Aunt Flo. Shark week. The Communists are coming.
Period euphemisms illustrate how uncomfortable we are chatting about menstruation. As ActionAid's in-house copywriter I got my, ahem, hands dirty by busting period taboos at Latitude Festival.
The aim? To raise awareness of girls missing school because of period taboos and get everyone shouting from the rooftops about ActionAid's amazing work with women and girls.
Quirky signs encourage festival-goers to…get the painters in! Volunteers adorned visitors with red glitter, love hearts and feather boas before snapping a social-media-worthy pic in the vintage booth.
A taboo-busting video played on the main stage throughout the weekend, encouraging people to come to the ActionAid tent and get involved.
One in ten girls in Africa misses school during her period. As people queued to go to ‘the ActionAid loos’, they read stories of girls affected by period taboos and a lack of sanitary products.
Festival-goers get the VR treatment by taking part in a virtual visit to a toilet in Rwanda to highlight how safe, clean toilets can help girls stay in school when they're menstruating.
World-famous comedians and musicians charmed audiences at 'secret gigs' after hours at the ActionAid tent.
The powerful period-positive messages were shared on social media by celebrities including Will Young, Fatboy Slim, DJ Yoda, The Horrors and Ibibio Sound Machine.
Inspired by Pakistani students’ period taboo protest in 2016, ActionAid’s ‘Break the taboo’ wall encouraged people to share body-positive messages.
All images are copyright of Jack Pascoe/ActionAid UK