We went to PeriodCon. PeriodCon is an annual two-day convention where there are different panels and workshops focusing on menstrual equity. It is run by PERIOD-an organization who’s mission is to celebrate periods and provide products to those in need. PERIOD was started by Nadya Okomoto when she was 16 years old with her friend Vincent Forand. We went to the first day which was all of the panels and talks. The first speaker was Lynn Seely who works with Myovant Sciences who talked a lot about period diseases and how not much is being done about them. Then there was a panel of Period Poverty which was about how people who don’t have access to period products go about their cycle. Then we had time to walk around the “vendor hall” where there were about 6 vendor stands where different companies could promote their period products and a lot of them were available for free. We learned a lot about how the products work and how they were designed to work the best for every person who menstruates. Then, my favorite panel that I saw was the Period Policy panel. This panel was about the laws around periods and the politics around them. It was a super interesting panel and I learned a lot. We then had lunch and had time to talk to everyone that was there. We talked with Nadya-who is super kind and fun, and some other people who have their own companies that supply period products to schools. There was then a gender inclusivity panel where they talked about how not all menstruators are women, and not all women menstruate. (I had to leave at this time). Next was a panel on period in pop culture which I heard was very interesting, and then to close off the day, Wendy Davis-a former Texas state senator spoke.
