(In)visible Blood: menstrual performances and body art

Abstract Although the symbolic potential of menstrual blood has been widely explored in the context of ritual practices, this article focuses on the notion of performance and the experiential dimension of symbolic action associated with menstruation and menstrual blood. The term menstrual performance refers to various ways in which menstrual blood is used as an aesthetic and political expression. These uses are often related to artistic settings, but they also occur in more mundane contexts such as social networks in the Internet. The argument stresses two aspects of these performances: the emotional resonance of certain physical experiences and bodily substances, such as menstruation and menstrual blood; and the material devices, such as the menstrual cup and the internet, that allow these performances involving menstrual blood to grow in number and frequency.