The IDIAPJGol Menstrual Health and Equity research team conducted a study on men’s understanding of and attitudes toward menstruation. The study highlights men’s lack of information about menstruation and the persistence of taboos, stigmas, and discrimination surrounding this issue. It also highlights the need to implement structural policies that involve men and people who do not menstruate.

Photo-elicitation

The research was conducted from a critical feminist perspective, applying the qualitative technique of photo-elicitation, in which participants express their views using photographs. The researchers who coordinated the study showed participants two photographs –one showing a woman stained with menstrual blood during a sports activity and another showing a group of female activists holding banners demanding menstrual rights– and asked them what they suggested.

In addition, the researchers also questioned participants about the type of information they had on the topic and its sources, explored taboos, stigma, and discrimination related to menstruation, and identified opportunities to learn how to involve men and non-menstruating people in menstrual-related initiatives.

Biological perspective

The study included 17 men living in the Barcelona area, aged between 19 and 54, 13 of them heterosexual. Many of the participants acknowledged having little information about menstruation. Their perceptions were acquired through formal settings, such as school, and informal settings, such as the family, and were based on a fundamentally biological perspective focused on sexual relations and pregnancy prevention. Many participants reported having acquired information on the topic through relationships with women and menstruating individuals, primarily through sexual-affective partners, but also through friends.

The research shows that the men who participated have changed their perceptions of menstruation throughout their lives, shifting from a fundamentally biological conception of the phenomenon to a more sociostructural view, which takes more into account the emotional and social implications of menstruation. Men who do not have sexual-affective relationships with women or with non-menstruating individuals tended to have a more biological perspective on menstruation. This suggested to the researchers that more social learning about menstruation occurs more frequently in the context of sexual-affective relationships with women and menstruating individuals.

Stigma

Most of the men interviewed also identified menstruation as something negative, placing a physical and emotional burden on women and causing them to experience stigma and discrimination. Some displayed paternalistic attitudes when talking about how women deal with menstruation. Although participants stated that the taboo surrounding menstruation is less prevalent these days, they often used euphemisms when talking about it.

Researchers also highlighted the need to prioritize public resources to improve menstrual education in schools and to address issues beyond the biological nature of menstruation in classrooms. Many participants stated they were unfamiliar with menstrual policies and the concept of period poverty.

Furthermore, labour policies related to menstruation generated diverse opinions among participants; some supported them, while others expressed reluctance. Finally, it was emphasized that men’s role in menstrual equity must be supportive in the fight for menstrual equity.

Sociopolitical changes

The study’s first author, the IDIAPJGol researcher Andrea García-Egea, emphasizes that “the commitment of men and people who do not menstruate to menstrual equity has the potential to drive sociopolitical changes that are necessary to address menstrual inequities.”

In this regard, the research coordinator, Laura Medina-Perucha, also a researcher at IDIAPJGol, states that the work highlights “the need to incorporate the perspectives of men and people who do not menstruate into menstrual strategies to strengthen the effectiveness and reach of public administration policies on this issue.”

Study reference

García-Egea A, Jacques-Aviñó C, Berenguera A, Baroja-Benlliure J, Pinzón-Sanabria D, Holst AS, López-Jiménez T, Munrós-Feliu J, Vicente-Hernández MM, Valls-Llobet C, Martínez-Bueno C, Medina-Perucha L. “If everyone comes together, many things can be changed”: A qualitative study on men’s perspectives on menstrual health and equity in the Barcelona area (Spain). PLoS One. 2025 Feb 27;20(2):e0312685. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312685. PMID: 40014614; PMCID: PMC11867308.