This is all about tracking menstrual cycles, fertilities and sexualities.
Many people track their menstrual cycles, their fertilities and their sexualities with glee. Others do it because their gynaecologists & doctors told them to do so. Others just want to keep track of the length of their cycles or do it in order to track their fertilities. Aaand others do it for other reasons. Many don’t track their cycles at all. There is no right or wrong when it comes to tracking menstrual cycles. As long as it feels good to you.
Boom
Over a year ago, back in 2015, I was looking for a research topic for my thesis that would be at the intersection of technologies, gender studies and sexualities. Boom and the idea of researching about menstrual cycle tracking apps was born. Well, born… metaphorically speaking yes. There was still nothing to see, nothing to engage with, nothing concrete - just the idea. So this is how it started.
Experiencing menstrual cycles
So what is menstrual cycle tracking and why does it matter? Menstrual cycles form part of many people’s lives and they are experiencing them in different ways. In fact, experiences of menstrual cycles can vary greatly. Psychologist Ingrid Johnston-Robledo takes a broad approach to define menstruation:
„Feminist social science scholars recognize that the biological event of menstruation is experienced and perceived within a broader sociocultural context. As such, it is associated with many psychological and social issues such as girls’ and women’s gender identity (…), sexuality (…), body image (…), reproductive lives (…), and social status (…). Further, women’s knowledge about, attitudes toward, and experiences with all aspects of menstrual life vary with their social location (…).
[…]
Girls and women, as active agents, respond to and resist messages about menstruation in popular culture, make meaning of their menstrual experiences across the lifespan, and negotiate their experiences with and constructions of the menstrual cycle differently depending on their social locations.”
(Johnston-Robledo, Ingrid; Stubbs, Margaret L. (2013): 4. Positioning Periods: Menstruation in Social Context: An Introduction to a Special Issue. Introduction. In: Sex Roles 68, S. 1–8.)
What I find most appealing in Johnston-Robledo’s approach is her complex definition of a phenomen that is often perceived as bleeding only. However, I would add socio-economic status, political situations, legal frameworks and cultural settings as factors that may influence the experiences of menstrual cycles.
What do you think?
Digitalized self-trackig
Now that we found one definition of menstruation and experiences of it, what is menstrual cycle tracking? Let’s start with looking at digitalized self-trackig. Let’s ask glorious Deborah Lupton, what she thinks about it.
„Self-tracking may be theorised as a practice of selfhood that conforms to cultural expectations concerning the importance of self-awareness, reflection and taking responsibility for managing, governing oneself and improving one’s life chances.”
Lupton 2014b: 12. Self-tracking Modes: Reflexive Self-Monitoring and Data Practices. Paper for the ‘Imminent Citizenships: Personhood and Identity Politics in the Informatic Age’ workshop. University of Canberra, Canberra. News & Media Research Centre, Faculty of Arts & Design.
Isn’t she amazing? She even answered an email once to send me an essay she wrote. She is fascinating. And she answers her emails! What more could you wish for? No idea. I am serious. Truly.
So now that we have a basic understanding of experiences of menstruation and of digitalized self-tracking, we put these two components together and: tada! Now you may have a feeling for what menstrual cycle tracking is. Next step: digitalized menstrual cycle tracking with mobile apps. You are almost there. I swear.
People used to track their menstrual cycles with pen and paper, some do it this way still today. There are many ways to track menstrual cycles. Here - on this site - in this cyber - you will find me talking mostly about digitalized menstrual cycle tracking with mobile apps. Don’t you think it is the only way, or the right way to do it. But it is one way to do it and in fact more & more are tracking cycles, days of bleeding, fertile days, sexual activities, mental well-being, contraceptive methods and so on etc. with their mobile phones. It’s a thing.
There is a place called *CODE* that is dedicated for the ones
who would want to dive into the world of code-period-tracking-apps-yourself!
Let's get lost together | Code Grrrl. Bleed Grrrl.
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