Flow

By Elissa Stein, Susan Kim,

Book cover of Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation

Book description

In this hip, hilarious and truly eye-opening cultural history, menstruation is talked about as never before. Flow spans its fascinating, occasionally wacky and sometimes downright scary story: from mikvahs (ritual cleansing baths) to menopause, hysteria to hysterectomies—not to mention the Pill, cramps, the history of underwear, and the movie about…


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Why read it?

1 author picked Flow as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Smart and sassy, Flow explains the cultural context around menstruation. Did you know the Japanese call that time of the month “Little Miss Strawberry”? Or that in Ancient Greece tampons were made out of lint wrapped around bits of wood? Neither did I.

It left me grateful to be living in 2024, but it also filled in the gaps in my knowledge about the history of menstruation. (Sidenote: Flow’s take on PMDD references is outdated, but its cultural history of menstruation is still worth a read.)

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