Women's problems

Why is it that women in general hate getting their period? I know I certainly don't like it. It might be due to the fact that my back hurts, my stomach hurts, I'm tired, my head aches, I'm irritable, and there's blood leaking out of an orifice of my body. Other than that, the whole experience is rather swell.

Or it could be the fact that we aren't given a reason to like having our period. There are no great ceremonies or rituals involved, no reward for reaching womanhood, and absolutely no hanging out eating cake like in Anita Diamont's The Red Tent. In fact, Western culture is rather dismissive of "woman's issues". Hippocrates said that hysteria (from hystera) was due to the fact that the uterus would wander around the body and interfere with basic functions instead of the fact that ancient Greek women had to worry about cooking, cleaning, children, keeping everyone's tunic clean, and the lack of Always pads in the 4th century BC. Menstruation quickly became the symbol of a girl's fertility, which then got linked to marriage, which then got linked to marrying the girl off to the most advantageous man available so that she can get right on that whole "making babies" thing as quickly as possible.  In more recent centuries, as women have entered the modern work environment they've found that it's even less conducive to menstruation. There simply aren't enough bathroom breaks allowed during the day to make sure that you are "covered", as it were, so most of the day you are wondering whether or not your pants will be clean by the time you get home.

Plus, there's the whole attitude that men have been portrayed as developing in the media. If a woman is angry or irritable, usually a comment like "Take a Midol" or "she's PMS-ing" is quick to follow. I think men comment more often on PMS because it is what they have more contact with. They receive most of the snippy comments and short temper, and so they perceive that as the worst part of the menstrual process because it's the worst for them. Excuse me, but the inner lining of my reproductive organs is leaching into my underpants, so I think I have a right to be irritable. How would men like it if the lining of their ears decided once a month to evacuate itself to an extent that they would have to strap wads of cotton to their heads and change them every few hours. I bet they wouldn't like it when ear time came around.

Now apart from the negative aspects of menstruation, there are some hidden benefits. Although there isn't an instant camaraderie of women who share in the joy of being linked with nature, there is the unwritten rule that no woman must deny another any menstrual products. That would be cruel. You may only have pads when your friend needs a tampon, but at least you offered. Plus, every middle school girl knows to answer honestly when another asks "is there anything on the back of my pants?".

The strangest positive aspect of getting my period, at least for me, was the fact that it was the one thing in my life I absolutely had to take care of. I was solely responsible for making sure that I had enough pads for the next month, making sure that I was wearing the right one before I went to sleep, and gauging how long I could go before I had to stop by the bathroom. As I entered what was traditionally considered adulthood, at least by my body, I had this one little slice of responsibility to take care of.


However, now that I have school, a summer job, and a whole slew of more grown-upy things to worry about, I hate to add my period to the list. My period has gone from an early state of reverence to an annoyance, albeit a rather minor one. It's just one more thing I have to think about during the day, and that's why I don't enjoy it. Maybe if life was a little slower I could find myself attuning with nature and enjoying the cycle of my fertility, but for now all I want to attune with is the nearest source of chocolate.

(images from here and here)