Menstrual Justice in the City: Reclaiming Public Space for All Bodies

Season 2 Episode: 2. May 12, 2026.

Exposes the menstrual exclusion built into urban infrastructure, driving our commitment to menstrual-friendly facilities as non-negotiable elements of gender-just public space.

Summary: Establishes Critical Menstruation Studies as a lens for urban inequality, revealing how cities are designed for bodies that do not menstruate.

Connection: Designs parks with comprehensive menstrual-friendly facilities, including private toilets, free products, and rest areas, treating menstruation as an environmental justice concern.

Key Takeaways:

• Menstrual health requires understanding subjective embodiment beyond product distribution

• Urban sanitation infrastructure is fundamentally gender-inequitable• Lack of menstrual-friendly public toilets is a form of urban neglect and environmental injustice

• Menstruation is a site of both oppression and resistance requiring intersectional approaches

• Menstrual (im)mobility restricts women's access to public space and urban opportunities

• Public spaces are often experienced as exclusionary by menstruating peoplePhenomenology, menstruation, public health, body in situation.

Source:A contemporary phenomenology of menstruation: Understanding the body in situation and as situation, Lindsay Kelland, et al.

Source: A contemporary phenomenology of menstruation: Understanding the body in situation and as situation, Lindsay Kelland, et al.

Source: Exploring the availability and accessibility of menstrual friendly public toilets (MFPTs) in urban spaces: A global multi-city audit study, Angela-Maithy Nguyen et al.

Source: When the basic seems like a luxury: Menstrual friendly public toilets in six cities by Sarah C. Blake et al.

Source: The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies, Chris Bobel, Inga T. Winkler, Breanne Fahs, et al.

Source: Menstrual (Im)Mobilities and Safe Spaces, Anupriya Tuli, Shaan Chopra, Pushpendra Singh, and Neha Kumar

Source: Delving into menstrual experiences of women in the public space through mobile diaries, Pelin Efilti

Source: Experiences of menstrual inequity and menstrual health among women and people who menstruate in the Barcelona area (Spain), Anna Sofie Holst et al.

The Feminist Park is a pioneering intersectional feminist urban initiative that reimagines public green space through the lived experiences of women, migrants, LGBTQI+ people, and racialised communities. Rooted in care ethics, anti-racism, and queer theory, the project challenges the androcentric design of cities by co-creating inclusive, safe, and ecologically regenerative parks. By combining rigorous scientific research with grassroots feminist praxis, the Feminist Park advocates for the right to the city for all bodies,particularly those historically excluded from public space. Learn more and join the movement at www.feminist-park.org.