Ep. 90: Dr Bee Hughes on Menstrual Art, Embodied Knowledge & Living Beyond Binaries
What can menstrual art reveal about our bodies, identities, and the ways we understand the world? In this conversation, I’m joined by Dr Bee Hughes (they/them), an interdisciplinary artist and researcher and Senior Lecturer in Media, Culture, Communication at Liverpool John Moores University, to explore how art can make visible the diverse, complex, and often overlooked experiences of menstruation.
Bee shares the unexpected journey that led from a PhD in illustration education to menstrual art, including their durational artwork Cycles, and reflects on how working with their menstrual body shaped their understanding of gender and non-binary identity. Together, we explore embodied knowledge, the power of creative practice, and how menstrual art can challenge stigma, question social norms, and open up new possibilities for understanding menstruation beyond conventional narratives.
A conversation about staying curious, embracing complexity, and allowing our bodies and creative practices to change us.
In this episode, we explore:
What menstrual art is and why it matters
The relationship between the menstrual cycle, creativity, and embodied knowledge
Menstruation, gender identity, and living beyond binaries
Why unfinished, cyclical creative practices can challenge ideas of productivity and success
More about Dr Bee Hughes (they/them)
Bee is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher and Senior Lecturer in Media, Culture, Communication at Liverpool John Moores University. Bee’s research examines gendered experiences and how everyday visual cultures and fine arts represent and (re)construct menstrual and gender norms. Their academic work spans contemporary art practice, art history, and visual cultures, cultural studies and sociology. Bee is a founding member of the UK Menstruation Research Network and a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. Their book Visualising Menstruation: Art, Blood and the Liminal Body is contracted with Liverpool University Press for publication c. 2028. Bee also writes and hosts the Visualising Menstruation podcast.
Resources mentioned:
Life Isn’t Binary by Alex Iantaffi and Meg-John Barker
Bee’s podcast, Visualizing Menstruation, you can listen here
Kathy Acker’s work on the body, writing, and creative practice