Marxism & Period Pains

Marxism & Period Pain takes an in-depth look at women’s experiences of menstruation, locating those experiences within the gendered structures of capitalism. Focusing on the lived experience of being a woman in a globalised economy that barely acknowledges women’s reproductive health, the film features remarkably honest interviews with a cross-section of South African women, including educators, medical professionals, and school students. They talk eloquently about how period pain is brushed over by male-dominated structures, with menstruation remaining a taboo subject in virtually all cross-gender conversations, from trade unions to corporate boardrooms. The film’s clear but nuanced discussions are a timely reminder of the accuracy of Marx’s analysis of capitalism, regardless of attitudes to alternative economic models. In extending that analysis to women’s reproductive health in contemporary South Africa, director Mmabatho Montsho has made a hugely accessible film that engages with complexity without dumbing things down.