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The short film "Period, End of Sentence." [1] won an Oscar this year, depicting Indian women taking control of the production process of pads manufacturing. In
by franky47 8y ago
The short film "Period, End of Sentence." [1] won an Oscar this year, depicting Indian women taking control of the production process of pads manufacturing.
In a strange sense, while that process helped women gain a bit of control over their bodies and their lives, which is a good thing; and while it probably also helped some girls stay in school, as some girls mentioned feeling ashamed of doing so during their period, I initially felt like a reusable solution would have been more liberating, while also respecting the environment.
But the initial feeling had to do with my westerner point of view, where resources like clean water (to wash the reusable product) are abundant, and where the products can be bought online in a few taps on a glass screen in my pocket. The context for these women is very different: learning how to build a pad-pressing machine and build a business out of it was definitely more empowering than deferring that power to an external entity for the manufacturing of reusable products.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6939026/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6939026/ (available on Netflix)
- tauntz 8y agoThere's also really well made full-length movie named "Pad Man" [1] based on Arunachalam Muruganantham [2] as well. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pad_Man_(film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pad_Man_(film) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachalam_Muruganantham https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachalam_Muruganantham
- telesilla 8y agoI also donate to SHE, a Rwandan non-profit that produces and distributes affordable pads using banana fiber from local banana-fiber co-operatives. https://sheinnovates.com/go-3/she-goes-to-zimbabwe/ https://sheinnovates.com/go-3/she-goes-to-zimbabwe/
- TomK32 8y ago> definitely more empowering than deferring that power to an external entity for the manufacturing of reusable products. While it would certainly take a huge effort to create the base silicone product, creating the molds and use them to create reusable cups could be done on-demand and on-location.
- MasterScrat 8y ago> "Period, End of Sentence." That's quite a remarkable title.
- coherentpony 8y agoI like the pun but I also like just how open it is. It really tries to illustrate that "period" isn't a dirty word and that it is a normal bodily function.
- JudgeWapner 8y ago> while also respecting the environment Honest question: is it disrespecting the environment to harvest cotton/paper from the earth and put it back in the earth? They're both biodegradeable and renewable. If anything, I think that it would take carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it for decades, which is a net positive.
- sametmax 8y agoThose comes with packaging, processing and transport. Unless you imagine people free picking cotton in nature and shoving it in. Plus, you need many of those cotton balls in the day, and only one cup you can reuse the whole day.