We Need To Deconstruct Period Stigma

Menstruation is dirty.

All women are moody during “that time of the month.”

You shouldn’t talk about periods in public, that’s gross

These are actual things that girls, women, and transgender people hear all the time whenever the topic of menstruation comes up. These statements are based on harmful stereotypes about and stigmas surrounding a biological process that about half of all humans experience worldwide. Menstruation is regarded by far too many as something shameful that should be dealt with in silence, which in turn allows a lack of knowledge about issues related to menstruation and misconceptions about menstruation to thrive and targets women who defy this stigma as subjects for discrimination and humiliation.

Public schools rarely teach students about menstruation; even schools that provide menstruation education allow students or their parents to opt out easily. Some young people may have people in their lives who provide them with information and support for their first periods. However, many receive no proper education or resources about handling their first menstrual cycle and the changes happening to their bodies. Without education, young girls, women, and any trans person menstruating will continue to face this common experience, unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with it.

Menstruation education would also help alleviate the cultural stigma surrounding menstruation, which is extremely discriminatory and can even be life-altering for some menstruating people. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has stated that women in many countries are discouraged from touching or washing their genitals throughout their periods to eliminate the possibility that they might contaminate the water of communal bathing areas, which puts them at risk of possible life-threatening infections. Women have reported experiencing rejection by family members, having to stay home from school and work, and being humiliated by their communities due to their periods. This deeply rooted cultural stigma around menstruation prevents women, young girls, and transgender people from being able to feel comfortable with this normal bodily function and from changing their lives through education.

Period poverty, or the lack of access to a combination of menstrual products, waste management, and hygiene facilities, is one of the most severe problems caused by menstruation stigma and one with some of the most serious consequences. Medical News Today reports that globally, an estimated 500 million people who menstruate lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities. This leaves those who are menstruating to resort to using products — such as rags, children’s diapers, and toilet paper for longer than intended — that put them at higher risk of infections of the urinary and genital system. The distress that comes with not being able to manage their periods also often causes harmful effects on the mental health of those experiencing period poverty.

Young girls, women, and transgender people are being told to stay silent in regard to their menstrual cycle. This silence is forcing them to go through a painful and traumatic journey that destroys their self-esteem and puts them at risk of life-threatening infections and a thwarted education. Many will go through this traumatic experience alone because of the lack of available resources. The menstrual stigma that society created needs to be deconstructed. Anyone capable of menstruating should not be discriminated against and humiliated because of a biological process that is medically necessary for a healthy individual.