by Nadya Okamoto, Illustrated by Rebecca Elfast
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
10/16/2018, paperback
SKU: 9781534430204
PERIOD founder and Harvard College student Nadya Okamoto offers a manifesto on menstruation and why we can no longer silence those who bleed—and how to engage in youth activism.
Throughout history, periods have been hidden from the public. They’re taboo. They’re embarrassing. They’re gross. And due to a crumbling or nonexistent national sex ed program, they are misunderstood. Because of these stigmas, a status quo has been established to exclude people who menstruate from the seat at the decision-making table, creating discriminations like the tampon tax, medicines that favor male biology, and more.
Period Power aims to explain what menstruation is, shed light on the stigmas and resulting biases, and create a strategy to end the silence and prompt conversation about periods.
Target age: 12 to 17
Reviews:
"Period Power is the latest in the growing list of gifts that author and activist Nadya Okamoto has bestowed on this world. In her book one can glean her dedication to ending period stigma and her effervescent and infectious enthusiasm for human rights. Period Power is a necessary and empowering take on menstruation that everyone should add to their personal library." --Blair Imani, activist and founder of Equality for HER
"Nadya Okamoto's Period Power takes a brave, necessary look at menstruation. Filled with both personal narratives and historical context, this book should be required reading for not just young students around puberty age, but adults as well. We must, as a society, reframe and relearn how we discuss and understand bleeding, and Okamoto's book is a necessary first step."--Annie E. Clark, Former Executive Director of End Rape on Campus and co-author of We Believe You: Survivors of Campus Sexual Assault Speak Out
About the Author:
Nadya Okamoto grew up in Portland and currently attends Harvard College. She is the founder and executive director of PERIOD (Period.org), an organization she founded at the age of sixteen, which is now the largest youth-run NGO in women's health, and one of the fastest growing ones here in the United States. She is also the cofounder and spokesperson of Next Fellows (NextFellows.org). In 2017, Nadya ran for office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While she did not win, her campaign team made historic waves in mobilizing young people on the ground and at polls.