HEALTH | ADVOCACY & POLICY | CULTURE
OpEd: Perceptions of Period
Periods aren’t dirty. Period.
WORDS BY SONA NIKOGHOSYAN | 7 MAY 2024
"If I was on my period, I couldn’t outwardly say. I had to dance around the fact... Why? Because it was SHAMEFUL. It was a woman’s problem, not a man’s...
When I was younger, periods were the biggest known secret in my family. A dirty secret to be hidden from men, even the likes of my father. My father, someone who knew everything about me, was barred from knowing about a process that happens to me monthly. If I needed a pad, I had to ask for them by their brand name, a poor attempt at disguising I was bleeding. If I was on my period, I couldn’t outwardly say. I had to dance around the fact, allude to this elephant without acknowledging the animal. Why? Because it was shameful. It was a woman’s problem, not a man’s, and besides why does a man need to know about womanly things like periods?
Albeit my father is terrified of blood so I probably would’ve chosen not to tell him, but it was the fact that I wasn’t allowed to tell him that frustrated me. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t my father nor any other male relative that shamed me but rather my female relative, particularly my mother who silenced the topic. Of course, nowadays I just tell my dad when I’m on my period but that initial prevention still astounds me.
This was my first recollection of experiencing this strange phenomena regarding periods. The topic of why we view periods as dirty is not new to feminist discourse. With rigorous study around conceptions of impurity, I wondered just how much has changed from day to day. So I decided to interview a focus group around their experience of perceptions of periods, and when I did I found a common thread of shame throughout the participants.
One participant referred to her period blood and discharge as “dirty”. Another, mentioned that there was an expectation to hide their period products away from any older male guests. One participant said she was worried about her period leaking through her clothes because then those around her would know she was on her period. When questioned why it mattered if someone else knew, she responded that she “didn’t know, it’s just expected of [her]”. When asked about whether they’d feel comfortable talking to a man about their period every participant answered no as they feel that men won’t understand.
Here’s the kicker. Every woman I interviewed had studied feminism in medicine or politics. However, sometimes theory doesn’t translate perfectly into real life scenarios, sometimes change happens slowly. And it starts with us sharing our experiences with men. Even when everyone else says it’s not their problem, maybe it should be. Maybe we should be more conscious in breaking down the gendered barriers.
In recent years, periods as a taboo has been harshly critiqued in popular media, and by feminist scholars such as Butler and Bobel. As the fourth wave of feminism continues to persist, the de-stigmatization of periods has become a worthwhile endeavour. Contemporarily, discussion surrounding womens’ health has been entering mainstream media with debate surrounding body positivity. Additionally, the taboo of periods has entered mainstream medical discourse as women and others with periods work to normalise bodily functions in women and to express that periods are nothing to be ashamed of.
Organisations such as UNICEF are leading this with organisations like Bloody Good Period in the UK providing free menstrual products to the vulnerable. Despite, common misconceptions that period blood is impure or toxic, more and more companies/organisations have succumbed to pressure from feminist groups arguing that negative perceptions of periods have an effect on everyone in society not just the women. That a period is not a womans’ problem but a normal bodily function that everyone should be aware of.