Unpacking Tensions in Designing Annotation System for Public Toilets to Support Menstrual Mobilities

Safe menstrual hygiene practices are central to maintaining good menstrual health. In addition to menstrual literacy, practicing safe menstrual hygiene requires access to menstrual products and a private, safe, and hygienic space for changing and cleaning. Access to such infrastructure, specifically functional public toilets, becomes even more crucial for menstruators when navigating public spaces while having periods. This work presents the learnings from the prototyping of MenstruSPACE, a toilet locator application offering an annotation system for public toilets towards supporting menstrual mobilities. Our design journey revealed a set of design tensions and open challenges to be considered when designing public infrastructure annotation systems to facilitate safe menstrual mobilities.