Tracking Cycle and Being Smart: Technology and Embodiment of Menstrual Practices

In our technology mediated social life, self-tracking become a common social practices. Self-tracking is all about, how and why people record, analyze, and reflect on data about themselves. Recently, this became a fascinating area of social research which looks at the social, cultural and political dimensions of self-tracking. There are different digital media technologies such as websites, online platforms, mobile apps and wearable devices. This new Self-tracking technologies play an important role in the way women understand their bodies and health. This self monitoring and readily available information helps them to plan control over their own body and daily routines.

There are end numbers of applications available in the play store. From fertility trackers to pregnancy monitors, such as Period Tracker, Clue, Glow, Ovia Fertility, iBreast Check, iPeriod, Monthly Cycles etc. these apps helps to get updates about menstrual cycle, app predicts next period and fertility. This paper is a part of a larger study on critical digital health studies in general and the self tacking technologies and their socio-cultural and politico-economic implications over the identity and behavioral patterns of the individuals in particular.

In this context this project address following questions, first, how these technological interventions helps to overcome conventional taboos related with menstrual practices? How this new technologies shape the personalities and identities of the women? Is human body is a predictable machine as these wearable and apps imagined? How it effect the privacy concerns of the users and wearer?