To initiate this project, I spoke with Alejandra Aguacia, a 28-year-old Colombian from Bogotá who has been in Berlin since 2018, pursuing a Master’s in Design Strategy at the Design Akademie in Kreuzberg. Her thesis research focused on menstruation and its surrounding taboos. According to her instructors, it was a challenging task, yet she conducted extensive research, earning an excellent grade for her project. I'm delighted to share this interview where she discusses her journey to Berlin, her life here, the insights from her research, and how it altered her perceptions about menstruation. Thank you, Ale, for your time, and special thanks to the charming cafe where we conducted this interview: Honiggelb in Mitte/Moabit, managed by fellow IWB member, Idil Scharf.
Bruna: I feel the first thing I should ask people is, why Berlin? How did you end up here? Maybe you can tell us a bit about yourself.
Ale: Hi everyone, my name is Alejandra. I'm from Colombia, and I came here primarily because I was looking for a master's degree. I was considering both France and Germany, but after extensive searching, I discovered a program that really intrigued me, focusing on strategic design. I thought, okay, I've encountered this kind of design thinking mindset during my bachelor’s, and I want to explore it further because I find it fascinating and believe it can advance my design career. I chose Berlin because, in a sense, design was born here, with Bauhaus and all these geometric, constructive posters. I'm particularly inspired by the incredible graphic designers here, like Erik Spiekermann. Also, I won a scholarship at the Design Akademie and wanted to immerse myself in a completely foreign and unknown culture. So, I thought, “Okay, take the risk and go to Berlin.”
Bruna: That’s amazing!
Ale: Yes, and regarding the scholarship, I actually applied twice! The first time, I was missing one paper, and it frustrated me because I thought, “No, I have the potential, I have the portfolio, I can do this!”. Knowing my potential, I applied again the following year - and won the scholarship.
Bruna: Yes, because you are a very good designer!
Ale: I was really happy and excited because it was like a dream coming true. You know, coming from South America, when you immigrate to Europe, everyone around you, your family, your friends, they’re like, “Oh my God, you must be really talented if you move there and also get a scholarship!”
Bruna: Yeah, I totally understand that Latin American perspective. What do you think about Berlin now that you're here? How is this European dream going?
Ale: The first year, everything was amazing. I mean, it's still amazing because everything feels new. The variety of restaurants here is incredible. So many different cultures, different foods, different people. The cultural background is really enriching; you can meet a lot of people from various places. Also, I now have a more open view of friendship, different from what I had in Colombia. I don’t know how to explain it well…
Bruna: Are you referring to different perspectives because people come from diverse cultures?
Ale: No, it's more about how people perceive friendship itself. It’s different, I think. For instance, I used to have really close friendships. When I came here, I made friends from my master's program who aren't my closest friends, but I know I can rely on them. It's a different way of understanding friendship - they are still there for you, even if you're not hanging out all the time, or if you don’t share all your life experiences. But they are there for you, and that’s nice because you can reach out whenever you want or can. No hard feelings. It doesn't feel like you have a contract of friendship, which is something that happens in my country.
Bruna: That’s interesting, but what about Berlin overall, are you still enjoying it? Do you see yourself staying here for a while, or even permanently?
Ale: I don’t know about the long term, but for now, I just feel like Berlin is my home. It’s a great place for career development, and now that I know more people, it helps a lot. I feel more confident and more independent. Sometimes in Berlin, you have to face things by yourself, and by doing so, you get to know yourself better. This city is aiding in my personal growth. So, yes, there are moments when I really love Berlin and sometimes I really hate it, but overall, I have been happy here. However, it can be hard in different ways.
Bruna: In what ways?
Ale: Well, while I have these friendships, I miss my close friends. Back in my country, we would hang out anytime; it just happened spontaneously. Here, if you want to meet someone, you need to plan it in advance. It’s not as spontaneous as in Colombia, and I miss that. With your close friends, you can talk more freely; they truly know you, what’s happening in your life, and they give you real, good advice because they've known you for years and you really trust them.
Bruna: And when do you feel that you love Berlin?
Ale: I think one of the things I like most about Berlin is taking the train while listening to music. Also, going to museums with people who really appreciate these things. Or feeling inspired all the time by people who are actually innovating in society, working with issues like sustainability, female empowerment, and other social causes. Berlin is full of these kinds of people, which makes me feel I’m among the best people who can help improve myself and my career.
Bruna: And how do you think you’ve changed here in Berlin, for better or worse?
Ale: Hmm, overall for the better, but sometimes unintentionally. As I mentioned before, Berlin forces you to change as a person. Sometimes when I reflect on it, I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m really proud of myself,” especially how I manage my problems here by myself or how I ask for help when I really need it. In the past, I wasn’t like that; I was maybe too shy or incapable of dealing with things without the help of my friends and family. But here, sometimes things just happen and you have to keep moving forward, even though it hurts or if it’s really tough because you are here alone.
Bruna: I often think about that. I wonder if it’s part of being an immigrant in another country or if it’s just becoming an adult? Because as we get older, we have more responsibilities and less support from family and friends.
Ale: I think if I were becoming an adult in Colombia, it would be easier with the support of friends and family. But here, sometimes I have to figure out things by myself or ask people for help, which can be challenging. For me, it was also nice to have these experiences without asking my parents or my friends… Just by trying to think what’s best for me and being okay with that, because that’s how life is going to be from now on. So I feel now I’m better prepared for these kinds of hardships because maybe some friends back in my country always want to rely on other people to solve their problems, so they don’t step outside their comfort zone. For me, I was forced to step out of my comfort zone, but that has made me feel more independent as a person.
Bruna: Now let's talk about your thesis, because I think it was partly the result of meeting more feminist people here. How did the idea to talk about periods come to your mind?
Ale: First, I want to say that one of the things I was really interested in was experiencing the feeling of freedom as a woman. In my country, I always felt that as a girl, I needed to “behave” and everyone needed to take care of me. Here, I can do whatever I want, be whoever I want. I can say what I think and I don’t have someone asking me when I’m going to get married and have babies. And here, I don’t feel the fear of being outside on the streets, I don’t feel like something bad is going to happen to me. Without fear and pressure, I can explore more and understand myself better. So during my master’s, I was studying with six females and all the time they were complaining about their periods. I didn’t do that because my period, thank God, is not that heavy. But then I started thinking that maybe this is actually not a problem! I mean, why do periods always have to be about pain, about something bad, you know? Maybe there’s something else there… Something good! And I didn’t know what I was going to find at the end of this research, but what I found out is that we are missing a lot of knowledge about our menstruation cycle and about our bodies.
Bruna: So, was that the conclusion of your master’s, or...
Ale: One point of my conclusion is that there are a lot of biological processes that we are not aware of, and if we were, we could use that information to perform better in our daily lives. For example, if we know what’s happening in the ovulatory phase, that we are, let's say, more extroverted, more energetic, we could use this information to schedule important meetings, go out on dates, and networking meetups, etc. It’s also important to be aware of our biology because there are a lot of people suffering from wrong diagnoses, for example with endometriosis. We are taught that feeling pain is normal, but how much pain is normal? That’s subjective, so if you hear your whole life that periods are hurtful, maybe it doesn’t even cross your mind that you might be suffering from a medical condition. And if you find out about that later in life, maybe it can have some consequences like making you infertile and others. And people are afraid of going to the gynecologist and asking about these things. So it’s still taboo, we are still afraid of talking about these issues. And if this taboo is affecting our health, it’s affecting everything in our lives.
Bruna: Is there something very interesting that you found out with your research, something that you were like, “Oh my God, really? I didn’t know about that!”
Ale: Basically, the core insight is that we don’t own our periods. The market owns them, they have a voice for us. But we don’t, it’s not our voice or mindset. It’s not our version of how we talk about it, or how we perceive periods. It’s the market version, and we know men are in power in social, political, and also in the marketing spheres. So marketing is usually selling us the idea that periods should be “flowery, fresh”, and not “smelly”, like you should refresh yourself because periods “smell bad”. Or when you say tampons and pads are hygienic, logically you are saying that period blood is dirty, you know? So it was really interesting to see during my research that a lot of people really wanted to express different perspectives of periods: more organic, more natural, less taboo. I mean, yes, of course, we appreciate that someone created these period products because every menstruator has benefited from them at some point. But if you think about some connotations attached to this “lady-like” marketing…
Bruna: It “has to” be “feminine”, right? Like using a lot of pink color, not showing blood on the ads, because it’s “disgusting”...
Ale: Yeah, and this has been in the media for so long that we are not even aware of the connotations we receive from the media. These are the misconceptions we have been listening to while growing up, and I want to just cross this past and rewrite our future. That’s why I use the cross line in some of my visuals, to make people aware of what’s in the past and how it can be from now on. For example, I crossed the sentence “behave like a lady” and I wrote “behave like yourself” in the packages. The package itself can be a strong asset to show these stereotypes and misconceptions and fight against them. Also during the research, I heard from people new and really inspiring perspectives about periods. I made mock-ups based on what they would consider being the design of their dream packaging for period products. I saw some really interesting things. For example, they would like to see quotes of powerful women, information about how their body works, etc. They also want to get knowledge about the different period products since nowadays there are different products like cups and panties, so menstruators would like to understand which product fits them better. So there’s this need for knowledge, people are open to learning, but they also want their point of view to be heard by the brands. And that’s what is happening slowly with some Berliner brands like Einhorn, and The Female Company. So basically my thesis was about these two things: exposing the taboo and showing an updated, more realistic point of view of menstruators.
Bruna: I love the fact that you say menstruators and not “women”, you know what I mean? It’s more inclusive. I myself say women almost automatically, but the truth is that men, who are trans, and also some non-binary people can also menstruate.
Ale: That’s one of the reasons we need diverse points of view about this topic. In my research, I tried to talk to different kinds of people. It’s important to think about all the types of menstruators and people were very generous and opened up about this kind of “oh so shameful taboo” - sometimes more freely, but sometimes more shy as well. But when I gave people the opportunity to discuss and think deeply about menstruation, they opened up and gave me the opportunity to have different perspectives about it, which I’m very grateful for.
Bruna: Yeah, that’s actually very interesting to notice how people can get shy or a bit uncomfortable talking about this “taboo”. I remember when we were talking about your project months ago, you mentioned some women wanted to hide their period products even at home. Could you talk a bit about that?
Ale: It’s a really controversial topic because, in some of the interviews for the research, some women were like “I don’t care. I can talk openly about it - but I don’t want people to see me going to the bathroom carrying my tampons or pads. I don’t want them to see that, but I can talk openly about it,” and I was like, this is so controversial. I mean, some people are very period positive and really active and loud about this topic, which is nice. But also some people don’t want to make a big deal of it, and that is also a valid position. You can be a reserved person, who also wants to talk about it, but in a discreet form. So when I asked them to take pictures of where they keep their menstrual products, some of them just showed me the shelves closed.
Bruna: Oh, they didn’t even open the shelves to really show you the products? That’s interesting.
Ale: Yes, and there were people who didn’t hide those products at all. They were close to their personal objects and things. I thought that was also interesting because they really consider those products to be part of their personal life. So, I wanted to use the advantage of this situation and created bold packages, in case you have visitors, partners at your place, they can spot the packages, get curious about them, and start a conversation about periods and their stereotypes.
Bruna: Ah, so that's why those cubes have bold colors and fonts. They're for people to really see them, read and talk about it. That's so nice, I love it.
Ale: The cubes also provide educational insights about the four phases of the menstruation cycle and what is happening in each of them. This way, you can be aware of what's happening with you and your body, and focus on that for a week. But yes, I want to bring men into this conversation. I want them to see these packages and talk about them, like what do they think about periods and what do they know about them? I want these cubes to be conversation starters.
Bruna: I agree it would be a good idea to include more men in the conversation. It's taboo for them as well, and they probably have less information about menstruation, which can be harmful to women in general.
Ale: Yes, they should be part of the conversation because they have been excluded from it.
Bruna: It's interesting because it seems that men are actually raised to get really disgusted by periods. So they don't want to talk or hear about it. Once I saw a woman's tweet saying, “I wish men could get disgusted about rape in the same way that they get disgusted about menstruation blood,” and that's true. Society relates things such as violent video games, MMA fights with masculinity, where you see blood all the time, but God forbid you see or talk about period blood. So because of that, I think society overall has made us hide it. And I don't know if you saw this in your research, but I heard that in some cultures when a woman has her period, she's literally excluded by the community during that time.
Ale: Before religions like Christianity, when females were menstruating, they actually segregated themselves in a space just for themselves. Menstruation was seen as holy, and women as goddesses in a way. Now, the other big religions, men, and patriarchal societies in some cultures segregate women when they menstruate. So it went from something that women did in their way because it was nice for them, and now it’s kind of a mandatory self-isolation, in ways that society dictates. And that's when menstruation started becoming a taboo.
Bruna: It was first sacred and now it’s a taboo… How sad. But thanks for doing this kind of research to change society's views once again. Is there anything else that you would like to say?
Ale: Yes, related to the views that society has towards blood. As you mentioned, we have this image of tragic blood, related to violence, death, bad things… But as one of my interviewees and experts on the subject said, menstrual blood is the only blood that comes out of the body that is not forced. So that's why it's different from other kinds of blood, like in an accident or something violent. Period blood is natural, normal. So that was a really interesting mindset shift for me and how I perceive my own menstrual blood. And if we are able to talk more about periods in our daily lives with each other, we are going to unlock different aspects of our lives, in terms of how we behave, how we relate to others…
Bruna: We're going to own our bodies even more because we will be more aware of what's going on.
Ale: Yes! And because you have something that cis men don’t have. So you should use it as an advantage and you should feel proud of it.
Bruna: Totally, from menstruation, you can create life, it's a magical thing. I’m not saying that everybody has to have children, but if you do, it’s a hell of an experience that not everybody can experience.
Ale: And it's a cycle of energy that you renew every month, people should be aware of that. Your organism just renewed itself, and I can just say it's something kind of miraculous and beautiful.
Bruna: How beautiful. I love that, I'm tearing up, I’m probably PMS-ing.
Ale: Ahahahah, that's the perfect way to end this interview! I'm glad you opened this space for me so we could talk about this topic. Periods are part of our lives and we should own and embrace them. No taboo, it's just part of life.
Bruna: I think so too. I love it. Thank you so much, Ale, this was super nice <3
