sanitary towel incinerator in station in India, but nothing else relating these really important objects for menstrual health.
So, like a good Wikimedian, I've been adding images of sanitary bins I've been taking while out and about. I'm really conscious that I live in Britain and that what might be usual here, might not be for everywhere (why are the bins I've photographed so far all grey?)
Also, I have really bad menstrual cramps, with really dreadful pain. One thing that can help distract me is to concentrate on working on a Wikipedia article, while the pain relief gets going.
I've been searching Wikimedia Commons for more sanitary bins and categorising the data more efficiently. Doing this, I actually found a wikidata item for sanitary bin - but it was only with a Japanese label (Q11304918), so I merged the one I started in 2023 (Q123505413) with it. This then made visible an article on Japanese Wikipedia about sanitary bins.
I started to wonder whether other menstrual justice minded people might be interested in collaborating?
Would people interested images to Commons relating to menstrual justice? What do these receptacles look like in other places?
Would others be interested in expanding Wikidata items, e.g. for sanitary bin with translations in their languages? What research has been done on sanitary bins that could be added as structured data? e.g. when were they invented?
I know I'm a bit obsessed with sanitary-ware side of this topic, but there must be a range of other gaps to address.
Is there mileage in a Wiki Loves Menstruation campaign? (or similar, I have no idea about these things) (how to guide)
I know I am not the first person in the movement to be thinking about this (thank goodness), but I am interested seeing how other editors have addressed some of these issues.
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