The Sensory Experience of Menstruation: Transforming Stigma into Posthuman Powerful Possibilities

Menstruation has long been subject to religious, cultural, social taboos, associated with impurity and shame. During World War II, Nazi doctors in concentration camps, like Auschwitz, administered synthetic steroids to female prisoners to suppress menstrual cycles, permanently compromising their fertility (Kleinplatz, 2022). In more recent times, the contraceptive pill has transformed menstruation into a manageable aspect of biology, often controlled by pharmaceutical corporations—such as G.D. Searle, which in the 1950s conducted controversial trials on the female population of Puerto Rico, poor and unaware of the experimental nature of the drug (Tripaldi, 2023). Today, the convergence of biotechnology and posthuman (then postgender) philosophy redesigns menstruation as a mutable, empowering and transgressive identity experience. Since 2007, MediStem Laboratories in San Diego have demonstrated that menstrual blood-derived stem cells can regenerate damaged tissues and even facilitate organ growth. Drawing on the artistic practices of WhiteFeather Hunter, Jiabao Li, Giulia Tomasello, Sputniko!, Ani Liu, the essay opens up a critical framework, in which the odour of menstrual blood is repowered. The paper aims to redefine menstruation's potential in regenerative medicine and posthuman futures, not forgetting to raise bioethical questions about who is in control of new intelligent bio-sensitive devices and their application.

Keywords: smell of menstrual fluids, biopolitic control of fertility, posthuman and postgender menstruation, intelligent blood, regenerative medicine

Lara Medina García (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain)

Weaving Meanings through Sensory Experience: The Canary Banana as a Cultural and Economic Symbol. Online Individual Paper Proposal.

This presentation explores how the Canary Banana transcends its economic function to become a powerful cultural symbol. Drawing from a multisited ethnography conducted across local farms, cooperatives, and marketplaces in the Canary Islands, this research delves into the symbolic economy of the banana and its role in constructing local identity. By following the banana's journey from cultivation to consumption, I aim to uncover how sensory experiences—such as taste, texture, and aroma—shape perceptions of authenticity, quality, and tradition among Canarians.
In this presentation, I will also address the power dynamics involved in banana production, highlighting gender and generational roles within the agricultural sector. I will also discuss the sustainability challenges facing the Canary Banana, including environmental concerns and the lack of generational continuity and linking them to broader themes of cultural preservation and economic dependency.
This presentation aligns with the theme of Sensory Ecologies and Social Identities by focusing on how a sensory engagement with local products reinforces social bonds, local identity, and a sense of place. The discussion will provide insights into how sensory perceptions contribute to the symbolic and material valuation of a commodity, shaping both local practices and global markets.
Keywords: Canary Banana, sensory experience, symbolic economy, symbolic anthropology, power dynamics.

Ayseli Izmen √ (Özyeğin – Gastronomy [P-001])

Exploring Sonic Seasoning: The Impact of Ambient Music on Tannin Perception in Wine Tasting

This study addresses a substantial gap in the comprehension of multisensory experiences in wine sampling by examining the impact of ambient music on the perception of wine tannins. Although previous research has investigated the influence of music on various aspects of wine perception, the precise impact on tannin perception remains largely unexplored. The objective of our research is to clarify the manner in which auditory stimuli can influence the sensory experience of wine, with a particular emphasis on the perception of tannins. We propose that the perceived intensity of tannins in wine can be improved by the careful selection of ambient music, a concept that is based on the existing literature on sonic seasoning and crossmodal correspondences. This hypothesis is substantiated by the preliminary results of our experimental studies, which indicate that the perception of tannin levels may be enhanced by specific musical elements. The investigation implements a mixed-methods approach, which integrates qualitative evaluations of participant experiences with quantitative sensory evaluations. A comprehensive analysis of the music-tannin interaction is facilitated by the presentation of wine samples with variable tannin levels to participants under a variety of musical conditions. In addition, this investigation contributes to the expanding corpus of knowledge on multisensory integration in flavor perception, providing insights that may be applicable to other domains of food and beverage sensory science.