The Red Gown: Reflections on the In/Visibility of Menstruation in Scotland

Camilla Mørk Røstvik,Bee Hughes,Catherine Spencer

doi:10.16995/olh.6340

Abstract

During the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, menstruation became more present in public discourse in Scotland. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the complex interplay of visibility and invisibility that characterises menstruation’s place in the nation’s wider cultural landscape. In this article, we explore the context of menstruation in the town of St Andrews specifically and Scotland more broadly, during the late 20th and early 21st century, and ask what this reveals about menstrual absence and presence in public debates. The University of St Andrews lies at the centre of this case study because it has been one of the Scottish institutions that has initiated a rollout of free menstrual products as a result of the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act of 2021. The University’s Centre for Contemporary Art also hosted Bee Hughes as artist-in-residence, whose practice focuses on the visible and invisible aspects of menstruation. Although impacted by a university strike and the Covid-19 pandemic, our collaboration has explored collections of menstrual culture in Scotland and broader questions of menstrual representation, reflecting on how established symbols with other connotations (notably the ceremonial red gown at the University of St Andrews) might provide a way of thinking about menstrual in/visibility. In this article, we discuss how these histories might be both present (institutionalised) and absent (when not on display). This paper presents our findings, in which the artist documents their first visit to St Andrews prior to the strike and pandemic, in relation to historical and contextual materials we located together.

Highlights

In the late 2010s, menstruation became a topic of mainstream political and policy debate in Scotland.1 Menstruation, the public was told, should not be taboo, talked about in euphemisms, or deemed shameful
Despite Scotland’s long history of exploring menstruation in medicine, policy, and, more recently, politics, as in many countries menstrual blood has remained under wraps
In order to explore menstruation’s often contradictory and complex status in the 2010s and early 2020s, the authors of this paper collaborated with the menstrual artist Bee Hughes to examine how the University of St Andrews, as one of the institutions in Scotland to implement the Act, Fiona McKay, ‘Scotland and Period Poverty: A case study of media and political agenda setting’, in James Morrison, Jen Birks, Mike Berry, Routledge Companion to Political Journalism (London: Routledge, forthcoming 2021). 2 https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/period-products-free-provision-scotland-bill (Accessed 16 November 2021)

Summary

Introduction

In the late 2010s, menstruation became a topic of mainstream political and policy debate in Scotland.1 Menstruation, the public was told, should not be taboo, talked about in euphemisms, or deemed shameful. Despite Scotland’s long history of exploring menstruation in medicine, policy, and, more recently, politics, as in many countries menstrual blood has remained under wraps.

Results

Conclusion