In Native American cultures their approach to menstruation was a lot different than the way people approach them in the rest of the US. When girls in the Mescalero Apache Native American tribe of New Mexico are old enough to begin menstruating and reach the ages of womanhood they go through a lengthy public ceremony in which they go through trials that represent many different aspects of a woman’s life. Many people come to support the girls in the ceremony as it only happens once a year and it is a very special tradition in the eyes of the Apache. The ceremony is 4 straight days of grueling tasks, each day represents one of the four stages of life, infant, child, adolescent, and woman. During the ceremony the girls must follow very strict rules, they are allowed very little rest and food while also maintaining a stoic attitude not showing any emotion. Once the girls have made it through the four days they are considered women in the eyes of the tribe. They are given a new name and all the people in the community come to congratulate and welcome her into womanhood. Joining the other women is a big deal because their community is so small and their traditions are fading the new generations are being trusted with carrying them on and continuing their culture.

For women in the rest of the US periods and menstruation are not a socially acceptable topic, for most people it’s a taboo subject and should be kept in private. Although the topic is becoming more acceptable its still not something people are generally comfortable talking about. Women feel ashamed of their periods because of the stigma around them and do their best to hide it from society. Ally Jarmanning of NPR wrote of a town in Massachusetts that is starting to put tampons and pads in all public restrooms in order to accommodate women’s needs better. Her report showed that is wasn’t men that had trouble understanding that women need this, it was the older women. The older women felt that this was unnecessary because “I dealt with it, why can’t everybody?” (Jarmanning) This attitude toward periods is completely unnecessary because people understand that all women go through this process and it isn’t something that should be ashamed of. But because girls are taught from an early age that it is something that should be kept secret they created this stigma around it and they are having a hard time breaking through this attitude.

These are two radical ends to the spectrum, in the Apache culture in New Mexico the community embraces the girls when they go through menarche. On the other hand women in the US not in Native communities face a great deal of social shame when dealing with menstruation.

Jarmanning, Ally. “Student Spurs Brookline, Mass., To Offer Free Tampons And Pads In Public Buildings.” NPR, NPR, 9 June 2019, www.npr.org/2019/06/09/730885382/student-spurs-brookline-mass-to-offer-free-tampons-and-pads-in-public-buildings.