Rethinking Menstrual Trackers Towards Period-Positive Ecologies

Tuli, Anupriya; Singh, Shruti; Narula, Rikita; Kumar, Neha; Singh, Pushpendra

doi:10.1145/3491102.3517662

Cited by 30 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Symptoms were framed more negatively than positively, consistent with prior work on menstrual stigma [16], within English and Chinese apps, respectively. When comparing negative sentiment, Chinese apps had slightly more than English apps.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Aside from practical purposes, many menstrual tracking apps promote the message of empowerment and advertise their products as means of "understanding one's body better, avoiding stain stigma, or as natural birth control" [16]. However, closer examinations of those messages reveal that menstrual tracking apps might, in reality, be perpetuating menstrual stigma by suggesting the maintaining of dignity through secrecy and further medicalizing normal bodies as needing to be fixed.…”

Section: Menstrual Trackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Menstrual Attitudes in the U.S. and China: Insights from Mobile Menstrual Tracking Applications for Teenagers

Peng¹,

Yang²,

Haselton³

2023

Preprint

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Mobile software applications (apps) have transformed how individuals oversee and maintain their own health. One way that girls can monitor their menstrual cycles is through the increasingly widespread use of mobile menstrual tracking apps. This study aims to examine menstrual symptom tracking for adolescents in English and Chinese apps, exploring menstrual literacy, cross-cultural differences, and framing, or presentation, of symptoms. The mixed methods content analysis involved 15 popular free menstrual tracking apps in English (n = 8) and Chinese (n = 7). Quantitative analysis of qualitative data was conducted through manual coding of content and automatically analyzing sentiment, or emotional tone, using a computational approach. We found that: (1) Menstrual literacy on symptom management or treatment was generally insufficient, (2) There were more available emotional than physical symptoms in English than Chinese apps, (3) Symptoms were framed more negatively than positively, somewhat more in Chinese than English apps. Findings emphasize the importance of improving information in digital menstrual trackers. Our findings further reflect cultural differences in emotional expression and negative attitudes toward menstruation. Since adolescence is a critical developmental stage that requires ample support, digital menstrual trackers can uniquely shape attitudes and experiences, ultimately, empowering teenagers to better manage their menstrual health.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Menstrual Trackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Menstrual Attitudes in the U.S. and China: Insights from Mobile Menstrual Tracking Applications for Teenagers

Peng¹,

Yang²,

Haselton³

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Symptoms were framed more negatively than positively, consistent with prior work on menstrual stigma [18], within English and Chinese apps, respectively. When comparing negative sentiments, Chinese apps had slightly more than English apps.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Aside from practical purposes, many menstrual tracking apps promote the message of empowerment and advertise their products as means of "understanding one's body better, avoiding stain stigma, or as natural birth control" [18]. However, closer examinations of these messages reveal that menstrual tracking apps might, in reality, be perpetuating menstrual stigma by suggesting the maintaining of dignity through secrecy and further medicalizing normal bodies as needing to be fixed.…”

Section: Menstrual Trackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Menstrual Symptoms: Insights from Mobile Menstrual Tracking Applications for English and Chinese Teenagers

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mobile software applications (apps) have transformed how individuals oversee and maintain their own health. One way that girls can monitor their menstrual cycles is through the increasingly widespread use of mobile menstrual tracking apps. This study aimed to examine menstrual symptom tracking for adolescents in English and Chinese apps, exploring menstrual literacy, cross-cultural differences, and framing, or presentation, of symptoms. The mixed-methods content analysis involved 15 popular free menstrual tracking apps in English (n = 8) and Chinese (n = 7), sampled from December 2022 to January 2023. A quantitative analysis of qualitative data was conducted through manual coding of content and automatically analyzing sentiment, or emotional tone, using a computational approach. We found that (1) menstrual literacy on symptom management or treatment was generally insufficient, (2) there were more available emotional than physical symptoms in English than Chinese apps, and (3) symptoms were framed more negatively than positively somewhat more in Chinese than English apps. Our findings emphasize the urgency to provide better evidence-informed communication about symptoms, either presented more positively or neutrally, in menstrual tracking apps for adolescent users. Since adolescence is a critical developmental stage that requires ample support, we recommend that digital menstrual trackers be crucially improved and future research should investigate how they can uniquely shape attitudes and experiences, and subsequent sexual and reproductive health empowerment and bodily autonomy.

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“…Existing feminist HCI [3] scholarship highlights the the generalisation of women's bodies in health tech [2,[5][6][7][9][10][11]. While this research is a step towards countering the generalisation of health devices, little attention has been brought to the impact of the universality of these devices, especially on the women who use them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I Want My Tracker To Be Like a Mother": The Implications of Universalism of Health Trackers on IndianWomen

Indiahci¹,

Sogani²,

Vavilala³

2022

Preprint

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The data captured by health and fitness tools is immensely personal and is intertwined with one’s complex identity - however, by using a one-size-fits-all approach, the design of these health and fitness tools flattens the importance of gendered differences and personal needs. In response to this, through semi-structured interviews, we aim to better understand the implications of this normalization and universality of health trackers on Indian women.

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Rethinking Menstrual Trackers Towards Period-Positive Ecologies

Cited by 30 publications

References 61 publications

Menstrual Attitudes in the U.S. and China: Insights from Mobile Menstrual Tracking Applications for Teenagers

Menstrual Attitudes in the U.S. and China: Insights from Mobile Menstrual Tracking Applications for Teenagers

Menstrual Symptoms: Insights from Mobile Menstrual Tracking Applications for English and Chinese Teenagers

“I Want My Tracker To Be Like a Mother": The Implications of Universalism of Health Trackers on IndianWomen

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