Menstruation is treated differently by different cultures. some see it as a positive thing, but for some reason it is more common to be seen as a bad thing. it doesn’t make much sense to me in modernized countries why it is still stigmatized since we know exactly what causes it, why it happens, and that it is a perfectly normal occurrence for any female.  We also have Tampons and other things to keep it a “clean” process. I definitely cant figure out why men are afraid or disgusted by a piece of cotton on a string basically.

I do however get where some of the stigma of women being on their periods and them being crazy comes from. growing up I had an older sister who, when it was her time of the month, would turn into the most hateful person in the world. All you would have to do is sneeze when watching TV and it would set her off and shed start hitting you or screaming. Now i am definitely not saying this is all women, i have met far more that aren’t like this at all, but like democrats or republicans it only takes a few very noisy people to make the entire group look bad.

Men for some reason cant even touch feminine hygiene products because those are “for girls”. One of the most embarrassing things that could happen to a guy in school was to have a tampon shoved up his nose for a bloody nose. And when men have to buy their girlfriend or spouse, or whatever it may be, feminine hygiene products for the first time they feel embarrassed. I would personally feel embarrassed however, not because of the actual purchase, but because of the fact that i wouldn’t know what to get for her, just like when buying a girl clothes.

What I do like is that I’ve been seeing a push against the “periods are gross” and “you’re angry so you must be on your period” approaches. I don’t know if it is because i’m just getting older and more guys are getting over it because they are having to deal with it now, or that there is actually a cultural shift occurring. There’s been a big shift towards framing “real” men as those that go out and buy tampons, that bring her chocolate, run a hot bath, or just generally care for her as if she was sick. I’m not saying periods are a sickness, just that when you’re feeling bloated and cramping up and just generally feel miserable, it’s probably nice to be taken care of. It’s also nice for guys too, because if she’s happy, she’s not biting your head off. It’s a win-win.

Hopefully menstruation will become normalized to where women will stop feeling embarrassed when they’re on their period, and stop having to hide their tampons in their purses. And hopefully men will learn to not run away once a month and just be supportive about it, it sucks for women enough already there is no need to add on to it by making them feel worse.

(as an aside, I am actually shocked by how many of my girl friends have been confused by me not being disgusted when I find a tampon in their purse. It’s literally just a piece of cotton and string. the only way it would be disgusting is if it was used, but that would be the same as just keeping a bloody band-aid around.)