For my last passion blog post, I thought it was fitting to discuss a topic that has gotten a lot of flack from, well, pretty much everyone. Periods. Now, periods have developed multiple names that disguise it from being commonly understood. Here are a few examples:
Shark Week, Surfing the Crimson Wave, Having Your Garage Painted, Birthing a Blood Diamond
These lovely names were all found in a post entitled, “25 Best Code Words for Being On Your Period.” Why do we need code words? Why can’t being on one’s period be a normal thing? I mean it’s been happening since the dawn of humankind. I feel like we should be used to it by now!
So, let’s talk about it: why do women, and men, feel the need to keep periods on the down low?
Initially, this wasn’t the case at all. According to Emily Jupp, periods were revered among ancient Greeks. Jupp says,
Hippocrates believed that menstruation cured women of pre-menstrual tension and was very pro-bloodletting in general.”
She also mentions that menstrual blood was used “in medicine and also as a fertilizer” because it’s high in nitrogen, an act that a lot of people would be disgusted by today. This period-positivity began to disappear because of things like the Bible. Jupp states that The Old Testament include a passage saying “anyone who touches a woman on her period will be ‘unclean until evening.'”
That is absolutely ridiculous, but it’s not surprising why people would believe it. The Bible isn’t the only place that states ludicrous things about periods and their uncleanliness, but it is a revered source. People hold the Bible on a very high pedestal, which in this case is harmful. It is teaching people that something as natural as a period should be disgusted and reviled, which, in my opinion, is extremely harmful.
Let’s get something straight. I am not arguing that we should all run around talking about our periods in detail and say things like “periods are beautiful” and “I love my period.” That’s definitely not the case, and all the women who have experienced a period will most likely say that they’re not very fun at all. I am simply trying to spread awareness that periods are not some other-worldly event that suddenly makes all women dirty and unworthy. I want people to change how they think of them so women won’t feel the need to hide a tampon in the sleeve of their shirt when they’re going to the bathroom, or get incredibly embarrassed if they bleed through their pants, or not feel like they can ask someone for a pad or tampon when they forget one. Women should know that they are welcome everywhere in every situation and that we are here for them.
Going through puberty as a girl can be extremely hard because some people teach their daughters that they are no longer as “pure” as they were before. In the Hindu religion, women are considered impure during menstruation. The blog “sword + flute” states that,
in some cases, [Hindu women are] not allowed to interact with their own family during the period of menstruation.
It doesn’t even have to be in one’s religion. You can search the internet and find dozens upon dozens of websites that include guides on how to hide one’s period. You can hear glimpses of conversations where women are dreading their periods and trying to make them stop. We have to teach our sisters, our daughters, our friends that they should not be ashamed of something that is biologically a part of them. We have to simply stop shaming people for being who they are.
Julia Catena says
I really feel like this topic needs to be discussed much more. I learned a lot about how woman were treated back then from this post. Personally, this is so sad considering a period is a natural occurrence. Hopefully in the future being on your period won’t be treated by others as “disgusting.” It’s already hard enough for young girls going through puberty to deal with their first periods without people shaming them for it.
kkc5243 says
I really, really like that you chose to talk about this. It’s something that’s so subtly ingrained in our society– periods= gross/ scary/ unmentionable, etc. For something that billions of people go through every year, it’s so messed up that we still see it as a taboo. It’s a necessary, uncontrollable (for the most part) process, and we shouldn’t be so afraid to talk about it. Yes, sometimes they can be unpleasant and messy. But, young girls also shouldn’t worry about how to sneak a tampon into the bathroom without anyone seeing, and no one should have to worry about being seen as “impure.” Thought-provoking post!
Arianna Hilk says
Some people act as though we have the power to simply stop our periods, or have some sort of control over it, which blows my mind. The fact that people actually considered women who were on their periods dirty, and unable to speak to their families is 100% insane. I think that the word “period” has gradually become a more, not welcoming, but something of that sort, type of word in the present day. As Rachel Green once said…”No uterus, no opinion.”