Heeey!

How’ve you been? I’ve been great and feeling loved for the umpteenth time this year. A very dear friend of mine from home took time out of her work schedule to come and visit me out here in the Pacific Northwest, and I’m eternally grateful. I record this news here for future reference because it’s that time of year when a lot of us in the North will experience the winter blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder. I hope you have some tools to get through the dark days or that this inspires you to record your happy memories before the clouds move in on a semi-permanent basis.

On the positive side, there’s much to look forward to in the last quarter of 2023.

First, we have a new season of Shades and Layers, Whoop Whoop! And the line up is hot as nails 🔥🔥🔥. There are many interviews I’m excited to share this coming fall: from hair care to coffee to fashion. All our bases are covered.

Secondly, your social feeds are probably packed with Halloween and pumpkin season memes already 🎃🎃🎃. My favorite by far was spotted on Hidden Figures actress Octavia Spencer. Okay, so this might be a Hallmark Holiday and largely wasteful (I still don’t know what to do with all the candy my kids collect every year), but I love how everyone gets so enthusiastic about it and of course it’s a true indicator of our need for rituals, however ‘corrupted’. And since we’re no longer farmers, or that connected to the land, something as artificial as Halloween serves its purpose. I’m looking forward to all the neighborhood decorations, and trust me, there are some overzealous Halloween fans around 🤣.

In the South of the world it’s time for the rains, the season of abundance and Dezemba (IYKYK). So, officially this is my favorite time of year, even from a distance.

Okay, time now to get into the newsletter. What’s up with the ‘Blood’ part of this edition’s title? It’s got to do with the first episode of the new season. Read on and find out, but first, a quick reminder to share this newsletter with a friend and ask them to do da ting👇🏾. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

LATEST EPISODE

SHEBA FEMININE

Zizipho Ntobongwana joins me for a sit down to talk about all of that and her company, Sheba Feminine, which makes sustainable and biodegradable menstrual care products. From menstrual cups to tampons and a new product line in the pipeline, Zizipho and her team in Johannesburg have your needs covered. They also engage with various institutions to educate school level children and their teachers on menstrual and sexual health. You can also find out about their donation program, ‘Pay-for-a-Pal’s Pads’ on the episode.

COMPANION LISTENING

After listening to the latest episode, I also encourage you to listen to another one from the archive called “Better Periods”. This episode is from Season 4 and it focuses on founder of the Cape-Town based menstrual cup brand, Mie Cup, founded by engineer Zema Sokhanyile. Her mission is to change the experience for people who menstruate and their relationship with their cycle. This conversation is a good barometer of where the conversation around menstrual health stood one year ago and a good companion to the story of Sheba Feminine. What stands out about this conversation is how heavily Mie Cup also relies on the educational approach for the success of its brand. Go ahead and enjoy.

WHY DO WE STILL PAY FOR MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS?

There is a way in which we talk about menstruation and sexual health, that is generally uncomfortable for people who menstruate, and even for those who don’t. From the embarrassment a teenager feels when paying for their menstrual products at the cashier, to skipping school because they can’t access or afford said products and opting out of normal activities during your cycle. What about the giggling cisgender boy who shames his menstruating peers? There’s a lot of shame and really, it’s still a taboo, even for the so-called educated and enlightened.

Not only does taboo prevent normalization of periods, it feeds into the larger problem or period poverty. If you cannot talk openly about what’s happening to your body, how will you ask for what you need to manage your menstrual cycle. Period poverty is not restricted to poor countries, in fact it is on the rise in the United States. I know 🤯! And yes this is a society that has deep problems with women, children and anyone who’s not white and male (a conversation for another day). You can also hazard a guess as to which demographic is most affected by this state of affairs. But for now, this begs the question: if a heavily resourced and affluent country like the USA is regressing in this regard, what are we looking at in less affluent societies? What about the rest of the world?

Enter the Tampon Tax, a fact of life that leaves me incandescent with rage. Surely by now access to menstrual care products should be classified as a human right. Kudos to Kenya for leading the charge in abolishing this ridiculous tax back in the early 2000s. Check out this article for more on how much it costs to have a period in each country. Note the cost difference between commercial and sustainable solutions.

So, there are only twenty places in the world where you can access free menstrual care products and these include five African countries 🙏🏾🙌🏾. Kenya and Botswana have done away with tampon tax and school-aged girls in public schools are eligible for free menstrual care products. The same holds true for some provinces of South Africa, which also did away with the tampon tax in 2018. In Zambia these goods are free in under-served and rural areas. In Uganda the government works with some NGO’s on a programme called Keep A Girl In School, a halfway measure taken after protests when the government looked like it would back out of its promise to avail pads and tampons for free.

Okay, so there’s progress, but the world is big and someone is still making billions from selling feminine hygiene goods. It can cost the average person twenty US dollars per month to get through their cycle. And yes, the math here does not math when you consider that there are people living on less than one US dollar per day. Why in the world must anybody pay so much money to have an iota of dignity in often undignified life circumstances? Note that we’re only talking about the menstrual products, we haven’t even addressed other factors such as water, sanitation and general hygiene.

The answer to why we still pay for menstrual products is very short, the global feminine hygiene market is worth thirty nine billion dollars. This is an article that eloquently outlines the business insights of this market, and I know it’s complex and the world is complex and there are various positive reasons for the growth of the market in recent years, but I’m sure it’s clear as daylight why there is no willingness from any quarter to change the status quo too much or too quickly.

CELEBRATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

GENERAL 🎉🙌🏾

Excited to see that First Rand bank in South Africa just announced it would have a female CEO. It’s a first and an amazing achievement for role model and mentor to many a career woman, Mary Vilakazi. She’s had a few mentions by guests here on Shades and Layers.

Music wise, I’m still on a Beyonce and Little Dragon high and so happy to have attended the concerts. Live music in Seattle never disappoints, ever! Small venue or stadium, Grace Jones or The Roots or Erykah Badu or Soweto Gospel Choir. Whenever wherever, I always have a good time and it largely has to do with the audience - always a vibe!

READING 📕

Finally got my hands on the naturalista manifesto, Good Hair by Charlotte Mensah, the first Black woman to be inducted into the British Hairdressing Hall of Fame. The book and her work was first recommended to me by a friend who saw her speak at a private event in South Africa. Check out Charlotte’s Instagram page for hair tips and iconic moments in her journey.

I am still to read a book called Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon (who incidentally lives in Seattle). The book explains how the female body drove the evolution of humanity to ensure how we came to menstruate, why we get menopause and questions whether the female brain is even a thing? Let’s add that to my seemingly endless reading list. 😁

On the lookout for the latest books on economic Degrowth, so any and all recommendations are welcome. Please drop me an email by hitting reply.

PODCASTS 🎙️🎧

Right now I’m also loving a brand new podcast whose title peaked my interest. Moral Repair: A Black Exploration of Tech is a project of the PRX Network and they explore big questions as relates to tech, like how to thrive while navigating technology, automation and AI in the information age.

Let me know about any podcasts you find enjoyable and would recommend. Just hit reply to get in touch.

That’s it from me! Until next time, please do take good care!

Cheers,

Kutloano

(your host with the most)