Welcome
-  to a Danish anthology  about the first menstruation


To move along in the debate about sex and gender, one could postulate that women need to know their sex, their worth and acknowledge their biological cycle on a deeper and perhaps more intense level. And what is more feminine than the phenomenon menstruation? This is the outset of the anthology. 

In the anthology 28 women in the agegroup of 12 to 82 tell about the first time they experienced their period, and share thoughts evolved around that experience.

The authors describe the development from girl to women in both an entertaining and thoughtful way. Having read the different stories one is tempted to ask, whether girls and women still feel estranged towards their own sex or whether time has brought along greater understanding and openness?

Every narrative/story is introduced with a portrait from the time around the authors first period. The pictures together with the stories and the span of time thereby contains an historical outline of the 20th century understanding of sex and gender in the context of menstruation. 

Although being a Danish project it is our hope to generate a debate and inspire other women from other parts of the world to participate in the thoughts about the theme of the anthology.


The authors photographed when.....

Please jump to A GIVEN LIFE. Glimpses of ordinary women’s extraordinary experiences