Synclaire Warren and Chelsea von Chaz are two Black women making history in 2022 by working to make menstrual equity a reality and building a brighter future for all. The Saalt Team had the privilege of speaking with both Synclaire and Chelsea earlier this year about their work, what they love about it, and what they’ve learned along the way.
Click here to read about Chelsea’s work
At Saalt, we are honored to be in community with such incredible innovators and change-makers in the period equity space.
Meet Synclaire, Founder of Point Blank Period and The Locker.
Synclaire founded and operates two nonprofit organizations, Point Blank Period and The Locker, which work in tandem toward menstrual equity.
Point Blank Period works to change the way we talk about periods by extricating periods from the shame and negativity that has been built around them. Synclaire says that in her youth she was excited to start her period. It wasn’t until she engaged with negative narratives about periods in the media that she started to feel shame and dread about menstruation. This shame, Synclaire says, keeps people from accessing the information and the care they need to manage their periods effectively.
“Social taboos and conversations based on patriarchal folklore are costing people their lives.” she says. “Poor menstrual healthcare can cause TSS, reproductive healthcare damage, and infections that can become fatal.”
Synclaire says that menstrual health education is inextricably linked to achieving menstrual equity, stating that “We need to have accessible, comprehensive reproductive health care available for everyone. It should be communal, so everyone, regardless of gender and experience, knows and understands menstruation in a way that is free of shame and negativity—in a way that is celebrated.”
The Locker (a growing collection of lockers in high-traffic, high-need areas) increases access to period care products, the education needed to use them, and written positive affirmations.
“A more equitable world has free, accessible, and adequate menstrual products for everyone,” says Synclaire. “Not only should people feel like they can access them, but also that there is no shame associated with accessing those materials. No shame in using that bathroom, in asking for that healthcare.”
Synclaire’s favorite part of her work is meeting all of the people who are excited about changing conversations around periods for the better. She says that many people are intimidated by the world of activism, that they feel they need degrees or to be area-experts through and through in order to participate, but she wants everyone to know that they are capable as they are.
“Anyone can engage in conversational activism,” Synclaire says. “If we stop shame and taboos at the root, where conversations happen, it can change so much. Practicing radical vulnerability around periods is something everyone can do.”
Learn more about Synclaire and her work with Point Blank Period and The Locker.
Saalt is proud to have the opportunity to share Synclare and Chelsea’s work with our Saalt community. The work they both do to improve the period care space and get us all closer to achieving period equity is invaluable. Chelsea and Synclaire are doing something amazing—they are making menstrual equity history, right now.
