Blood Magic: The Anthropology of Menstruation

“It’s a cultural anthropology of menstruation. It’s one of the first books that said, ‘Instead of universalizing the idea that all humans have menstrual stigma, let’s actually take a closer look at all of these different groups.’ Actually, menstrual stigma is the exception, not the rule. All these practices that we’ve assumed were stigmatizing, like various types of menstrual seclusion practices, are actually more about ‘this is allowing us to concentrate our power’ or ‘this is giving us a break from domestic labor’ or ‘this is allowing us to go hang out with friends.’ Our Western narration told the wrong story, and this was the first collection that really pushed against that. It’s a really powerful book and it’s recognized as a classic among people who do critical menstrual studies. But outside of that, I think it’s an under-recognized collection. People don’t realize what a big deal it was that Buckley and Gottlieb had this thought, wrote an amazing introduction, and put together all these readings.” Read more...

The best books on Menstruation

Kate Clancy, Anthropologist