Transformation of UO Leader and Team Dedicated to Menstrual Health Advocacy & Education
Videos pop up as executive members join the Zoom room for their weekly meeting. Veronica Kurfess, 20, the acting interim president of The Flow club, calls the room to attention. They needed to discuss the logistics of the upcoming general meeting and period packaging party.
Kurfess couldn’t imagine that she would be leading an influential group of women and working with them to tackle a prominent issue on the University of Oregon campus. There was little to no education, advocacy and supplies for menstruators.
“I never saw myself doing this, especially not as a leader of a club to other students my age. But I think it’s incredible,” said Kurfess.
This became her reality about a year ago. Kurfess swiped through her Instagram feed, not looking for anything in particular, one day in Jan 2021. She saw a post sent out by Boochie Post looking for leaders to join a club dedicated to menstruators of UO.
“…There’s a club about something I’m really interested in — women’s rights and women’s health,” said Kurfess.
She hopped onto the team as the Education Director for Period @UO. Her passion became developing educational material and guides to resources for menstruators. Kurfess, alongside her peer executives and president, aimed to destroy the stigma around menstruation and periods on campus.
“It’s something that’s with us and I don’t enjoy the feelings of shame that gets thrown at us as women or as menstruators that are dealing with the natural process,” said Kurfess.
Nevertheless, she felt that she needed to do something more. Kurfess worked with Post on more tasks that would prepare the club for general meetings and events. Her ability to take on additional support made it easy for Post and her peers to rely on her, said Kurfess.
“She’s the kind of person to stick out her neck for anyone…and help you in any instance,” said Geralline Sapp, the communications director for the Flow.
It was an obvious choice who would stand in for Post, as she announced her Copenhagen trip to study abroad for the academic year.
Kurfess accepted the torch and became the president of Period @UO for the upcoming year. Outreach and partnership with other UO organizations became Kurfess’ first focus as president. However, her club faced some backlash.
Operation Period, another club at UO dedicated to menstrual wellness and health, declined Period @UO’s offer for partnership due to the club’s parent organization, said Kurfess.
Nadya Okamoto, the founder of Period: The Menstrual Movement — Period @UO’s parent organization — received a call for accountability from her employee. In a Medium post to the public, Ileri Jaiyeoba outed a harsh reality within Period.
The organization prioritized the monopoly of the menstrual health discussion and involved itself in harming primarily Black and POC menstrual justice organizations. This was all because they were “too” similar to Period.
After reading Jaiyeoba’s story and realizing the truth of Period, the members of Period @UO were shocked and disappointed in the organization that they represented.
“We believe that menstrual rights are for everyone… and we did not want any ties back to [Period],” said Kurfess.
Kurfess and The Flow’s team quickly realized what needed to happen next. In September 2021, Period @UO rebranded their organization and became The Flow, in order to open menstrual justice spaces to menstruators of all backgrounds and identities.
In the effort to be inclusive of all menstruators, The Flow planned to also create materials that offered information that supports trans menstruators and menstruators with gender expressions outside of the binary.
Despite the shift in leadership and organization affiliation, Kurfess and many other executives stuck to it and worked hard through the summer to provide a space for all menstruators and people looking to learn about menstruation.
Their most notable efforts include the partnership with the local chapter of NAACP and Looking Glass to host a Period Packaging Party back in Nov. 2021. Over 2,500 products and 500 packages were made that day to support those in need of products, said Kurfess.
“When we donate to people in the area, I think that’s the best manifestation of what we’re doing,” said Gabby Cabrera, a member of the advocacy team at The Flow.
Kurfess’ plans for the club are to involve a holistic understanding of sexual health and wellness alongside menstrual awareness. Kurfess said “misunderstanding, miscommunication and stigma from a young age stays with us and just gets deeper as society teaches us these specific values about gender, sex and menstruation.”
Kurfess and The Flow’s group of innovative leaders continue to set forth to create open, safe and welcoming spaces to discuss the natural beauty of menstruation on the UO campus. They’ve also worked to make a space for those within the Eugene Community.
“We want to get the name out there and encourage people to be period positive and period proud, and to kind of own it,” said Kurfess.
If you’re interested in getting involved with the Flow, you can reach out to them at their Instagram, @thefloworganization, for more information about general member meetings and events! You can also donate to them in support of period product purchases at their amazon wish list. (https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2UIK0QSODWOBJ/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1?_encoding=UTF8&type=wishlist), PayPal (https://paypal.me/theflowUO?locale.x=en_US), and Cashapp (https://cash.app/$theflowUOhttps://cash.app/$theflowUO).
