Critiquing Menstrual Pain Technologies through the Lens of Feminist Disability Studies

Critiquing Menstrual Pain Technologies through the Lens of Feminist Disability Studies

May 11–16, 2024, Honolulu, HI, USA | Joo Young Park, Stacy Hsueh, Nadia Campo Woytuk, Xuni Huang, Marianela Ciolfi Felice, Madeline Balaam
This paper critically examines menstrual pain technologies through the lens of feminist disability studies (FDS), aiming to reframe the understanding of menstrual pain and offer design provocations. Menstrual pain, often dismissed or medicalized, is a complex experience deeply entangled with sociocultural constructs and gender norms. The authors use FDS to analyze three commercial products—Myoovi (TENS-based), Maia (heat-based), and Moonai (app-based)—and identify their assumptions, narratives, and bodies constructed. They critique these products for their skewed conception of menstrual pain as a diagnosed, pathological, and individual condition, and propose three design provocations to better address menstrual pain as a chronic, cyclical, lived experience. These provocations aim to foreground the lived experience of menstrual pain, the cyclical nature of pain time, and the potential for leaky coalitions among people experiencing pain. The paper contributes to the field by providing designerly knowledge for creating more inclusive and effective menstrual pain technologies.This paper critically examines menstrual pain technologies through the lens of feminist disability studies (FDS), aiming to reframe the understanding of menstrual pain and offer design provocations. Menstrual pain, often dismissed or medicalized, is a complex experience deeply entangled with sociocultural constructs and gender norms. The authors use FDS to analyze three commercial products—Myoovi (TENS-based), Maia (heat-based), and Moonai (app-based)—and identify their assumptions, narratives, and bodies constructed. They critique these products for their skewed conception of menstrual pain as a diagnosed, pathological, and individual condition, and propose three design provocations to better address menstrual pain as a chronic, cyclical, lived experience. These provocations aim to foreground the lived experience of menstrual pain, the cyclical nature of pain time, and the potential for leaky coalitions among people experiencing pain. The paper contributes to the field by providing designerly knowledge for creating more inclusive and effective menstrual pain technologies.
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