Affiliation:
1. California State University, Fresno, USA
Abstract
In the Western world, menstruation has been branded a taboo topic. The purpose of this chapter is to build an argument for the use of morality as a fruitful lens for understanding menstruation communication within families. This chapter frames familial communication about menstruation as sites for the process of moral communication that have implications for the experiences, communication, and (dis)embodiment of menstruators through analysis of original, qualitative data using the concealment imperative framework and negotiated morality theory. In-depth interviews were conducted with mothers (n =30) who identified as either current or former menstruators. Results indicated family functioned as a site for moral communication when discussing menstrual products and in dialogues attempting to normalize menstruation. Framing family conversations as sites for the co-creation of moral understandings of menstruation offer an avenue from which menstruation can be re-storied, not as a shameful or embarrassing taboo, but as an embodied and powerful experience.
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