Episode #6
More than Pads and Plumbing! With Jane Bennett
Jane Bennett is a force of nature. As a menstrual educator and founder of the Chalice Foundation, she draws on years of research to expose menstrual shame and show how silence leaves people unprepared for perimenopause and menopause. Her work also demonstrates how early, celebratory menstrual education can transform school culture.
Jane argues that cycle awareness is a superpower for navigating the menopausal transition and that workplaces have a duty of care to support people through it. She examines how patriarchal influences shape medical language and how language more broadly can perpetuate menstrual and reproductive shame.
She offers immediate, practical steps — tracking cycles, finding trusted practitioners, using evidence-based resources, and adopting menstrual policy templates to create change at work. As always, we hear personal, candid stories from our community.
Please share this episode with friends, family, and colleagues you think will benefit from listening!
Show Notes
Hormone Repair Manual by Lara Briden – We recommend buying books at local independent booksellers!
Period Repair Manual By Lara Briden
Signs Journal Article by Emily Martin: The Egg and the Sperm How Science has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female roles.
Revisiting “The Fertilisation Fairytale” by Lisa Campo-Engelstein & Nadia JohnsonA follow up to Emily Martins article 20 years later. An analysis of gendered language used to describe fertilization in science textbooks from middle school to medical school.
Ourselves at WorkCreating positive menstrual culture in your workplace a comprehensive guide for how to dismantle the menstrual taboo in workplaces.
Reproductive Health and Wellbeing LeaveVictorian Policy Document
SPECIALIST BIO
Jane Bennett is a social worker and has over 42 years experience as a facilitator, counsellor and menstrual educator. Jane launched Celebration Day for Girls in 2000 and Fathers Celebrating Daughters in 2004. Celebration Day for Girls is now delivered in 29 countries.
Jane co-created The Rite Journey, a program for year 9 girls, and continues her long-standing educational role with Natural Fertility Management. In 2017 Jane founded the Chalice Foundation, a not-for-profit social enterprise dedicated to promoting positive menstrual culture and education.In 2024 the Chalice Foundation launched Foundations of Menstrual Education, an online program for anyone offering, or planning to teach, menstrual education in any setting.
Jane is the author ofA Blessing Not a Curse andGirltopia: a world of real conversations for real girls, and co-authoredAbout Bloody Time: the menstrual revolution we have to have,Ourselves at Work: creating positive menstrual culture in your workplace,The Complete Guide to Optimum Conception,The Natural Fertility Management Kits for Contraception and The Pill: Are You Sure It’s For You?.