Menstruation

[Love letter]

I would like to gather new information on menstruation and the female perspective. I did a search on this site but found no results. Since finding this I have sorted through new information with glee and gusto.

Specifically, I have always known that menstruation is viewed as "dirty" but I would like to know why that is?
I was shocked to learn last night that both the Islam and Jewish faiths insist that one must purify ones self after menstruation.

I know women used to be separate from family during menstruation although modern women are encouraged to plug up shut up and carry on.

As menstruation is a repeated cycle and can be viewed as specific repetitive numbers throughout the month, year life and very personal to each and every woman I would be very keen to gather new information, thoughts and ideas from all.

Thank you for your energy

[itsofficiallytyler]

Meh. It stems from men being self-centered and not bothering to understand what a woman goes through. if they don't go through it, it should be hidden away, and they shouldn't need to be in the presence of something "feminine" and "womanly" (in their mind.)

I'm a guy and i have a period. I don't like it but at the end of the day, big fucking deal. Men and women need to tone it down. It happens. You bleed, it hurts. Take some advil and power through it, or take the occasional day off (some people need it.) Nobody should be shamed for it. It doesn't need to be "hidden," and if you refuse to buy pads/tampons for your significant other then you're just insecure about your masculinity. You should always be secure about yourself in as many ways possible. Be compassionate about other people, in the same respects.

It always makes me pissed off when I hear about women being shamed for a period, but it's also funny. Imagine caring so much about when somebody's bleeding that you make them hide away and you make exaggerated, disgusted faces/comments whenever the topic is brought up. Imagine caring so much about someone elses natural bodily functions. It's so obvious that men who act like this are insecure themself. They don't understand something, and they're insecure somebody else is having an experience they wont, so they act disgusted by it (some, not all. not trying to generalise here.) If people care so much about what random people are doing in the bathroom, then they're going to have a very small, insecure life. Open your mind to others, and focus on improving yourself and helping others. That's what the world needs, and it's what you need to live a full life. You'll never find the end of the road if you get caught up on every little thing along the way.

Thank you for reading my long-winded rant.

-Tyler

[Nazheek]

Humans have developed a natural discomfort around bodily fluids as a behavioral adaption to avoid any kind of disease that spreads through bodily fluids such as feces, saliva, blood, and mucus. Due to the additional association with genitalia, I imagine the "yuck" factor we developed is two-fold with menstrual blood.

Unconvinced? The only bodily fluids we view as repugnant are those that contain disease, although I am willing to concede that some people are disturbed by sweat (I am unsure if sweat is a vector of disease, it may well be.) I mean, are you disgusted by tears?

This is, at the very least, the standpoint of evolutionary psychology.

Tyler laid out a fairly sound sociological theory around the phenomenon, but I feel personally that it forgets that most body fluids are deemed disgusting and inappropriate to discuss. I don't want people to talk about poop in the dining room as much or more than people talking about menstruation; although I abide if the topic comes up as I understand it is a source of immense discomfort to women.

My personal belief lies with the evolutionary psychology take on the subject, but that's my own opinion. It could, and probably is due to a variety of factors, and not just one explanation will suffice, as it often is the case with things with any layer of complexity beyond yes-or-no.

[romding]

http://973-eht-namuh-973.com/Alchemy/ADVENT%201063.html
GODDESS OF GOODNESS






The Wise Wound
Penelope Shuttle and Peter Redgrove
1994


It's pretty dense but this is probably the most empowering piece of text I've ever read about menstruation, feminine mysticism, and patriarchal oppression. The authors do a brilliant job linking the physiological reactions within the body to cultural and spiritual notions about women from the earliest moments of recorded history. This book is valuable for all menstruating or even menopausal persons, as well as psychologists and those just looking to better understand the feminine mystique.
4 people found this helpful"The first accessible book about menstruation as a human reality . . . entirely praiseworthy."--The Sunday Times This is a book of many questions and some answers. What is this menstruation that half the world undergoes? Has it any use, or any purpose? Which is it, blessing or curse? This groundbreaking study of the facts, fantasies, and taboos surrounding menstruation has helped bring about a profound shift in attitudes toward a natural phenomenon that has been reviled and denigrated over the centuries. Thoroughly researched yet highly readable, combining psychology, anthropology, and poetry, Shuttle and Redgrove illustrate their theories using examples ranging from Bible to such modern-day pop horrors as vampire movies and the cult film The Exorcist.

[itsofficiallytyler]

Nazheek, I do agree with your statement about most bodily fluids, especially stemming from genitals, being considered disgusting. It just seems to me to be worse with menstruation than other stuff, such as feces. Of course, it does seem to me that men will talk about urine, feces, semen, sweat, spit, with a laugh. But a period comes up and it's disgusting beyond belief. Toilet paper is fine to buy and touch to a man, but a pad or tampon is embarrassing, and many won't purchase it for a menstruating significant other. They are the same product, one is meant to catch shit, the other meant to catch blood. I've never understood the amount of stigma. I don't expect anybody to go around worshipping a used pad or using a full tampon to brew a cup of tea, but if we can recognise pee and poop as a bodily fluid and joke around about it, I'm sure people who never experience a period can be mature and understand it's not that big of a deal. Because it's not. People with periods aren't useless or unable to work. Many don't have cramps, or barely bleed at all. You don't celebrate a poop (usually) but you also don't shame somebody for pooping. You do it, if you're close with someone you might make jokes about it, but you don't go into detail about it and you don't go "Ewwww, you're pooping and you want me to buy you more toilet paper? Uh, no. That's gross." Periods are just- not a big deal.

I'll need to read that bit. I've been taking a break from eht-namuh but i'll get back into it. I don't think many have touched on this topic before, oddly enough. Even if it doesn't happen to you, it does happen to many people, and we should educate ourselves on periods so we can be understanding and helpful and not make it worse for those who have them.

[romding]

http://973-eht-namuh-973.com/Alchemy/ADVENT%201063.html

•