Thesis Database

 

Thesis Database

Author
Marlies Klinkenberg
Year

2019

Supervisor
Erica van der Sijpt
Key Words
Menstruation
Class
Plurality
Knowledge
Thesis

“It just didn’t feel right to be ashamed of it”: the transforming perceptions of menstruation of young (upper-)middle-class women in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Although menstruation is and has been a popular subject of research in anthropology, including in Bangladesh in particular, little to none of the existing studies have been conducted with a focus on (young) Dhaka-based women belonging to the (upper-)middle class. This thesis addresses how those women talk about their perceptions of menstruation, with special attention to the transformations that they indicated to have gone through regarding those since their first period. Specifically, this research looks at the different perceptions that the young, (upper-)middle class women have held, what different kinds of knowledge they have indicated to have played a role in shaping the changes that occurred, and how all of this has been interpreted and explained. Although experiences differed from person to person, it is shown that perceptions converge more among the participants of this research now than initially, many currently describing them as more ‘open’, ‘liberal’ and ‘positive’ (rather than ‘conservative’, ‘taboo’ or ‘negative’). The plurality of knowledge – and how these women negotiate it, for example through the process of bricolage – plays an important role in the transformations. Although trajectories of change were often described as personal journeys, many women still worked to relate their narratives to wider socio-political structures. It looks that many realise that experiences with regards to menstruation are contingent and individual, yet situated – and with that so are the changes in perception that women may or may not go through.

“It just didn’t feel right to be ashamed of it”: the transforming perceptions of menstruation of young (upper-)middle-class women in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Author

Marlies Klinkenberg

Year

2019

Supervisor

Erica van der Sijpt

Key Words

Menstruation
Class
Plurality
Knowledge

Thesis

Although menstruation is and has been a popular subject of research in anthropology, including in Bangladesh in particular, little to none of the existing studies have been conducted with a focus on (young) Dhaka-based women belonging to the (upper-)middle class. This thesis addresses how those women talk about their perceptions of menstruation, with special attention to the transformations that they indicated to have gone through regarding those since their first period. Specifically, this research looks at the different perceptions that the young, (upper-)middle class women have held, what different kinds of knowledge they have indicated to have played a role in shaping the changes that occurred, and how all of this has been interpreted and explained. Although experiences differed from person to person, it is shown that perceptions converge more among the participants of this research now than initially, many currently describing them as more ‘open’, ‘liberal’ and ‘positive’ (rather than ‘conservative’, ‘taboo’ or ‘negative’). The plurality of knowledge – and how these women negotiate it, for example through the process of bricolage – plays an important role in the transformations. Although trajectories of change were often described as personal journeys, many women still worked to relate their narratives to wider socio-political structures. It looks that many realise that experiences with regards to menstruation are contingent and individual, yet situated – and with that so are the changes in perception that women may or may not go through.

Other theses

Echec et mat. Marco Sassoon Thesis

Échec et mat. An ethnographic study of the psychosocial health of forced-return migrants in Dakar.

Farahnash Soekhlal Constructing more-than-human therapeutic landscapes

Constructing more-than-human therapeutic landscapes: A multispecies ethnography of the relationship between humans and animals at a care farm

Contesting the ‘Good’ in Culinary Care A Study on Valuation Practices in Culinary Care for People with Type 2 Diabetes in the Netherlands Flori Visser

Contesting the ‘Good’ in Culinary Care: A Study on Valuation Practices in Culinary Care for People with Type 2 Diabetes in the Netherlands