“Chella Quint is a force of nature.”
– Shami Chakrabarti, Of Women: In the 21st Century
Chella Quint is an author, teacher, performer, activist, and the UK’s leading expert on menstruation literacy.
She is the founder of the Period Positive movement and researches shame and taboo in menstruation education with and for young people.
“It is no exaggeration to say that Chella Quint is the queen of making menstruation a hell of a lot more fun.”
-Breanne Fahs, An Energetic Jaunt Through the Menstrual Universe with Chella Quint
Author
Chella’s witty kids’ book slays superstitions, busts myths, and fights period shame, while providing practical information about menstrual products, tracking cycles, and sharing her own personal stories. Check out this lovely and detailed review! For librarians, here’s an amazing review from School Library Journal! Own Your Period has been named to the 2022 Rise book list. It was one of only five middle grade non fiction books to be named to the list by round tables of the American Library Association.
Out now!
Chella’s quintessential period primer and audio book for adults answers 100 of her audience’s questions. Here is a lovely review. For menstrual researchers, there is an academic review of the book by scholar Breanne Fahs here!
Out now in the UK! And in the US and Canada! And Germany! And more!
Teacher
A former drama teacher and head of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economics Education), Chella is currently developing lessons for a co-designed cross-curricular programme of study with young people and teachers using A Period Positive National Curriculum.
She is a leading expert on menstruation education in the UK, advising on regional and national policy on menstruation education and period poverty/menstrual equity at the regional. corporate and policy level.
Performer
Everything you wish you’d been taught in school (but probably weren’t)! This interactive science communication and educational comedy show (based on the fanzine series of the same name) had successsful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and a number of science festivals.
Read a review or (two or three) of this five-star interactive touring comedy show and get in touch about future bookings.
Now available as an online interactive performance lecture or craftivism workshop! Enquire here about a show, workshop or public speaking engagement specially tailored to your class, group or organisation.
STAINS™ is an ongoing installation parodying the period stain as the world’s most recognised and coveted fashion emblem. It first appeared in Adventures in Menstruating zine #5 in 2009, and has since travelled to exhibitions in the US, UK and EU. STAINS™ was was selected for the Blood Exhibition at Science Gallery Dublin for their 2014-2015 season and drew attention from several Irish news outlets.
Activist
Chella coined the term ‘period positive’ in 2006 and founded #periodpositive to use humour and joy to challenge menstrual taboos, encourage better menstrual literacy, and find long-term solutions to period poverty.
Period Positive is now an award, curriculum model and framework for creative and inclusive menstrual literacy. You can find out more about the work of Period Positive and how to get permission to use the Period Positive Pledge framework to improve menstrual literacy in your organisation.
Image: Chella Quint speaking at the Free Periods demo in front of Parliament. (Photo credit: Mark Kerrison)
And More…
Chella co-hosts the annual Sheffield zine fest and has been publishing the print zine Adventures in Menstruating since 2005. Her 5-star comedy show of the same name has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Women of the World Festival and tours regional comedy, literature and science festivals.
Her zines are held in a number of international zine libraries, and she has a chapter in Down the Pan: New Directions in the Sociology of Dirt, a monograph from the The Sociological Review.
She won the 2013 Specialist Factual Presenter Pitch Award at Sheffield Docfest, the 2014 Off the Shelf Poetry Slam, a 2016 mentorship with Third Angel Theatre Company, was chosen for the 2019 cohort of the Jo Cox Women in Leadership Programme, and won the Mary Ann Rawson Award for Education in the Women of Sheffield Awards 2021.
Chella has been featured on Woman’s Hour, the radio documentary A Bleeding Shame, the 28 ish Days Later Podcast (all for BBC Radio 4), the CBBC Newsround special Let’s Talk About Periods, and has contributed to the Break the Barriers Report for PLAN UK and to Gemma Cairney’s book, Open.
Get in touch…
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Chella Quint OBE 