3. Period apps and society

In this episode Judith Zoë talks to Chiara Nowak, a visual artist, and Anastasia Siapka and Elisabetta Biasin from the KU Leuven University. 

To understand the effect of marketing and narratives behind period apps, I spoke to Chiara Nowak, a graphic designer and visual artist working on the project ‘not.a.period’ and got the chance to visit the site of her art installation while we dissected the topic together. 

Anastasia and Elisabetta are the authors of the research paper ‘Bleeding data: the case of fertility and menstruation tracking apps’. We discuss the social impact and implications of period apps and potential paths towards overcoming the challenges they pose to our health, safety, and data privacy.

The Digital Period is a podcast series that examines the relationship between autonomy and technology by taking a closer look at period apps. 

You can find the transcripts and more episodes of The Digital Period at www.thedigitalperiod.com/podcast. This series is created by Judith Zoë Blijden. The jingle was made by Kristel Scholtens and Judith. The podcast visual was designed by Asja Keeman. This episode was first published on the 24th of November 2023.