ABOUT
LARA OWEN
Dr Lara Owen is recognised internationally for her pioneering and continuing work on menstruation as a researcher, consultant, writer and teacher. She is the author of Her Blood Is Gold, first published by HarperCollins in 1993, and Reorganizing Menstruation, published by Oxford University Press in 2024. She has also written various academic papers, book chapters, and articles. Dr Owen holds a PhD in menstrual organization from Monash Business School in Australia, is a co-founder of the Menstruation Research Network, and has held academic positions at several universities, most recently the University of St Andrews (2020-2025). Her fieldwork has explored menstruation and menopause across a wide range of contexts in Australia, the UK, and the USA. She now teaches independently, offering an online Master’s level program, “Contemporary Menstrual Studies”, and occasional webinars. She gives public talks on menstruation, menopause, and feminism, appears on radio programs and podcasts, and sporadically writes a Substack column. As a consultant she has worked for global institutions, corporations, governments, and the third sector. She now lives in England, close to the Welsh border.
DETAILS
BIOGRAPHY
Lara Owen was born and raised in the UK. She studied history at the University of Warwick, with a focus on women and feminism. After graduation, she trained in acupuncture, gaining her licence to practice from J. R. Worsley in the Five Elements system, and then studying Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with Giovanni Maciocia, Peter Deadman, Ted Kaptchuk and others. In 1983, Owen was a member of the first international cohort to study in the advanced course at the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing.
Owen’s studies in Chinese medicine introduced her to a conceptual model of the menstrual cycle that incorporated lifestyle and broader health concerns, at that time little understood in the West. She established a multidisciplinary health centre in Cheltenham, and specialised in treating women’s reproductive health issues. Following an interest in the menstrual cycle that had begun in her early twenties, in 1987 Owen left her medical practice and travelled to study with indigenous practitioners who had spiritual and holistic perceptions of women’s health, including in the Native American, Mayan and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. She researched historical and cross-cultural perspectives, sought out and interviewed women who experienced menstruation as a powerful, under-acknowledged process in their lives, and researched practical solutions including reusable menstrual products.
Her first article, The Sabbath of Women, a summary of this early research, was published in Whole Earth Review in 1991, followed two years later by the book, Her Blood Is Gold (HarperCollins 1993, Archive Publishing 2008, 2022). She did further fieldwork in populations known for specific menstrual beliefs and practices, including Orthodox Jews and the Navajo Nation. Since then she has done research on menstruation, menopause and women’s wellbeing for non-profits, social enterprises, arts organizations, government departments, global institutions and multinational corporations.
In 2015 she completed a two year full-time research project investigating the attitudes and experiences surrounding menarche, menstruation, and menopause of women and girls in Australian schools, homes and workplaces. From 2016-2020 she studied and worked at Monash University in Australia, teaching and researching in Organization Studies. From 2020-2025 she was based at the University of St Andrews, where she was awarded a Research Fellowship and an Honorary Research Fellowship.
Owen holds a PhD in menstrual organization from Monash Business School, which is ranked in the top 1% of business schools worldwide. Her PhD thesis explored the uptake of the menstrual cup and the menstrual workplace policy, and developed feminist socioeconomic theory to deepen understanding of the social construction of menstruation.
Lara has given keynotes, presentations, lecture series, and workshops at universities, colleges, and other institutions internationally. She has appeared on BBC TV and radio along with many other stations in the UK, US and Australia. Her work has been positively reviewed and featured in a wide range of newspapers and magazines in the UK, US, Europe, Australia and Latin America. In recent years she has been interviewed by many outlets including the ABC in Australia, BBC Woman’s Hour in the UK, BBC Capital in the U.S., the London Financial Times, D2 in Norway, Stern magazine in Germany, and Spain’s El Periódico de España.
Lara is a founding member of the UK-based interdisciplinary Menstruation Research Network and an ongoing member of the US-based Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. Her research and writing has been supported by scholarships and grants from Monash University, the Scottish Funding Council, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Society of Authors. She has consulted for various organizations including the United Nations and the British Standards Institution, and most recently was an adviser on the working group for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) guidance on menstruation and menopause in the workplace (published September 2026). Lara teaches a Master’s level course in Contemporary Menstrual Studies to students worldwide. Her latest book, Reorganizing Menstruation: Menstrual innovations and the redistribution of boundaries, capitals, and labour, was published by Oxford University Press in 2024.
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