Une histoire des produits menstruels

Far from being a purely biological phenomenon, menstruation and, more generally, the menstrual cycle are a socialised experience. Each society develops a dominant menstrual culture, made up of more or less acceptable practices, techniques and representations. This book studies the menstrual culture specific to consumerist societies, in which all experience (in particular, all experience of the body) tends to be associated with commercial products. Through the history of three menstrual products—disposable pads, disposable tampons and menstrual cycle tracking apps—the author continues her investigation into consumerism, everyday objects and the training of ‘female’ bodies.

Jeanne Guien is a researcher specialising in the philosophy of technology and industrial history. She is a former student of the Ecole Normale Supérieure and holds a doctorate and an agrégation in philosophy. Author of the book Le consumérisme à travers ses objets, published in 2021 by divergences, she co-hosts the programme Aux Ressources on Hors Série. Her other research interests include food waste, political ecology and working conditions in the waste collection and recovery sector.