By
Phil Leckman
Arizona Daily Wildcat
'Menstru-rama' blends education and a bloody good time
As Las Sinfronteras founder Veronica Del Real puts it, "half the world bleeds."
Menstruation is a monthly fact of life for half of the humans on the planet. But despite this ubiquity, it continues to occupy a contradictory and unusual position in American culture.
The ambiguities, myths and contradictions surrounding menstruation will be among the many issues covered in "The Period: a Menstru-rama," a celebration of menstruation organized by local women's collective Las Sinfronteras. Billed as "an afternoon of luscious red tales and inforadicalism," the "Menstru-rama" will attempt to both educate and entertain, using fun and humor to defuse the mystique surrounding "that time of the month."
The event will also serve to raise awareness about Las Sinfronteras' mission as a women's performance collective.
"Besides promoting a lot of awareness about women's issues in a creative way, we're grounding ourselves in Tucson, making people aware that there is this new group that women are welcome to be part of," Del Real said. "We're here, we're radical, we're creative, and we're welcoming."
In many ways, menstruation is simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. On one hand, it is at the center of the multi-million dollar feminine hygiene industry, publicized everywhere from slick fashion magazines to commercials during "Ally McBeal."
But menstruation also remains something of a taboo - the subject of dirty jokes, locker room sniggers and those "embarrassing moment" pages in teen magazines. "Menstru-rama" aims to confront these taboos by exuberantly celebrating this sometimes shameful phenomenon, educating and entertaining at the same time.
"This event not only has to do with information, it's also a fun approach to dealing with menstruation," said Kim Largey, an art history junior and Sinfronteras member.
While plenty of valuable information, including presentations by medical professionals, will be on display, one of the event's main goals, Largey said, is "to have a little fun with it, tongue-in-cheek, and just get women together."
This off-beat celebration of the crimson tide will take many forms, even including food.
"There will be chocolate tampons and chocolate naked ladies," Largey said, "There will be boob cookies, and even a pussy pi–ata."
The theme extends to the second half of the event, an evening benefit concert, which will feature video, period-related art, menstruation-themed songs and spoken word, a menstruation skit and radical cheerleading.
"It's a big festival," Largey said.
Despite the fun, however, the event has a serious purpose. In addition to deconstructing the air of mystery and shame that often surrounds menstruation, Las Sinfronteras seek to educate women about the problems posed by the feminine hygiene industry and the consumer culture surrounding it.
"Tampons and pads not only contribute to landfills but are also unhealthy for you," said fine arts senior Marina Cornelius.
"It's the chlorine and the bleaches that are in the products that can negatively affect women's health," added journalism senior Jenna Duncan, "particularly because the dioxins can get in your system and cause toxic shock syndrome. Also, your cervix is a mucus membrane - these chemicals can cause it to dry up and that adds to all kinds of prolonged problems like cervical cancer and irregular bleeding."
The members of Las Sinfronteras said they hope the "Menstru-rama" can educate people about other approaches to menstruation.
"We want to present an alternative to mainstream women's health consumerism and show girls that there are alternative ways to deal with their monthly cycle," Cornelius said. "You don't have to buy Tampax tampons - you can make your own pad."
