But menstruation is not seen in a neutral light. It has been transformed into a cultural symbol of uncleanliness and shame. Many cultures have special rules and regulations about what women can and can’t do, including, in some cases, participation in religious ceremonies.
While many of the taboos have been dropped under the pressures of modernization, in European-based cultures at the least, the shame and stigma remains. Menstruation is the topic of many anti-woman jokes and putdowns. For example, if a woman is in a grouchy mood or even simply asserts herself, she is accused of “being on the rag.” And I imagine that at least half of you groaned when you read about the men who loved to have sex with their “ladies” while they were menstruating.
Most of us learn that menstrual blood is disgusting. Oddly, it tends to be the capitalists who focus on the bleeding part of the cycle. Corporations offer us hundreds of products to “deal with” this nuisance. And because menstruating is affiliated with being dirty, we are offered numerous deodorant products to make us smell “fresh and clean as a daisy.” And many of us obediently comply. We shove deodorizing tampons up our vaginas as casually as we put “stick-ups” near the cat litter box. Never mind the evidence that the fabric that many tampons are constructed with has been linked with cancer.
But at least advertisers talk about “it.” The rest of the culture doesn’t really want to. If you want to kill a conversation, bring up menstruation. If you want people to think you are a nut case, talk about menstruation in a positive light, as something wonderful to celebrate. I used to have a friend that celebrated her “moon cycle.” She even had reusable cloth pads and bought a special bowl to soak them in overnight. She didn’t even mind the cramps; she said that it brought her back in touch with nature. People used to think that she was nuts.
When I was writing a paper about the women’s movement in graduate school, I ran across a pamphlet that focused on celebrating the menstrual cycle. I was trying to be open minded about it and tried to share my discovery with my office mates. I actually read passages to them. They responded with howls of laughter and groans of disgust. And this was from a group of ardent feminists. One ritual for reclaiming one’s “womonhood” described in the pamphlet involved getting naked and smearing one’s menstrual blood all over one’s face and body. And they have a point: if you can smear yourself with your blood, it very likely will normalize it to a degree.
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