Postcolonial Knowledge from Empires: The Beginnings of Menstrual Education in Taiwan, 1950s–1980s

Volume 11, Issue 4

On 12 September 1963 an article titled "Menstrual Education" appeared in the newspaper Zhengrin xinven bao (徵信新聞報)。! The article advocated teaching children developmental physiology as a "natural phenomenon." It praised the notion of ridding people of the confusion and ignorance supposedly rooted in their old ways:


In the United States, menstruation education consists of showing Disney cartoon films. In a science museum in Chicago, every physiological phenomenon from fertilization to birth is exhibited in detail in the Miracle of Development Room using plastic and plaster models and charts. Adults who walk into the room are reportedly always shocked, while the millions of elementary school children who visit yearly are unperturbed, encountering it with ordinary curiosity. Indeed, their reactions indicate the benefits [of such education]. For example, 11-year-old Johnny was happy to now understand the principles of how he was born and impressed by the wonders of life. A fourteen-year-old girl named Meili was having herperiod, and she was so afflicted and lonely. After entering the room, everything became clear to her, and she was rid of confusion and bewilderment. She was very happy Children are taking in [the display] as a kind of natural phenomenon, and they are leaming from it with a humble heart. (Ishigaki Junii 1963)

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