“A Mermaids Tale” by Chihiro Nagano and Khadija Karim
Reflection
'A Mermaid's Tale' is a children's picture book about a mermaid who experiences periods for the first time. At first, the mermaid is worried and insecure when her tail has suddenly turned red, because she doesn't understand what is happening to her body. She seeks help from a trusted figure, the moon. The moon soothes her and explains that periods are a monthly cycle regulated by hormones, and they are a normal part of growing up. Now reassured, the mermaid shares the knowledge with her community, and the story ends with the mermaids supporting each other through their periods.
The book was created by second year medical students as part of a clinical humanities group project while on a General Practice longitudinal placement run by KUMEC of King's College London. We made a questionnaire asking patients about their experiences of their first period. We designed the questions to include both emotional and clinical aspects of their experiences (for example, "describe your experience and feelings during your first period", and "at the time of your first period, did you know how to use sanitary products?"). 250 patients responded to our questionnaire. 73% of respondents said that coping with periods is stressful. Some patients had to educate themselves about periods because their periods started before the school curriculum taught about them. Many were frustrated that their schools only taught menstruation to girls and not boys. Sadly, some patients said that they are reluctant to consult clinicians about their menstrual health because they weren't taken seriously in the past.
The patients' responses indicated that earlier menstruation education and open discussion of periods would have reduced their fear and shame, and would have helped them feel more prepared for their periods. For this reason, we chose the picture book format, because it allows us to educate young children of all genders in an engaging way, and it also encourages discussion between children and their parents, teachers, and clinicians. We decided on the mermaid theme because it would appeal to children, and it also symbolises the start of menstruation as a transition of being half-child and half-adult, similar to how a mermaid is half-human and half-fish.
In the book, we explained periods in simple terms, we emphasised the importance of support networks, and we incorporated comments from the patients into the story, including the advice that they would give to their younger selves. We also discussed themes of change, processing emotions, communication, and friendship. This approach to the story makes the book relevant to children of all ages and genders, which we believe is key for creating more open discussion about periods.
'A Mermaid's Tale' challenges the inequality faced by people who menstruate by de-stigmatising periods, being inclusive of young children of all genders in menstruation education, and encouraging open discussions about periods. By starting awareness and education in younger generations, we believe that our book will change attitudes about periods, which will improve menstrual and reproductive healthcare for patients.