After centuries of being shrouded in taboo and superstition, periods have gone mainstream. Seemingly overnight, a new, high-profile movement has emerged—one dedicated to bold activism, creative product innovation, and smart policy advocacy—to address the centrality of menstruation in relation to core issues of gender equality and equity. Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, attorney and author, explores why periods have become a prominent political cause impacting societal attitudes throughout history—in the United States and around the world— inspiring grassroots activism and product innovation. In her book, Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity, Weiss-Wolf challenges readers to face this stigma head-on and to elevate an agenda that recognizes both the power—and the absolute normalcy—of menstruation.
A frequent writer and advocate on issues of gender and politics in America, Jennifer Weiss-Wolf was dubbed the “architect of the U.S. campaign to squash the tampon tax” by Newsweek. She currently serves as the inaugural women and democracy fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law and in 2022 she joined Ms.—the feminist movement-making magazine—where she serves as executive director for partnerships and strategy. Weiss-Wolf is on the board of the Feminist Press and the editorial board of the Fund for Women’s Equality “Equal Voice, Equal Future” initiative. In 2015, Weiss-Wolf conceptualized and co-edited a volume of Legal Change: Lessons from America’s Social Movements. Her book, Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity (Arcade 2017), earned starred reviews by Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and The Washington Post called it “a riveting read . . . a promising call to smart activism.”
In 2021, Weiss-Wolf organized the Brennan Center series, “Abortion is Essential to Democracy.” Her forthcoming book, Period. Full Stop. The Politics of Menopause, will be published by NYU Press in 2024. In addition to her books, Weiss-Wolf’s writing has also been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, TIME, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, and NPR, among others. She holds a JD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she was editor in chief of the Cardozo Women’s Law Journal.
Ms. Weiss-Wolf’s Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Mgrublian Center for Human Rights at Claremont McKenna College.
View Video : YouTube with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
