What makes menstrual cycles “weird”? After all, it is just a normal body process, right? The National Library of Medicine explains that menstruation “ is normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as part of a woman’s monthly cycle. Every month, your body prepares for pregnancy. If no pregnancy occurs, the uterus, or wombs, sheds its lining.” But why is it considered to be such a taboo subject in society if it’s only a part of human biological systems?
When did the menstrual taboo start: in modern times, or has it been a historic thing? Menstrual taboos have existed since historic times, and in some cultures, taboos are integrated into traditions. Back then, and even now, menstrual cycles, better known as periods, were considered “impure, dirty, or sinful.”
Beliefs regarding menstruation were often negative, as demonstrated in the connotation attached to menstruation: “impure, dirty, sinful”, and in some cases, unlucky. Negative beliefs surrounding menstruation led to “menstrual huts,” also known as “chhaupadi.” Action Aid UK, an international charity that works with women and young girls living in poverty explains that these huts are used for “banishing people, often young girls, to mud huts or sheds for the duration of their period, or even longer. It is believed they will otherwise bring their family bad luck, or ill health.”
The conditions in these huts were extremely concerning. The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office reported that access to tap water and wells is limited and that those in menstrual huts can only bathe or wash clothes in a separate source of water. Additionally, those in these huts are to eat flatbread with salt, which lacks nutritional value. Furthermore, the Third Eye Foundation described the huts as “subjecting women to the cold extremities, and dangerous risk of various infectious diseases” and how “the worst case scenarios involve suffering from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and also malnutrition.” The foundation also added that “many women are too afraid to even sleep whilst in the shed at the risk of being attacked by men in the village.” Considering both of the sources, it is clear that menstrual huts are extremely detrimental to women’s overall physical and mental health.
Beliefs such as menstrual cycles being impure are often derived from myths. An article in the New Views on Gender explained that the king of heaven, Indra, killed a serpent named Vitra. Indra was consumed by guilt and mortal women took upon that guilt, creating menstrual cycles. Additionally, a journal article from the peer-reviewed journal, Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, written by Suneela Garg and Tanu Anand, explained beliefs on how “women bury their clothes used during menstruation to prevent them being used by evil spirits” are still practiced in modern day, but in truth, there is no scientific evidence that these practices are true.
Aforementioned practices and myths surrounding menstrual cycles have taken a negative toll on how women are viewed in society, especially in their adolescent years. In some places, women drop out of school when they get their first period. In fact, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), has reported that students who drop out of school may experience “social stigma, fewer job opportunities, lower salaries, and higher probability of involvement with the criminal justice system.” Additionally, menstrual taboos also cause unfriendly school culture and infrastructure that lacks adequate sanitation facilities. Joan Chrisler, a professor emerita of Psychology at Connecticut College who specializes in health psychology, women’s health, menstruation, and menopause, explains that stereotypes of women menstruating include but are not limited to: ‘less sexy, impure, inactive, and annoying.’ Chrisler mentions how “beliefs in stereotypes about limitations in women’s capabilities at certain times of the month or during the menopausal transition can produce self-fulfilling prophecies that cause women to miss out on career and leisure opportunities.” Negative attitudes towards menstruation are influenced by stigma and stereotypes which can cause body dissatisfaction and shame.
In a school environment, Chrisler explains that teachers might limit the coverage of menstruation due to their own or their students’ discomfort. Sometimes, teachers may not cover menstruation topics because they may think that these are no longer taboo topics. However, menstruation is still a taboo topic, as Chrisler brings up Joan Rivers, who was censored when she mentioned the word “period.” Based on the example, people who frequently watch TV shows may understand that the word ‘period’ is often censored because of the connotation that the word itself is obscene. Just because it is not a taboo topic does not mean you should not teach it. Because of this, these factors can influence students’ attitudes and perspectives. To conclude, myths regarding menstruation have extremely detrimental effects on the lives of women.
An article from UNICEF written by James Chavula does an excellent job of portraying the things that women go through due to menstrual taboos. The article tells the story of Bridget Branda. Being at the age of 15 when she first had her period, she did not know what to do due to the fact that menstruation topics were not taught. Boys in her school noticed her blood stains and jeered her to go home which made her feel insecure. She would often miss lessons as she had to run back home, which is 50 minutes away, to change clothes because she could not afford sanitary pads. Bridget’s experience insinuates that there is a lack of knowledge on menstrual cycles and inaccessibility of period products. Overall, Bridget’s story further shows how menstrual taboos can have an impact on one’s life from educational, social, and mental perspectives.
An article from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) does a great job debunking myths regarding menstruation, normalizing menstruating, buying sanitary products, and talking about it: “periods are just nature’s way of saying you’re growing up”; sanitary products don’t need to be bought secretly as “buying sanitary products is like soap and toothpaste”; talking about periods is no different than talking about things such as nail polish, hair, and eyeliner. These are all great reminders to be unashamed and proud of what our bodies can do.
In schools, teachers have a vital role in menstruation taboo as the environment they create and their perspectives on menstruation can affect whether menstruation is normal or abnormal. A research article done by Andrea Huseth-Zosel, a researcher and associate professor for the Department of Public Health at North Dakota State University, and Molly Secor-Turner, from Montana State University, concluded that “teachers perceived students’ school-based menstruation experiences to be mostly negative, stressful, embarrassing, and focused on concealment.” Considering teacher’s perceptions of school-based menstruation, Huseth-Zosel and Secor-Turner believe social norms regarding menstrual stigma influence teacher’s perceptions, and so therefore, they suggest that there should be more emphasis on the importance of educating teachers on addressing student menstruation positively. However, since this study was done in the United States, social norms in the United States and/or cultural context of the teachers may not be the same for everyone, therefore, this study may only apply to certain situations. Although the study is not inclusive of every part of the world, it does show an example of how teachers can have a negative perspective on menstrual cycles which can increase the menstrual taboo as some may create an unsupportive environment for students to talk about menstruation. Therefore, to deal with menstrual taboos, the community must create a supportive environment for menstruation and also educate people about menstruating as some may have misconceptions that may affect their way of thinking.
The menstrual taboo has a huge impact on women’s lives in terms of physically, mentally, and socially. It is vital to educate not only students but teachers about menstrual cycles to better understand and identify any misconceptions that may lead to stereotypes or negative attitudes. By doing so, hopefully menstrual cycles can be viewed as “normal” in the near future.
Works Cited
“Chaupadi In The Far-West.” United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office, 1 Apr. 2011, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Water/ContributionsStigma/others/field_bulletin_-_issue1_april_2011_-_chaupadi_in_far-west.pdf.
“Chaupadi Pratha.” Volunteering in Nepal, Volunteer in Nepal, Third Eye Foundation, 7 June 2022, https://volunteersummernepal.org/chaupadi-pratha-seclusion-during-mensuration.
Chavula, James. “Girls Rise as Menstrual Taboo Fall.” UNICEF Malawi, UNICEF, 25 May 2022, https://www.unicef.org/malawi/stories/girls-rise-menstrual-taboo-fall.
“Chhaupadi and Menstruation Taboos.” ActionAid UK, https://www.actionaid.org.uk/our-work/period-poverty/chhaupadi-and-menstruation-taboos.
Chrisler, Joan C. “Teaching Taboo Topics: Menstruation, Menopause, and the Psychology of Women.” Psychology of Women Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 1, 27 Mar. 2013, pp. 128–132., https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684312471326.
Garg, Suneela, and Tanu Anand. “Menstruation Related Myths in India: Strategies for Combating It.” Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, vol. 4, no. 2, April-June 2015, pp. 184–186., https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.154627.
Gottlieb, Alma. “Menstrual Taboos: Moving beyond the Curse.” The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies, 25 July 2020, pp. 143–162., https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0614-7_14.
Huseth, Zosel, Andrea L., and Molly Secor Turner. “Teacher Perceptions of and Experiences with Student Menstruation in the School Setting.” Journal of School Health, vol. 92, no. 2, 21 Nov. 2021, pp. 194–204., https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13120.
Johnson, Haley. “Understanding and Debunking Menstrual Taboos in India: On the Importance of Education and Activism.” New Views on Gender, IUScholarWorks Journals, 12 Apr. 2019, https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/iusbgender/article/view/29293.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. “Dropout Reduction: Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery.” Overview – Dropout Reduction: Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, https://www.doe.mass.edu/dropout/overview.html?section=consequences#:~:text=Dropping%20out%20of%20school%20has,with%20the%20criminal%20justice%20system.
“Menstruation | Period.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://medlineplus.gov/menstruation.html.
“7 Alarming Myths about Periods We Have to End Now.” UNICEF South Asia, UNICEF, 1 June 2018, https://www.unicef.org/rosa/stories/7-alarming-myths-about-periods-we-have-end-now.
— Writer Khwanchanok (JiaJia) Paka-Akaralerdkul can be reached at jiajiakhwanchanok@gmail.com. Follow her on instagram @jiajiakp and Facebook Khwanchanok Paka-Akaralerdkul
— Editor Yu (Lulu) Juan can be reached at juanyu.lulu@gmail.com. Follow her on instagram @iuanyu.lulu
