Menstruation is still a stigmatised topic in most places around the world, irrespective of the privilege of people living in those places.
Keeping that in mind, two students, Daniela Gilsanz and Ryan Murphy of the Rhode Island School of Design in the US designed a board game, called ‘The Period Game’, to initiate conversation around periods.
The game has 4 ‘period protection cards’ like tampons and menstrual cups, 11 ‘PMS cards’ like ‘take a hot shower’ or ‘drink plenty of water’, player pieces in shapes of ‘period undies’ and ‘pads’ and much more.
In an interview published by Huffpost, Gilsanz said that ‘everyone was tasked with making a game about the body’ and they came up with this idea.
However, it came as a surprise to them that their classmates still felt discomfort discussing the topic.
That inspired them to take this even more seriously.
Gilsanz further added:
In playing the game with young people, we’ve heard so many different period stories, and had the fortune of seeing boys and girls shout ‘I want my period’ at the top of their lungs. We also had a fourth grader try to buy it on the spot, and an 8th grader understand what PMS was for the first time, to extreme relief that she wasn’t alone.
The aim of the game is to provide a platform for people, both kids and adults, to discuss various aspects of periods and how they affect people who experience them.
This is indeed a great start towards getting rid of the taboo around the topic and we hope more people take interest in it.
Here’s a short video to understand the game better: