Women and Their Dynamic Relationship With Periods
Different women have different relationships with their periods, and the same woman can have different relationships with her period depending on the circumstances around that time of the month.
Before we look at these perspectives, what is a period?
Period, rightly termed "menstruation," is a woman’s monthly blood discharge, which is a result of the shedding of the endometrial lining of her uterus. The menstrual cycle usually varies from 21 to 35 days, with an average of 28 days, and lasts between 2 and 7 days.
Women’s perspectives and feelings about menstruation vary; some women love it, others hate it, and the rest of us have a love-hate relationship with it.
Young girls eagerly waiting to become women love menstruation because it confers upon them the title "woman," as they’ve often been told. They’d become women like the fine aunties they see, so they love menstruation, or at least the idea of it.
While some girls waited eagerly for their monthly blood to become "women," other girls got theirs early and associated it with shame.
There was always that incident of getting stained as a young girl and being laughed at, or the constant fear that had us looking back at our butt area to check for that scary red-colored stain.
As if that wasn’t enough, people also made fun of some girls and said they smelled like period blood and that they were "dirty." What was to be expected, though? Period poverty is a thing; not everyone can afford pads, menstrual cups, tampons, etc. So some girls had to use pieces of clothes or rags instead, which gave them a particular smell. Also, a lot of girls were ignorant about period hygiene. All these added to the shame some felt about their period.
Apart from shame, pain was another factor for them. Some girls never experienced any pain, but they looked forward to using it as an excuse to not do chores at home, and why not? While others experienced so much pain, they began to dread the date they got their period. In fact, they were told to endure the pain as it prepared them for the pain of childbirth. They were told to chin up, work while on their period, and not complain because other girls got periods too, and they juggled everything (pain, school, house chores, work, etc.) better than professional jugglers.
Then these girls grew up and became women. And guess what? They found out that the period pain didn’t go away as they got older, as they had heard it would all their lives. They realized all the horrors that came with their period would stay with them for several years. So they hated it even more.
While some other girls grew up and felt better about their period. They associated it with safety; they would most likely not be raped while on their period. For some, even, it was a time to splurge on their cravings without guilt because, duh! They were on their period and deserved everything good to compensate for the discomfort that came with it.
Of course, one woman could love and hate her period; she could associate it with both shame and pride. It’s a complex relationship we have with our period.
Then there are those women who absolutely loathe their period. For some of them, it came with endometriosis. Every month they bled, and it wasn’t just their uterus that turned against them and fought to be let out through blood and pain; it was other organs too—their ovaries, bladder, rectum, etc.
Some women even got on birth control pills so they’d stop seeing their periods entirely. Others seriously considered getting hysterectomies, but for the fears associated with them.
And thus, some women endure their period; others loathe it, fear it, love it, etc. But however we feel about it, it’s like that toxic relationship one cannot get out of.
