1

Aubrey May

Gardner

Illiterate Walruses

14 Feb. 2020

Annotated Bibliographies

Barmon, Mako, director. PERIOD Talk: What Is Period Stigma? YouTube, 12 Aug. 2019,

youtu.be/d4lAelDKXNA.

This is a video clip off of YouTube called, “PERIOD Talk: What Is Period Stigma?” The clip

was made by Mako Barmon but published on the page, “PERIOD. The Menstrual Movement.”

In this video, a girl walks through the streets asking the question, “What is the first word that

comes to mind when you hear the word period?” She mostly asks men, then she asks, “What is

the first word that comes to mind when you hear menstruation?” She gets different responses

such as cycle, not feeling well etc and talks about periods. Later another girl comes and explains

that period stigma is when people get uncomfortable talking about periods and assume it is

unclean, gross, shameful and how it affects women.

This source shows ethos (credibility) through the account the video is published on, it is a

professional account talking about a serious matter. Pathos is the biggest factor here because the

emotion is shown through the interviews and how it makes people feel. Logos (logic) isn’t really

shown because she doesn’t state facts although she does tell the audience the definition of period

stigma. A positive of this video is how she goes up to random people and they weren’t expecting
 2

it. A negative would be, the bias because the girls are advocates for “PERIOD. The Menstrual

Movement” so they have a formed opinion.

I plan to use this source to help explain what period stigma is because many are unfamiliar with

the term. And I can say how period stigma affects girls at Brighton High. I can also incorporate

the survey they did and how it did make people feel uncomfortable because periods aren’t often

talked about. They also mention the fact that since menstruation isn’t talked about period poverty

doesn’t get noticed and some girls at BHS might deal with this so I would like to use that in my

section of period poverty as well.

Coder, Claire. “The Dispenser Dilemma.” ​The Dispenser Dilemma​ – Aunt Flow, Aunt Flow, 27

Mar. 2019, ​www.goauntflow.com/blogs/periodical/the-dispenser-dilemma​.

This article by Claire Coder, “The Dispenser Dilemma.” Was published on March 27, 2019. It

talks about a big issue in schools and workplaces: no feminine care in the bathrooms. The author

uses this issue to inform the readers of their product called “Aunt Flow.” Aunt Flow is a

free-vend dispenser which provides 100% organic cotton menstrual products. According to the

author, “ESTROGEN Aunt Flow® dispenser holds 5x the amount of product and takes 1/2 the

time to reload (compared to any other menstrual product dispenser) - Reduce the reload

frequency and time spent resulting in time and money saved!” The article mentions all the

reasons why feminine care needs to be in women’s bathrooms and why the “Estrogen Aunt

Flow” is the best dispenser to put in a school or workplace.

 3

This article does a good job with pathos (emotion) because it states “scenes” reminding the

female readers how awful it is to be in a sticky situation and not have femine care. Logos (logic)

is shown throughout, but especially when they state the facts of why this subject matters. This

article was published less than a year ago therefore providing ethos (credibility). The author also

states all the product details which helps build their reasoning. Ethos is also presented when they

state statistics from another website and provide the information to that site. One issue with this

article is the bias. Because the author is trying to sell you this product it does come off very

biased. The strengths of this article outweigh the bias.

I plan to use this source to help me install one of these in the school. The article gives me tons of

positives to it and shows how helpful this product really is. I can also use it to reinforce my

statement that the regular dispensers have awful feminine care provided in them and most times

don’t even work. I believe this is a great source for my project because we relate on many

different points on the subject matter and I’m sure other women do too.

Kramer, Nancy. “End Restroom Inequality, Free The Tampons.” FREE THE TAMPONS, 2016,

www.freethetampons.org/

This is an image called, “The Murphy’s Law of Menstruation.” “Free the Tampons” did a study

of 18-54 year olds that had started their period in public and separated it out into six different pie

graphs, each in a different color stating different statistics. These facts are, “86 percent started

their period unexpectedly in public without the supplies they need.” “79 percent improvised by

“macgyvering” a tampon or payout of toilet paper or something else.” “62 percent went to a store
 4

immediately to buy supplies.” “53 percent asked another woman for feminine supplies.” “48

percent obtained her supplies from a tampon/pad dispenser in a public restroom. Only 8 percent

say in their experience tampon and sanitary napkin dispensers in public restrooms work all the

time.” “34 percent went home immediately to get feminine supplies.” This image also shows

other statistics of how it made the women feel etc.

This is a great image because it appeals to logos (logic), pathos (emotion), and ethos

(credibility). Logic is shown through all the different facts and statistics. It incorporates emotion

because it shows the struggles women menstruating in public go through. It also uses bright

colors and the format is very appealing. This image shows a study done by a professional

organization so the viewers know they can trust the numbers. The context behind this image is

that most women have been in a situation without feminine care and how they took care of it.

One issue with this source is that the study is on 18-54 year olds and most high school students

aren’t 18.

I plan to use this to show that not having feminine care available affects people everywhere. It

also shows the extent women have to go to to get feminine care when it should be available just

as toilet paper and paper towels are available. I will also use this source for the study of how

starting your period in public makes people feel. I believe I can use this source to better explain

my reasoning and to have evidence of the issue.

May, Aubrey. Interview with Christina Shaw. 9 Feb. 2020

 5

This is an anonymous interview with a female Brighton High Counselor and me. We talked

about the personal experiences the counselor has had and what was done, the students were

mentioned, how a dispenser could help Brighton High women, and the effects on women due to

this issue. She mentioned her feelings and experiences with the issue.

This article provides Pathos (emotion) and Ethos (credibility). The counselor has her own

feelings towards this issue but also knows the students and their experiences which shows the

emotion throughout. Considering the interviewee is a current Brighton High School counselor

and has had experiences shows credibility. These questions proposed an emotional answer and

not a statistical (logos). This interview has anecdotal fallacies as it is more emotional and based

on personal experiences.

I plan to use this throughout my proposal to show that not only the students would really

appreciate a dispenser but also that the staff would too. The counselor talks about the stress that

would be relieved if this proposal was put into action and I plan to use that as a closing statement

to really leave that in their minds for sympathy to not only the girl students but staff as well.

May, Aubrey. Interview with Tessa Hopkin. 9 Feb. 2020.

This is an anonymous female interview between a Brighton High student and me. 20 questions

were asked about the thoughts about periods in public, how periods affect women and make

them feel, and the implementation of dispensers in brighton high school. The interview also

mentioned how feminine care should be free just as paper towels and toilet paper.
 6

In this interview, the credibility (ethos) is shown because it is a current Brighton High Student.

Also, it was anonymous so they felt safe sharing their answers. Pathos (emotion) is throughout

the interview as they share their feelings and experiences with menstruation. Logos (logic) is not

seen in this interview because no statistics or facts were discussed although logical reasoning

was discussed considering these supplies should be available. A logical fallacy in this interview

is an anecdotal fallacy because all these answers are based on personal feelings and experiences

and not evidence. Also, the questions suggest most everyone agrees which could be a loose

generalization.

I plan to use this interview in my proposal to show that other students agree with my position and

that it affects all women in BHS. With the question, “About how much do you spend a year on

feminine care?” I can put that in the section where the expenses are mentioned. The questions

concerning the student’s feelings about starting their period at school can show how

uncomfortable it is and introduce the stigma around periods.

Rosa, Shawna De La. “Report Finds 'Period Poverty' a Top Reason Girls Miss School.”

Education Dive, 21 Oct. 2019. Cited PDF, State of the Period

The widespread impact of period poverty on US students.

www.educationdive.com/news/report-finds-period-poverty-a-top-reason-girls-miss-schoo

l/565424/​.
 7

In the article, “State of the Period” commissioned by two programs: Thinx & Period, talks about

the issues around periods. Thinx is a period solutions company and Period is a youth-led

nonprofit group. They talk about the stigma around menstruation and period poverty and the

effects it has on girls. They did a survey and 1 in 5 girls said they struggled to afford period

products or couldn’t afford them at all. And, “More than 4 in 5 students (84%) in the US have

either missed class time or know someone who missed class time because they did not have

access to period products.” The article talks about the effects on girls education, the shame that

comes along with a period, and the limited access of products.

This is a great article in the sense of ethos pathos and logos. Ethos or credibility is shown

throughout where they use evidence from different sources and cite them at the bottom of each

page. Pathos (emotion) is shown when they state the statistics of how many girls can’t afford

these products and the stigma around periods that make girls feel lesser than. Logos (logic) is

present within the article through their facts and the survey done. This article is great because of

all the information given but it is biased because it only talks about the negatives of the periods

and doesn’t mention the people who it doesn’t affect. A logical fallacy shown is anecdotal

fallacy because the survey is based on personal experiences.

I plan to use this article to help support my points because both the article and I talk about the

stigma around periods and also the fact that many can't afford period products. We also mention

that they should be accessible in school bathrooms just like toilet paper is. I would also like to

use some of their evidence from the survey and the other sources they provided.