Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Female Tutor’s Perceptions of Having Free Acccess to Menstruation Products in a Writing Center

FIU Wellness & Recreation Center

Most writing centers at U.S. four-year institutions hire undergraduates as peer tutors and many of them are female. Women have received strong cultural messages about their bodies, including sexually objectification, and that their physical functions, such as menstruation, should be concealed. Female tutors’ damaged self-recognition from the outside can lead to internalized selfidentification and further impact their perceptions of their knowledge and consultations in writing centers. The acceptance and accessibility of feminine products would boost work ethic among female tutors and hopefully break down the taboo associated with the female menstrual cycle. We conducted a mixed methods case study to explore female tutors’ perceptions about themselves, their professionalism and tutoring morale, as well as their experiences, with and without having free access to feminine products for emergency use at their writing center. We collected data via a set of pre and post surveys and individual interviews of 15 participants in a writing center. Copyright