HELLO & WELCOME
DR LARA OWEN
Author | Teacher | Researcher | Consultant | Mentor
Hello and welcome. My work is concerned with the culture, politics and organization of menstruation and menopause. I’ve been working in this field on and off for over 30 years, and full-time for the past decade.
I hold a PhD in menstrual organization from Monash Business School in Melbourne. I’ve researched and taught at several universities, and since 2020 I’ve worked at the University of St Andrews, where I’m now an Honorary Research Fellow.
My first book, Her Blood Is Gold, investigated the influence of culture on menstrual experience, and explored ways to honour the menstrual cycle. My forthcoming book on the reorganization of menstruation and its impact on society, (title to be confirmed), is due for publication in late 2023/early 2024 by Oxford University Press.
I currently teach a master’s level course in Contemporary Menstrual Studies, give monthly Zoom seminars open to all, and lecture at universities internationally. I also do some consulting on research projects and on policy development.
TEACHING
MONTHLY SEMINARS
Contemporary Menstrual Studies
Program for Sept-Dec 2023
September 15, 1300 hrs UK time: Overview of the latest menstrual research across disciplines
October 13, 130o hrs UK time: Trauma as a causative factor in menstrual symptoms and syndromes
November 10, 1300 hrs UK time: Menstruation and menopause in the workplace: New developments including the impact of the BSI policy recommendations
December 8, 1300 hrs UK time: Menstruation & spirituality: The menstruality movement in the context of mainstream perspectives
Registration will be via Eventbrite, links to come.
Online course
Contemporary Menstrual Studies
This year-long Masters-level course explores menstruation today in the contexts of business, feminism, health, law, politics, popular culture, spirituality, sustainability, technology, sport, and wellbeing.
• Join a dedicated group of fellow students and practitioners from around the world
• Receive a wealth of information to ground and inform your future work
• Learn from a pioneer and long-time expert in the field
Registration for the 2023 course is now closed. Registration for 2024 will open in September 2023.
Join Lara’s newsletter list (see footer) to be kept informed of this and other learning opportunities.
Her Blood Is Gold:
Awakening to the Wisdom of Menstruation
Lara’s ground-breaking book on destigmatising and acknowledging menstruation was published by HarperCollins in 1993 and has since been updated twice. It is now in its fourth edition (2022, Archive Publishing), sells in higher numbers each year, and has recently been published in translation in Brazil (2019) and France (2021). The English language edition was reissued with a new cover in 2022.
Her Blood Is Gold:
Awakening to the Wisdom of Menstruation
This ground-breaking book on destigmatising and acknowledging menstruation was published by HarperCollins in 1993 and has since been updated twice. It is now in its fourth edition (2022, Archive Publishing), sells in higher numbers each year, and has recently been published in translation in Brazil (2019) and France (2021). The English language edition was reissued with a new cover in 2022.
LATEST
NEWS from Lara
May 2023: Always a busy month regarding menstruation with Menstrual Health/Hygiene Day on May 28, and attendant events at other times. We have our annual Menstruation Research Network conference in Scotland, this year on May 26. On May 19 I’m doing an hourlong Zoom session acknowledging the 30th anniversary of the publication of Her Blood Is Gold this year.
April 2023: The first of my new series of monthly Zoom seminars is coming up on April 21st. Reserve your place and find out more at Eventbrite.
March 2023: This year’s Contemporary Menstrual Studies course begins this month, with 22 students from 11 countries, representing all 6 inhabited continents.
February 2023: Two new podcasts this month, one on menarche and the other on menopause.
January 2023: Happy New Year! The next Contemporary Menstrual Studies course is booking up fast. Scholarship applications are now open.
November 2022: The new website for the Menstruation Research Network is now up, and includes the Call for Papers for our next Annual Conference (May 26, 2023 at St Andrews).
October 2022: Registration is now open for the 2023 course in Contemporary Menstrual Studies. The inaugural 2022 course has gone really well.
September 2022: Two new podcasts on my past work and current thoughts and activities, on the Fertility Friday and Menstruality podcasts.
August 2022: I was interviewed by Bloomberg News on the cost of living crisis and the accompanying rise in the prices of menstrual products. A good time to change to reusables if you can afford the intial outlay. It’s also really important that period poverty initiatives offer free reusables as well as disposables.
July 2022: New academic paper by myself and Prof. Bettina Bildhauer on menstrual stigma and environmentalism published in Women’s Reproductive Health.
June 2022: I was on Woman’s Hour (BBC Radio 4) on June 14, interviewed by Emma Barnett on the new menopause policy in the UK Houses of Parliament. See my Twitter feed (@laraowen) for the video clip and go here for the full audio.
May 2022: I was interviewed for this piece in Spain’s El Periódico de España on the proposed Spanish legislation for menstrual leave.
March 2022: I’m really pleased to have started teaching my new program in Contemporary Menstrual Studies with 15 students from 9 countries: Australia, Germany, India, Iran, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, the UK and USA.
February 2022. I’ve had two new academic papers published this month, on the impact of menstrual stigma on menstrual researchers, and on the uptake of menstrual cups. More details on the recent articles page.
February 2022: I’ve started to send out an occasional newsletter again. Do sign up using the link below if you would like to stay connected.
January 2022: Happy New Year! I hope you have positive plans for the coming year. My own focus this year is on writing and on teaching my new online course. I’m also collaborating on a new research project at Western Sydney University on public policy for endometriosis and work, and continuing to develop the Menstruation Research Network UK.
October 2021: This month I was interviewed by Fortune magazine in the US on menstrual policies for workplaces, and by Healthy Woman, also in the US, on menopause at work.
September 2021: A four-page profile on my long-term work on menstruation was recently published in the German magazine, Stern, and a longer piece was featured over 6 pages in Geo Wissen. A 10 page article on menstrual cycle awareness including an interview with me was published in D2 in Norway.
August 2021: I just completed my Scottish Funding Council Research Fellowship at St Andrews on menstrual stigma and sustainability (articles to be published in 2022). Next up, writing a new book and designing a major new course, more details on these soon!
May 2021: With colleagues at Resource Futures, I wrote this article in Circular, the recycling/waste management professionals magazine, on confronting the role of menstrual stigma in product choice and period management.
December 2020: New podcast! Menstrual stigma, menstrual awareness, the body and psychological development. Great interviewing by psychotherapist Jodie Gale at The Soul Centre in Sydney.
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