‘Only when we call out the unnecessary shame and stigma that surrounds periods can we
demand meaningful change. Dahlqvist’s deft, compassionate storytelling, and her critical
global perspective, are a tremendous contribution to the movement for menstrual equity.’
— Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, author of Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity

Across the world, 2 billion experience menstruation, yet menstruation is seen as a mark of shame. We are told not to discuss it in public, that tampons and sanitary pads should be hidden away, the blood rendered invisible. In many parts of the world,  poverty, culture and religion collide causing the taboo around menstruation to have grave consequences.
Younger people who menstruate are deterred from going to school, adults from work, infections are left untreated. The shame is universal and the silence a global rule.
In It’s Only Blood Anna Dahlqvist tells the shocking but always moving stories of why and how people from Sweden to Bangladesh, from the United States to Uganda, are fighting back against the shame.

Preface
1. Stains
2. Our Shame
3. Lost Days
4. A Comprehensive Set of Rules
5. A Painful Silence
6. Millions of Menstruating Textile Workers
7. ‘I Just Kept Bleeding’
8. Bloody Menstrual Protection!
9. The Struggle
References

Anna Dahlqvist is a journalist specialising in gender, sexuality and human rights. She is editor-in-chief of Ottar, a Swedish magazine focusing on sexual politics and has previously published a book on illegal abortion and abortion rights in Europe.

‘A necessary contribution to the conversation on gender liberation. Dahlqvist masterfully
moves between storytelling and frameworking how stigma holds menstruators back globally,
while offering tangible solutions to many of these problems. A must read.’
— Kiran Gandhi, musician, activist, and free-bleeding runner at the 2015 London Marathon

‘An eye-opening and necessary book that will challenge your assumptions. Thought
provoking, relevant and sensitively written. If you want to know more and do more to end
menstrual taboos, read it.’
— Chella Quint, founder of #periodpositive

‘Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and take action against the global
consequences of menstrual shame, stigma, and taboo. An insightful and inspiring read that
will challenge you to think and behave differently.’
— Mandu Reid, founder of The Cup Effect

‘Brilliant. It was frustrating to realise how much there is to be done, but also inspiring to read
about these groups of women all over the world working bloody hard toward the same ideal:
that periods do not need to stand in the way of an education, a future, or a good life.’
— Gabby Edlin, founder of Bloody Good Period

‘Only when we call out the unnecessary shame and stigma that surrounds periods can we
demand meaningful change. Dahlqvist’s deft, compassionate storytelling, and her critical
global perspective, are a tremendous contribution to the movement for menstrual equity.’
— Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, author of Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity

‘A lushly detailed and often intimate portrait of a global social movement. What’s more,
Dahlqvist’s perceptive account reveals the insidious power of stigma to limit lives.’
— Chris Bobel, author of New Blood: Third-Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation

‘A wide-ranging exploration of the enduring taboos surrounding menstruation, taking the
author around the globe. What she uncovers in this provocative and insightful book will make
us forever rethink our “first world problems” by putting periods in a global context.’
— Karen Houppert, author of The Curse: Confronting the Last Unmentionable Taboo

“Before Dahlqvist started writing her taboo-busting menstruation manifesto, It’s Only Blood, she had never really considered that periods could be a political issue. After reading an article about girls in South Africa – girls who couldn’t attend school simply because of their menstrual cycle – she began delving into the shocking reality of period poverty around the world. Visiting Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh and India in 2015 and 2016, “it became clear that this is an issue wherever you go”. As she would soon discover, it is also an unspoken issue. “Our bodies are celebrated when we bear children. But menstruation – a prerequisite for pregnancy – is something that we are expected to hide,” Dahlqvist writes. “Menstruating bodies quickly turn from miracle makers into polluters. The stain becomes a mark of shame.”

From: https://www.the-pool.com/health/wombs-etc/2018/22/kat-lister-on-menstrual-health-around-the-world

Interview with Anna Dahlqvist:

The Ms. Q&A: Anna Dahlqvist is Fighting for Menstruators Around the World