‘Don’t Hide Your Tampons in Shame’: Breaking the Stigma Around Menstruation and Learning to Love Your Period
By Emma Lynas
Who here has ever slipped a tampon up their sleeve before going to the toilet? Or checked their seat when they stood up? Or woken up one morning and realised, with horror, that they had bled onto someone else’s bed? I have done all these things. Why? Because periods are still treated as something that should be kept secret, that should not be seen or mentioned.
I have bled onto ex-boyfriends’ beds while on my period. Although they weren’t angry or disgusted (I like to think that I have good enough taste in men that I wouldn’t date someone like that), they never fully acknowledged the blood. They asked, “Is that…?” and then simply trailed off. When this happened, all I did was nod; I felt too ashamed to say anything more. That was that. It was never spoken about again. The sheets were washed, and it was forgotten. But I was very aware that I couldn’t talk about a simple bodily function with the person I was supposed to be closest with, though they would talk freely and without shame about their own inner workings.
Menstruation is the only blood that is tied to creation, yet it’s the blood that people are most disgusted by. Menstrual blood is seen as an off-limits subject, something that we shouldn’t name. This is evidenced by all the euphemisms we use to refer to our period: ‘time of the month’, ‘surfing the crimson wave’, and even ‘there are communists in the funhouse’ in Denmark. These are all phrases used for when a person is on their period. We’re supposed to pretend as though it does not happen, despite it being a natural cycle.
Various cultures and religions have made comments on menstruation. The Bible states, “…in her menstrual impurity; she is unclean… whoever touches… shall be unclean and shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening” (Leviticus 15). The Quran tells people to “go apart from women during the monthly course, do not approach them until they are clean” (Quran 2:222). These comments are dated in more ways than one, but they point to the historical manifestation of the shame around periods.
The myth that people who menstruate are unclean when they are on their period has been created over a long period of time and is deeply embedded in our cultures, histories, and beliefs. This lesson has been carried over into the twenty-first century, as people are still expected to keep quiet about their periods and hide them as much as possible. We are still conditioned to think that it isn’t okay for others to know that we are menstruating. Even among other people who menstruate, the subject can be a sensitive one to broach, which goes to show how prevalent the stigma is.
Rupi Kaur, a poet, writer, illustrator, and performer with over three million followers on Instagram, posted an image in 2015 on her Instagram showing blood (which she states in the caption is not real) on her trousers and bed as part of an art project aimed to demystify all the taboos around menstruation. She wanted to remind people that menstruation is something that people all around the world go through every month and that, despite some cultural and religious beliefs, the act shouldn’t be kept quiet. However, Instagram initially removed the photo twice. Instagram stated that the photo didn’t follow their community guidelines before later claiming that it was removed by accident after Kaur kept posting the image and her story made global headlines.
Instagram may claim that it was an accident to remove the photo, but what were their grounds for removing it in the first place? Kaur is fully clothed, and the image doesn’t violate any of Instagram’s policies. It simply depicts a natural process that happens to half of the world’s population. The post generated a lot of controversy in the comments, with people saying that the image was “disgusting”. One user added, “I guess some of us should be allowed to post a picture of sperm on our bed without having to worry about guideline strikes”. These comments highlight the number of people who don’t understand what message the picture is portraying – Kaur simply wants menstruation seen as a natural process that society shouldn’t shun.
People struggle to talk about periods. But this needs to change. We must get to a point where the words ‘period’ and ‘menstruating’ can become normal and casual in conversation. We need everyone to understand that there is nothing disgusting about what we go through and that people who menstruate are strong as hell for dealing with our periods every month. We should be praised for our strength, not silenced. So, don’t hide your tampons in shame. Be proud of your period.
