Why have menstrual periods remained taboo? Researcher and author aim to end the shaming of a natural process
- Half the world menstruates yet no one wants to talk about it. A researcher calls for more ‘menstrual literacy’ so those affected can learn how their bodies work
- Menstruation has been framed as negative because people fear something that is unknown and unexplainable – and hygiene product makers exploit this, author says
Most women spend their whole lives pretending they don’t have a period. Girls are taught the art of concealment early – how to avoid leaks, how to sneak a tampon into their pocket on the way to the bathroom, the utility of a strategically wrapped sweatshirt to avoid post-seep humiliation.
For centuries, periods have remained stubbornly taboo. Half the world’s population menstruates and yet no one really wants to talk about it. When they do, it’s often quietly or through euphemism. Generations of women have been conditioned to believe their periods are disgusting or shameful, which has consequences for women’s bodies, health care decisions, sex lives and overall well-being.
“Even those of us who have access to materials, even those of us who identify as feminists, even those of us who can talk period-positive, we are still soaked in shame,” said Christina Bobel, a gender professor at the University of Massachusetts Boston and an expert in critical menstruation studies. “That’s the genius of menstrual stigma. It’s under our skin. It really doesn’t leave. No one is immune.”
Around the globe, menstruation is conceived of as a problem rather than as a healthy bodily process. Framing menstruation as a problem, experts say, demands a solution, and the solution people have been offered is better access to feminine-care products.
But some experts argue this doesn’t address the underlying causes of menstrual stigma, which have roots in misogyny and have been exploited by corporations.