An organization at FAU hosted its first Period Party Wednesday afternoon.

The Period Party, which was hosted by Owls Care Health Promotion, focused on eliminating the taboo about women’s periods for both the cisgender and transgender community. It also educated participants on myths about periods, in addition to alternatives to tampons and pads.

The main exhibit of the event was a fold out board titled, “The Crimson Wave” which talked in depth about the period cycle, the anatomy of the uterus, stigmas, and stereotypes surrounding periods in the media.

“This is something that is not talked about enough, there’s not enough resources on most college campuses,” senior psychology major Ashley Kash said.

The event was held at the Women and Gender Equity Resource Center which had its grand opening in the fall. The room was decorated in nicknames for periods — Mother Nature and Flow Time —  which emphasized the taboo surrounding period talk.

“I honestly feel so empowered,” senior psychology major Murielle Joseph said. “People always say, ‘That’s gross! We don’t need to hear about that,’ when talking about periods.”

The event brought awareness to the stigma surrounding periods by providing examples of tampon ads and how they portray women during “that time of the month.” Owls Care employees also handed out slips that women could write a period story to encourage breaking the silence in period talk.

Education about alternatives to tampons and pads were also available at the event, including information on diva cups and thinx underwear which is specially made for women on their periods.

“I think this was much needed. Still a lot of girls and trans men have questions and they can ask them here,” said Dylita Maharaj, 19-year-old sophomore communication major. “I learned a lot about the Diva Cup, I was worried about using it but now I might want to buy one.”

Owls Care employees demonstrated tips for inserting Diva Cups and also held a raffle so participants in the event could win a cup of their own. Other activities at the event included filling out diagrams of uteruses, and eating red velvet cupcakes.

Senior anthropology major Jhane Young said, “I used to go to a huge university and they didn’t have anything like this. FAU prides itself on being diverse and having an event like this backs up its claim.”

Owls Care said they plan to have a Period Party once a year.

Carly Russo is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].