Why Are Periods Still Taboo | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics

It's 2018, Why Are Periods Still So Taboo?

And how am I supposed to unwrap this tampon discretely?

769
https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/15259227434/in/photolist-pfpwGb-bBHr2m-hPzADM-jdZYAZ-5XBqrq-72rFUr-9GRzKY-e7UABe-2UumLJ-5XxbSx-5XBst9-2TzjC2-2TzikH-2TziUv-2TDKUE-B74i2z-4oktJt-2UuV6C-Syqt1e-4FBHXb-8UBCPi-dJoxRs-SQYcWE-72rGH4-2Tzkkg-2TDKmG-2TDK9q-dJLkDU-bGVtcz-9VHQDg-2TDJMY-ne6oj7-72vFH7-72vF77-e3bW4Q-qVZrZT-6JemSa-72vFjL-dygQEY-5XBsyo-2UumTm-5Xxa7p-7j7vtD-uPSj2D-2TDKDy-bWo9vq-wHm6Q-dxRFrD-dMEJa8-8ywDiE
Quinn Dombrowski//Flickr

Everyone has a weird period story. I don't think that anyone had this fairy tale entrance into womanhood.

When I first got my period, it was anything but magical, and something I was actually really embarrassed to talk about. At like 11 it was downright traumatizing to get my period, and for me, it wasn't something that I was anticipating or looking forward to. During my adolescence, I was still trying to navigate having a crush on a boy, and I had to juggle my mother scaring me out of using tampons until I was in high school on top of it all.

So that's a little dramatic, but for me and my friends, (as I begin to throw everyone I know under the bus) when we all started to get our periods, it was something that we were just uncomfortable with. For the majority of us, we were still pretty uncomfortable in our own skin.

In fact, I think that the first time I actually felt comfortable embracing my period was when I saw the Kardashians talking about Kotex on Youtube and that's when I embarked on using Kotex forever. But really, that was the only time that I felt like having a period was normal --even though my friends were starting theirs, and my mom had obviously had hers.

It was a bashful stigma that I think, in my own life experience, was set up during a vague and very blanketed sex-ed conversation in school, which then my mom had added to in our own central conversation about my fun adventure through puberty.

Nevertheless, the conversation seemed to always stagger towards something that was blush-worthy and embarrassing. And most importantly, no one ever told me that what my body was doing was normal, healthy, and practical. In other words, it meant that my body was working the way in should be, and that is a little victory on my part, not a shameful one.

If you are also a proud owner of a vagina, then you know that "I'm-trying-to-be-discreet-but-I'm-in-pain-and-I'm-also-bleeding-everywhere" feeling. It's like limbo but worse because no one else notices it. I guess that I can say, I'm very proud that I have a healthy working body and can have a menstrual cycle.

I'm not saying that having a period is all rainbows and roses and that it should be portrayed as such, I'm just saying that if we had a book like Everybody Poops for those who are biologically chained to bleeding once a month then we wouldn't have to tiptoe around a lot of issues.

Since when did something that's a healthy and normal thing become such a big deal for us to talk about? I won't lie, even now for me, I can't believe that I'm sharing my period with strangers on the internet! And for that, I think we just need to normalize the topic more. I feel like, with the more liberal side of the internet, it's easier to discuss, and it's easier to talk about with others, but that's with a screen in front of you. But we need to talk about this more face to face.

Yeah, we're doing a lot better with the culture we live in, but in some parts of the world, menstruation is still seen as dirty.

And specifically in our part of the world, it is seen as something that big companies can make money off of. And even though that's a whole other rabbit hole to go down, I don't think that I was irked about the latter until I started looking at the price tags for protection that I had to buy. Then I got mad. It's off-putting to think that a society that turns their nose up to the topic, is so hell-bent on profiting from it.

As a general note, the menstrual cycle is still seen as totally taboo and collectively, those who have a period are suffering for it. Collectively, as Radhika Jhaveri put in her own article on the menstrual taboo, "Menstruation is used, with tremendous success, as a tool to make women feel inferior about themselves and their bodies."

Though this had to do with the social practices in India, I still believe that this applies to Western views in values in my own experience as a woman --and an experience for many other women internationally as well.

In all, this is about changing the rhetoric and perspective we have on the "embarrassing" and "taboo" things that happen to our bodies. I think that this has to do with addressing the elephant in the room that, well, isn't actually an elephant in the room. And in this case, the big red elephant isn't dirty, and it isn't bad.

It's a symbol of a working body, and sometimes it tells you a lot more about your own health than you think.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

15 Mind-Bending Riddles

Hopefully they will make you laugh.

196878
 Ilistrated image of the planet and images of questions
StableDiffusion

I've been super busy lately with school work, studying, etc. Besides the fact that I do nothing but AP chemistry and AP economics, I constantly think of stupid questions that are almost impossible to answer. So, maybe you could answer them for me, and if not then we can both wonder what the answers to these 15 questions could be.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Most Epic Aurora Borealis Photos: October 2024

As if May wasn't enough, a truly spectacular Northern Lights show lit up the sky on Oct. 10, 2024

18848
stunning aurora borealis display over a forest of trees and lake
StableDiffusion

From sea to shining sea, the United States was uniquely positioned for an incredible Aurora Borealis display on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, going into Friday, Oct. 11.

It was the second time this year after an historic geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Those Northern Lights were visible in Europe and North America, just like this latest rendition.

Keep Reading...Show less
 silhouette of a woman on the beach at sunrise
StableDiffusion

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of suicide/suicidal thoughts.

When you are feeling down, please know that there are many reasons to keep living.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

460882
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

28311
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments