Third Annual Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Summit
On December 6, 2025, Our Bodies Ourselves, Mass NOW, and the Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition hosted the third annual Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Summit at Suffolk University! The summit theme was Myth-Busting Menstruation: From Stigma to Systems Change.
We kicked off the cold winter Saturday with an inspiring resource fair. Over a dozen organizations featured public health initiatives, sex ed resources, student projects, and more. We were thrilled to have over one hundred attendees join us this year! Activists of all ages filled the room, joining forces to advance menstrual equity in Massachusetts.
Mass NOW Executive Director, Sasha Goodfriend and Our Bodies Ourselves Program Associate, Grace Koch, convened the speaker program. Dr. Sally King, founder of Menstrual Matters, gave a powerful keynote presentation. Dr. King drew from her ongoing research to unpack the intersections of pronatalism and menstruation, revealing how these narratives shape our culture, policies, and movement for menstrual equity. (See part one of the video series below)
We wrapped up the summit with an amazing panel, Bloodlines: Reclaiming Our Narratives around Menstruation, Perimenopause, and Menopause, moderated by Massachusetts State Representative Marjorie Decker.
The panel brought together three menstrual equity leaders:
- health advocate L Austin-Spooner (Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth, Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition),
- psychologist and pain researcher Dr. Christine Sieberg (Mass General Hospital, Boston Center for Endometriosis),
- and OBGYN Dr. Lucy Lomas (founder of LUCY; Chair of NAACP Boston Health Committee).
Together, the panelists explored critical themes ranging from stigma and barriers to the power of collective action, trans-inclusive healthcare, reclaiming our stories, and building empowered agency in clinical settings. (See part two of the video series below)
With special thanks to our sponsors: the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition and UNICORN in every stall; as well as community co-sponsors:
- Mystic Valley Action for Reproductive Justice
- Partners in Sex Ed
- Plymouth County MA CSW
- YW Boston
- THRIVE
- Social Action Committee, Boston Alumnae / Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority Inc.
- MyCycleIQ
- Athena Council
- Love Your Menses
- PERIOD.
- NSMN PAC
- PowerUP01945
- Eleonora Francesca Cordovani - Yoga & Theater
- Alliance for Period Supplies (LA)
- Periodic
- Fihri Foundation
- Brandeis ENACT
- Casa Myrna
- Ginsburg Initiative Girls program
- HerPower Collective