The picture to the left is of Kiran Gandhi, a drummer for M.I.A., who ran the recent London Marathon after having started her period. She did not use a tampon. One result is the stain between her legs. Another is a lot of outrage and accusations. Her account of her motives is on her blog.
There are a lot of issues that surround menstruation. One set of issues she wants addressed more widely is the shame many women feel about menstruating. Another is the fact that many women in the world do not have access to products that can in some way contain the blood. She also thought she would be compromising her health choices in order to make people more comfortable, which doesn’t sound like a great idea.
So what do you think? For my own sake I have the uneasy feeling as I put this post up that the sky might come crashing down on my head.
Feminist Philosophers 
I wouldn’t have done it, but I wouldn’t have been running a marathon in the first place – more likely to be eating a Marathon. But, if she felt that running 26 miles without a tampon or a sanitary towel was easier and more comfortable for her, then that’s her choice to make and it’s nobody else’s business. I doubt people would be making the same fuss if she’d had a nosebleed halfway round and carried on in a blood-stained t-shirt. I do want to talk to her about mooncups though!
Good for her. Many women bleed from their vaginas on a regular basis and there’s nothing to be ashamed about. It’s a marathon, people have blood, sweat, and tears all over their clothes. She was also raising very valid points about the need for raising awareness. And quite honestly, I have heavy periods and a tampon and a pad wouldn’t hold that Niagara in for 26 miles so whatevs. People need to STOP shaming female bodies.
Can anyone inform me, is there any such thing as philosophy of menstruation, within feminism? A quick Google throws up little……
I wonder if anyone here can point me to any literature on philosophy of menstruation?