Continuing our series of The Early Years we chat with Amone Gbedamah co-founder of We Are The Hood, a brand new journal for girls aged between 8-14, aiming to change the way young girls experience puberty. Amone and co-founder Maria Purcell’s mission is to remove the secrecy, stigma, and taboo surrounding periods and replace this with knowledge, empowerment, and ultimately….. celebration.
As women, we can probably all remember the day we got our first period. The secrecy, and often the anxiety, that having your first period induces! Who do you tell? What do you do? Pads or tampons? It’s a minefield.
Why is it that being educated about periods at school, is often shrouded in secrecy and shame? The girls are removed from the boys for these discussions, further increasing the shame felt by young girls. This first experience needs to change and this is exactly what Amone and Maria are on a mission to do.
Amone tells us how the inspiration to create the journal came about and gives us a tantalizing insight into the structure of the journal. The co-founders were careful to ensure that the journal is educational – covering the basics such as anatomy, periods, nutrition, myth-busting, and also advice on the different types of sanitary protection available. However, they also wanted to provide the opportunity for creativity, mood, and period tracking, as well as real-life stories from inspirational women.
The journal also includes an all-important guide for parents, which will hopefully help parents to feel more comfortable talking about periods with their daughters. Kate is well aware that some parents prefer not to openly discuss these issues with their children, fearing that this knowledge can have negative connotations, and asks Amone if they have come across any negativity from parents.
The journal is available as a hard copy and as a digital copy. Parents can preview the content before purchasing the book, by purchasing the digital content to look through this first before deciding to share it with their daughter.
Excitingly, going forward, We Are The Hood has plans to create journals for other age groups, ultimately spanning the lifespan of the woman.
The journal is available to purchase via their website – but also on amazon, Etsy and Instagram.
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