Menstruation stigma used to oppress women

Last week, a tampon slipped out of my jacket pocket. The man walking behind me yelled, ‘hey!” so I turned around and saw him staring at me with a horrified expression. He gestured vaguely at the ground and scrunched up his face before saying, “next time, try to keep your private stuff to yourself,” and walking away.

This is nothing new. When I was in middle school, we watched a video in health class about menstruation and the boys in the room spent the entire movie pretending to vomit. I was so afraid they would find out I had already started my period that I lied and didn’t even tell my friends — I thought they wouldn’t want to hang out with me if they knew.

These stories seem insignificant, but after living for my entire life in a society that unceasingly teaches me I am dirty because of my reproductive system’s natural cycle, I’ve been convinced otherwise.

Roughly half the world’s population will experience menstruation at some point in their lives. We shouldn’t have to hide. I should not have to feel ashamed about a normal, healthy bodily function simply because other people find it disgusting or unpleasant.

When menstruation comes up in the media, it’s used to discredit, put down and embarrass women. While discussing the merits of a female president in 2008, author Marc Rudov said that “besides the (Premenstrual Syndrome) and the mood swings,” nothing would be wrong with a female president.

References to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), a widely debated condition that may cause mood swings, breast tenderness and abdominal cramps, are used all the time. After the August 2015 Republican debate, Donald Trump commented on debate moderator Megyn Kelly’s questions about sexism, saying she had “blood coming out of her wherever.”

However, according to a study by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in January 2015, the menstrual cycle and PMS aren’t the only, or best, predictors of mood. Other factors such as stress, physical health and social support highly influence daily emotions, sometimes even more than PMS.

In an episode of Family Guy, one of the characters comments that another character should “pop a couple of tampons” after running out of the room crying. Instagram removed a post by artist Rupi Kaur in March 2015 because it showed period blood. A photo gallery by Cosmopolitan about artistic renderings of period blood was labeled “Not Safe For Work” even though none of the photos were graphic. This stigma is pervasive and harmful.

Not only is menstruation stigmatized in the media, but it also infiltrates our tax system. According to TIME Magazine, more states have taxes on menstrual hygiene products than on candy. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance states that wine at wine tastings and the American flag are exempt from New York’s sales tax, yet they do not exempt tampons or pads.

Exemptions to the sales tax are meant to highlight necessities, such as groceries or medicine, and not luxuries, such as wine. Luckily, Minnesota doesn’t tax menstrual hygiene products. While I can live without wine, I would have a hard time living without tampons, and I shouldn’t even have to think about it.

According to The Huffington Post, in rural Nepal, women and girls must live in dark sheds during their period, exposed to the elements and cut off from their families. Japanese women are discouraged from becoming sushi chefs because their menstrual cycle “imbalances” them. In India, women are taught they will spoil food if they touch anything during menstruation, and a UNICEF study found that 48 percent of girls in Iran believe their period is a disease. Girls in Malawi are told nothing about menstruation by their parents, and learn covertly from other older women how to make pads out of old rags.

The Huffington Post also found that in many developing countries, access to menstrual hygiene products is nonexistent, causing many women to use pieces of mattresses, leaves, sticks or even mud instead. According to a UNESCO report, over 50 percent of girls in Ethiopia miss many school days while on their period, with some missing so much they must drop out.

It’s true the stigma against menstruation persists differently here. I am lucky to live in a country where I am allowed to go to school, live in my house, talk to boys, cook, have contact with other humans and shower during my period, unlike women and girls living elsewhere.

However, the shame around menstruation perpetuated in the United States is just as strong. From the day I was old enough to understand, I was told to keep my body a secret. I was taught how disgusting I am for being a woman.

I refuse to be embarrassed about my body anymore. I do not become an incompetent human being for a week while I bleed out of my vagina. I do not become a raging hormone monster. My anger, frustration or sadness is not less valid during my period simply because it’s my period.

I don’t consider cleaning uterine lining out of my underwear for a week a fun experience, but it will allow me to create life if I choose, and that is beautiful.