In the second-floor girls’ restroom at Bronx Prep Middle School in New York, there’s a sign taped to the back of the toilet stall doors. It’s a guide on how to “properly dispose feminine products.” On the list? “Make sure that no one views or handles product.”
“It’s not even saying the word pad. It just says product!” explains Kathaleen Restitullo, 13. “Just, like, don’t let anyone see that you are on your period.”
But Kathaleen and six of her fellow female eighth-graders decided they’re tired of NOT talking about periods. So they made a podcast about it — called Sssh! Periods — and it’s the middle school grand prize winner in the first-ever NPR Student Podcast Challenge.
“We wanted to shine a light on this subject because it’s something that’s kind of hidden away,” says Raizel Febles, 14. “You kind of are ashamed for having it, which sucks because it’s something so natural and so normal.”
The seven girls (Raizel Febles, Kathaleen Restitullo, Kassy Abad, Caroline Abreu, Jasmin Acosta, Ashley Amankwah and Litzy Encarnacion) met every Thursday after school this spring to write, record and edit their podcast.
For them, the conversation about periods flowed naturally. “It was easy to record it,” says Caroline Abreu, 13. “It was like the mic wasn’t even there. We were just having a conversation.”
Periods! Why These 8th-Graders Aren’t Afraid To Talk About Them
Photos: Elissa Nadworny/NPR
Caption: (Clockwise, from top left) Litzy Encarnacion, Ashley Amankwah, Kassy Abad, teacher Shehtaz Huq, Kathaleen Restitullo, Caroline Abreu, Jasmin Acosta and Raizel Febles.
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