Sociocultural Attitudes Surrounding Menstruation and Alternative Menstrual Products: The Explanatory Role of Self-Objectification

Abstract

We extend objectification theory research to consider the relationship between self-objectification and attitudes toward an alternative menstrual product in a diverse sample of female undergraduates from the United States (N = 151). We use a survey design to investigate attitudes toward one's menstruation as a potential mechanism that may explain this relationship. Reactions to an alternative menstrual product were predominantly negative, supporting prior research on stigma and shame surrounding menstruation. Exploratory structural equation modeling revealed attitudes toward one's menstruation mediated the relationship between self-objectification and participants’ reactions to an alternative menstrual product. Implications for women's health are discussed.

Notes

¹One hundred and sixty-eight women participated, and we subsequently excluded five women who reported having used the menstrual cup and 12 women who were missing scores on the measure of self-objectification from analyses. Mean substitution was used for missing data for participants’ age (n = 3), likelihood of using the cup (n = 1), overall reaction to the cup (n = 1), and quality ratings (n = 6). Analyses were run with and without mean substitution and the results were the same.