Tactics of concealment: A feminist analysis of US newspaper coverage of menstruation

This study examines how US newspapers construct menstruation and people who menstruate in contemporary news discourses. We analyzed coverage by the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Wall Street Journal between 2021–2024. The US news media constructed menstruation as an experience that is exclusive to school-age “girls,” erased the experiences of adults, and rarely discussed menstruation outside of the school system. Findings highlight tensions within different feminisms. Analyzed newspapers reinforced neoliberal and popular feminist discourses that constructed menstruation as a private, individual issue, best addressed through consumerism. Intersectional perspectives were largely absent, reflecting the class and racial biases that are pervasive in US newsrooms. Journalists need to extend narratives of menstruation beyond products and concealment. Menstrual activists can play a crucial role in this regard by reshaping their messaging and especially embracing radical feminist politics of resisting menstrual shame and its underlying patriarchal culture.