Learn Body Literacy (2026)

16/02/2026

The Menstrual Concealment Imperative

“Because menstruation is conceptualized from a biomedical perspective as a form of illness, women are encouraged to transform their bodies to prevent potential hazards of menstruation. Technological and pharmaceutical interventions promise menstrual concealment to women as an individual “choice” (for example, menstrual suppression) by transforming women’s menstrual bodies into non-bleeding ones.”

In addition to a culture of concealment in the larger society, concealment has also become an “imperative that women adopt through their internalization of and adherence to menstrual discourse”

Menstruators own hyper vigilance about concealing menstruation is a form of self-policing and self-objectification, which is fostered through medicalization of menstruation and neoliberal conceptions of health (such as the emphasis on “choice”).

Because these conceptions frame menstrual concealment as freedom, “the internalization of the culture of concealment is a form of social control and a body project that keeps women disembodied and oppressed.”

Persdotter also introduced the concept of menstrunormativity as an aggregate of menstrual norms, stigmas, etiquette, and discourse describing the regulation of certain menstrual subjectivities as "good" or "bad"

This is all a part of self-surveillance and self-discipline, where menstruators go on to adopt this internalized male gaze of their menstrual bodies, which results in self-objectification.

"The menstrual concealment imperative is a body project that keeps women in a psychological state of self-hatred and constantly preoccupied with their physical bodies as a way to keep women busy and “in their place.”"

"If menstrual concealment can be disentangled from menstrual discourse that dictates self-surveillance and self-objectification of women’s self-shamed bleeding bodies, the possibility exists for women to navigate their menstrual experiences with embodied subjectivity."

Have you ever experienced the menstrual concealment imperative, either as enforced from another person or how menstrual concealment is or was a part of your own self surveillance?

Let me know in the comments.

05/02/2026

Black history is inseparable from the fight to know, protect, and reclaim Black reproductive bodies from systems designed to control them.

This , let's celebrate Black women's contributions to the development of and .

In 1994, a group of Black women calling themselves the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice convened in Chicago for a conference sponsored by the Illinois Pro-Choice Alliance and the Ms. Foundation for Women.

They published a statement titled “Black Women on Universal Health Care Reform” in response to the Clinton administrations proposed plan for universal healthcare.

In 1997, 16 different women-of-color organizations representing four communities of color - Native American, African American, Latin American, and Asian American - launched the nonprofit SisterSong to build a national reproductive justice movement.

The SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice collective was the first org founded to build the reproductive justice movement.

Reproductive justice was a response to the “reproductive rights movement” of the 1970’s, which favored exclusionary politics that were too narrowly focused on the interests of classed, white women of the western world.

Black women, brown women, LGBTQI+ people, impoverished women, incarcerated women, homeless women, immigrant women, and disabled women were marginalized and outcast from the reproductive rights movement, which focused on abortion’s pro-choice versus pro-life debates.

Reproductive justice sought to acknowledge the ways in which social forces like race and class intersected with gender to limit the freedom to make informed choices and exercise their bodily autonomy.

This extended past the issue of abortion and extended into pregnancy, access to menstrual health and gynecological services, emergency contraception, contraception, abortion, treatment and prevention of STI’s, domestic violence assistance, out of hospital birth options access to midwives, doulas, and lactation consultants, domestic violence assistance, support services after medical trauma and harm, safe homes, childcare, and s*x education.

03/02/2026

The Body Literacy Symposium playlist is now live on Youtube!

8 fantastic lectures from our 2026 session.
Thank you to everyone who joined us live! I am truly appreciative of the participation and engagement with the topic of body literacy. As we continue to refine this subject of research, investigation, experimentation, and advocacy, I hope that these presentations can help be a guide for all of us. What I concluded is that we all have so much to offer this work and one another. Let's keep building more bonds.

To watch the playlist you can click the link in the bio under Body Literacy Symposium 2026 or visit my youtube channel! And if you registered, look out for an email from me soon with some extra resources and links from our presenters!!

In solidarity! Onward towards body literacy!

23/01/2026

The Body Literacy Symposium starts tomorrow! 🥰

After many months of planning and years of envisioning a conference like this, I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS WEEKEND! I'm driven by the hope that we can come together as body literacy practitioners of all kinds, to discuss the topics that are most important to us. We all have so much to say, and I hope this platform helps us say it to as many people as possible.

With that said, I wanted this conference to be free and accessible. We've had over 350 people sign up from all over the world. This far exceeded my expectations for the first go at it! Thank you all for making this a success. From our gracious presenters sharing their knowledge, to the power of you all sharing this through social media, I am so grateful to open up space.

For awhile I've felt like our movement is too disjointed, sometimes subsumed by chasing grants or booking new clients. I've been asking myself, where is our "FORUM?" Where do we go to debate ideas in a public setting? Where do go to ask questions directly to experts and cross paths with other experts? Where do we do our organizing in the fight for reproductive and birth justice? I don't have the answer to all of these questions but I know that my heart led me to creating The Body Literacy Symposium because I know that only good things will come from our convergence.

May this weekend teach you something, create connections, and build upon the work that we are all doing individually and collectively. It's an honor to host this event and I look forward to seeing you there!

22/01/2026

Join us on Sunday Jan 25 @ 4pm ET for "The Myth of the Magic Bullet: A Brief History of Hormonal Birth Control". Sabrina Rose () will help us better contextualize the history of birth control, its social implications, and its political applications. I'm so excited for this talk!

Sabrina Rose is an herbalist, women's health educator, and founder of Moonbeam by Sabrina, a practice supporting young women’s reproductive wellbeing through holistic care and body literacy. She is also the writer, producer, and host of Chaos & Control, a documentary podcast series examining the complex history of birth control in America.

Some things I'm thinking about before this presentation are...

1. How does the uneven burden of birth control affect the ability to gain body literacy and make informed decisions about ones reproductive health?

2. What are the most effective communication strategies for having meaningful and nuanced conversations about birth control with friends as well as with medical professionals?

This will be the final presentation for our Symposium this year and I'm deeply grateful to Sabrina for closing it out strong, sharing this important work, and having this conversation with us!

You can still sign up to join the Symposium - Register for free via the link in the bio or www.learnbodyliteracy.com/symposium

20/01/2026

Coming up on Saturday! At The First EVER Body Literacy Symposium!!
Join me for my talk "The Immuno-Menstrual Axis: Emerging Connections In Reproductive Health"

I'll introduce the Immuno-Menstrual Axis, a concept I've been developing to describe the communication and interrelationship between the immune system and the menstrual cycle. I hope to increase our understanding of how the immune system supports, and even facilitates, normal functioning of the reproductive system. So what is the Immuno-Menstrual Axis?

- The ovulatory menstrual cycle is tightly regulated by hormones which are in constant cross communication with the immune system and play a key role in both the process of healthy menstruation and during pregnancy.

- The menstrual cycle’s immune function operates in balance, with major immune changes occurring at ovulation and menstruation

- The menstrual cycle is affected by acute immune events and its dysregulation is associated with chronic immune conditions

- Most all reproductive health conditions have an immune component, and we'll go through some examples from PCOS, endometriosis, to fibroids and PMDD. Systemic immune health is always a factor to consider in the complex puzzle of reproductive health!

My talk is on 01/24/26 @ 5:00pm Eastern Time, but please come see all of our presenters starting at noon on both Saturday and Sunday! Read the full list of symposium presentations at www.learnbodyliteracy.com/symposium and don't forget to sign up!

17/01/2026

Dr. Rosita Arvigo DN () will be joining us at 2pm on January 25th for the Body Literacy Symposium. She will be discussing her work - "Painful Periods and the Wandering Womb"

"When the uterus is out of proper position in the pelvic bowl it does not allow the free flow of arteries, veins, lymph and nerves to move to and from the pelvis. This has proven to be one of the major anatomical causes of painful periods."

Dr. Rosita Arvigo DN is a doctor of Naprapathy, author, international lecturer, founder of The Arvigo Institute and The Abdominal Therapy Collective. She's also a part of The Traditional Healer’s Association of Belize, and has been a guest on hundreds of podcasts.

A fun anecdote: I first found Dr. Rosita's work many years ago when dealing with my own painful cramps and have been a student of her work ever since! I attribute my healing to many of the techniques she practices. Many years later, Dr. Rosita surprised me when she commented on my youtube podcast on vaginal steaming, and this is what prompted me to reach out to her about the conference! It's my honor to host her this year at The Body Literacy Symposium and learn from all her wisdom.

I hope you'll join us Jan 24-25 for this event which is free and open to the public. You can sign up via the link in my bio or go to www.learnbodyliteracy.com/symposium

16/01/2026

Dr. Rosita Arvigo DN () will be joining us at 2pm on January 25th for the Body Literacy Symposium. She will be discussing her work - "Painful Periods and the Wandering Womb"

"When the uterus is out of proper position in the pelvic bowl it does not allow the free flow of arteries, veins, lymph and nerves to move to and from the pelvis. This has proven to be one of the major anatomical causes of painful periods."

Dr. Rosita Arvigo DN is a doctor of Naprapathy, author, international lecturer, founder of The Arvigo Institute and The Abdominal Therapy Collective. She's also a part of The Traditional Healer’s Association of Belize, and has been a guest on hundreds of podcasts.

A fun anecdote: I first found Dr. Rosita's work many years ago when dealing with my own painful cramps and have been a student of her work ever since! I attribute my healing to many of the techniques she practices. Many years later, Dr. Rosita surprised me when she commented on my youtube podcast on vaginal steaming, and this is what prompted me to reach out to her about the conference! It's my honor to host her this year at The Body Literacy Symposium and learn from all her wisdom.

I hope you'll join us Jan 24-25 for this event which is free and open to the public. You can sign up via the link in my bio or go to www.learnbodyliteracy.com/symposium

15/01/2026

Let me upgrade you! ✨🌈

Googling images of the female reproductive system can be disheartening as a menstrual health educator. So when I set out to create my own graphics and specifically the female reproductive system graphic in my book, The Body Literacy Visual Reader / Coloring Book, I wanted to make sure I was intentional. Because the version most of us learned is… wildly oversimplified. (swipe to see the typical uterus "look")

Better illustration adds anatomical details that are often left out or misrepresented, including:
- Cervical crypts (where does that cervical fluid COME FROM?! Hard to understand if we can't see it depicted visually!)
- The pockets of Shaw (how are our "dry days" regulated? PoS here to help explain!)
- Uterine tubes shown as separate structure (they are not actually attached to the ovaries)

For too long, reproductive anatomy has been siloed in medical texts, taught using diagrams that flatten complexity, erase function, and quietly reinforce misinformation. When visuals are wrong or incomplete, it affects how we understand our bodies, our symptoms, and our health. It even affects how doctors understand us.

My work focuses on visual accuracy and creativity as a form of body literacy. When people can see their anatomy clearly and correctly, they gain language, agency, and confidence in their own physiology. It's magical to see in practice.

For me, it's about upgrading how we learn/teach, and how the public more generally discusses reproductive health. More visuals = more exploration = more embodied experience = more respect for the body. Check out The Body Literacy Visual Reader and Coloring Book via my bio link!

11/01/2026

Denise () is joining us Day 2 at The Body Literacy Symposium (Jan 24-25) to speak with us about "Ovulation: The Key to Overall Health"

She tells us that "Growing up, we are taught that our menstrual cycle is just about reproduction. But what if I told you that our overall health and well-being stems from our menstrual health. That our cycle impacts everything from bone density and cardiovascular health to mental and breast health. That’s why supporting our cycle isn’t as simple as taking a supplement or two. And to make things more complex, you may not be ovulating every cycle. In this presentation, I'll go over why ovulation is key to our health and how we can truly support our cycles in a holistic, sustainable way."

Denise is a clinical herbalist, cycle and s*xual health educator. She is the owner of Eclipsic Herbs, where she teaches in-depth cycle tracking and personalized cycle health support. Denise's work focuses on bridging together body literacy and plant medicine. She believes that our cycle is not our shackle, it is our compass. That our cycles goes beyond just for reproduction, it's core to our health and wellbeing. Her formal education and experience is rooted in western herbalism and weaving in folk herbalism from Colombia. She is certified as a Fertility Awareness educator, with a focus on hormonal imbalances and pregnancy prevention.

Some things I'm thinking about before this talk are...
- To explain how someone can tell if they’re actually ovulating if they’re having regular periods! And how the medical assumption is that cycle regularity = ovulating.

- And what do you see in your practice today as some of the most common disruptors of ovulation in the modern world?

Very grateful to Denise for expounding upon this important topic! The menstrual cycle and ovulation are truly and deeply interconnected to the rest of our body!

10/01/2026

Don’t forget! ✨ The Body Literacy Symposium is almost here (Jan 24-25) and I’m deeply honored and so excited to be hosting this. I did not know how this was going to go when I dreamed up this virtual conference a few years back, but wow! Over 200 people have already signed up! Amazing, inspiring, encouraging! The idea was to convene 😏 Again, major gratitude to all our presenters for giving their time to this public forum.

A gentle reminder: while some presenters have generously agreed to share their talks on YouTube later, not all sessions will be available afterward. If you want to experience the full depth of the symposium, live attendance is strongly encouraged.

Speaking of! Being there live means you will ask presenters your questions in real time and join meaningful discussion with our growing community! Win, win really.

I can feel already that this gathering will be something special, and I hope to spend the next few weeks sharing the rest of the wonderful presentations to come in this conference. If you have the capacity and are called to, share this with your loved ones, peers, fellow professionals, and friends.

And see you soon at the Body Literacy Symposium!

09/01/2026

A look at Day 2 at The Body Literacy Symposium! Starting with Holistic Care for Fibroids presented by Kate Douglas! ()

Kate Douglas is a Fertility Awareness Educator passionate about body literacy at all stages of life. She is the founder of Earth Body, an online hub for classes in cycle health for individuals and holistic professionals. She currently serves as the head of the Research Committee at the Association of Fertility Awareness Professionals and brings a multidisciplinary background to this work with training in bodywork and horticulture in order to center the wholeness/nourishment of a client and their local ecosystem.

Holistic Care for Fibroids will focus on holistic strategies to manage uterine fibroids and related symptoms, and Kate will also bring her personal experiences with fibroids to the discussion. Some things I'm thinking about before this discussion are related to fibroid occurrence as we age, and the best strategies for post-operative care. I'm really delighted to welcome her to the Body Literacy Symposium on January 25th!

Join us by registering for FREE at the link in the bio or at www.learnbodyliteracy.com/symposium

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