I turned on Periodical alone in my apartment, nursing a cup of peppermint tea to offset chronic endometriosis pain, unaware of what was to unfold in the next hour and a half. 

A film by Lina Lyte Plioplyte, Periodical follows grad student and menstrual justice activist Madeline Morales on her campaign to abolish the tampon tax in all 50 States. Along with her fight for accessible access to menstrual products, the documentary acts as an educational guidebook to the stages of menstruation, menopause, and medical conditions that often go unspoken and undiagnosed such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), adenomyosis, and endometriosis—all the while including people who live with these conditions in the conversation around periods and menstrual equality. 

The film opens with intimate interviews with menstruators of all ages sharing their experiences with periods. In a witty and vulnerable conversation, the contrasts of experiences vary from self-love and empowerment, to embarrassment, and a deep-seeded shame over this biological cycle. 

About a minute into the documentary, a young girl states “I’m kind of nervous speaking about periods, to be honest,” a comment which brought me back in time to a decade ago, when I was first indoctrinated into the graduating class of “womanhood.” Though pubescent awkwardness was a contributing factor to my utter embarrassment of this newfound chapter, it quickly became an unviable excuse for this untraceable shame as I entered adulthood and continued to feel this same nervousness around my period, prompting the confrontation of a patriarchal society that deems women—and their bodies—as flawed. 

It is impossible not to write this review and keep it impersonal when living with endometriosis—a disease which doctors, family, friends, and even myself ignored and diminished for years, dismissing my pain under the pretense that “it’s normal to have a bad period.” 

Periodical emphatically denounces this notion of a “normal” period through conversations with OB/GYNs and menstrual advocates to argue against the abnormal preconceived notions of this very normal menstrual cycle, and the societal power structure in play that profits off of women’s pain through the control of their voices. From the denial of women in medical fields during functional medicine, pop culture using periods as a comedic or derogatory crutch, to the intentional neglect of basic menstrual education in schools, Periodical fills those craters in the conversations around periods. 

While teaching a health class at high school, Co-founder of #Happyperiod Chelsea Vonchaz shared how “menstrual knowledge is power” to a classroom of teenage students disproportionately disadvantaged and at risk due to the failure of the American school system to properly educate them on their own bodies. 

Intertwined with short interviews with menstruators from different cultures, ages, and stages in their cycle, Morales takes her campaign to the streets in collaboration with Anusha Singh, a medical student and menstrual justice activist following the court case to “Axe the Tax” in Michigan State, which serves as a landmark case for States still imposing taxes on menstrual products. 

Periodical is confrontational, educational, and unrelenting. The normalcy of ignorance and shame pinned to periods throughout history has shaped our society to silence voices demanding change to the system, and equality for all. In a stark comparison, Morales details how unconstitutional the tampon tax truly is when Viagra, various male hair loss products, and condoms are tax-exempt, while menstrual products are still deemed not a medical necessity. 

This film is beautiful as it is empowering. In a collaborative documentary that celebrates different cultures, identities, medical conditions, and the humans that continue to carry this conversation past the movie screen, Periodical shows power in unity and the resistance to shoulder this menstrual oppression any longer. 

Just as Vonchaz states, “Stigma grows in the dark.”

The 2024 ReFrame Festival runs from January 25th-February 4th. A list of films, tickets to events and screenings, and more information can be found on the Festival Website.