“In order for women to accept themselves everyday of the month, cultures must change the way menstruation is viewed, and women themselves must take control over the way they… feel about menstruation” (Johnston & Chrisler, 2013, p. 12). People value the thoughts of others, so much that they forget to be who they are and have created a facade to hide behind. Women often feel obligated to hide their menstruation. It is taboo for women to be open about their bodies. If they were to openly forecast it, their actions and choices would be questioned by others. However, people should be open and judgement free about the topic. People should not quickly point out that a women is “PMSing” because of an unexpected reaction. The phrase “you’re PMSing” …show more content…
Ida Emilie Brantelid, Helena Nilver, and Siw Alehagen, professors of Division of Nursing Science, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences at the Linkoping University respectfully, reported that “this can be interpreted as a social norm indicating that menstruation is something that all women should have, but the social context prohibits them from letting anyone else become aware of it” (2014, p. 607). It is believed that society has created an unspoken, but clear message, that tells women that they should keep their “problem” hidden from everyone. It could be seen throughout advertisements for sanitary products; such as tampons and pads. “Ads for menstrual products have contributed to the communication taboo by emphasizing secrecy, avoidance of embarrassment, and freshness” (Johnston & Chrisler, 2013, p. 11). By degrading this inevitable biological process, people harm women’s self-esteem, and may cause them to feel the need to be extra careful when publically handling sanitary products. They exchange them with other females under tables so people will not know. It is not right that women have to hide such a natural processes that they have to live with for many years. “Over almost 40 years, menstruation is a part of female life” (Brantelid, Nilvér, & Alehagen, 2014, p. 601). It is time for people all around the world accept …show more content…
“They describe it as if it was uncontrollable and they are able to compare and identify a difference in how they act or react during this time and during the rest of the month” (Chekoudjian, 2009, p. 18). Many women claim that they notice a difference in their attitudes when they are PMSing. However, this could be due to the fact that all throughout a woman’s life she is told she is going to behave differently during this time period. This could signify that society may be at its point where it now looks for “differences” in one’s attitude to point it out and claim that it has something to do with their time of month.On the contrary, they could have further analyze their previous choice and have decided that there was better answer. For example, a female could be taking charge in a group project and is making sure everything is in order, but when someone fails to do their duty and are reprimanded they quickly tell her to calm down and stop PMSing. This should not be tolerable in any occasion. It is not right for people to put blame when someone just wants something to be done correctly. “PMS, anger, and emotions are considered a problem not because of the discomfort and distress they cause women, but because of its disruptive effect on others, especially men” (Hunter & Robinson, 2007, p. 5). Not only are people pointing out that PMS is a great factor in the choices women make, but they are
Women throughout time have been compelled to cope with the remonstrances of motherhood along with society’s anticipations
It makes one wonder how society came to these ridiculous standards of beauty and the taboo of talking about women's bodies that still resonate today. I can personally attest to the uncomfortableness of the conversation of menstruation and developing bodies. My mother was taught, as her mother before and so on, that these conversations are to be kept in private and talked about quietly. In response to this, the power of men have an increasingly strong hold on the ideal physical beauty and how the changes of the body, such as menstruation, be in private and never spoke of. The Body Project gives a disturbing look at how women in the past few centuries and the present should act, look like, and keep hidden in response to what men think is most desirable. No matter how free women think they are, we are still under the control of men even if it is not directly. This book opens the conversation on the problems that are still plaguing women and how society needs to change to have a healthier environment for women to be comfortable in their
Women have no choice but to buy feminine hygiene products every month. Jeanne Sahadi, author of “ Is the ‘Tampon Tax’ unfair to Women,” argues that
All of the women are to take contraceptives in order to prevent pregnancy (Huxley 38). Babies are now decanted from bottles in factories, and strictly monitored and conditioned throughout development. To have a child naturally is deemed uncivilized, and would be a massive embarrassment to a woman, so all the girls are extremely careful about taking their birth control regularly. Unlike America, where hundreds of children are born each day to mothers without shame. According to the Curriculum Review, in the year 2009, over four-hundred thousand babies were born to mothers here in America, between the ages of 15 and 19 (Responding To Teen Pregnancy, 10). Woman here in America take pride in their pregnancies, even taking pregnancy photographs for memorabilia, and using their nine months of expecting to happily prepare for the coming of their child developing in their womb. The majority of mothers here in America would say pregnancy is difficult, but a life changing experience that leaves their heart filled with more love than they ever thought
“When a motherhood becomes the fruit of a deep yearning, not the result of ignorance or accident, its children will become the foundation of a new race." (Margaret Sanger, 1) Margaret Sanger, known as the founder of birth control, declared this powerful statement. It is reality that the rights that are customary for women in the twentieth century have been the product of the arduous physical and mental work of many courageous women. These individuals fought for the right for women to be respected in both mind and body by bestowing on them the rights to protect their femininity and to gain the equivalent respect given to men. A remarkable woman named Margaret Sanger is the individual who incredibly contributed to the feministic revolution that took place in the 1920’s. Her legacy of making the right to use birth control legal for woman is a precedent in history for the foundation of the equal rights battle that is still being fought today. By giving control back to the women in their sexuality, Margaret Sanger also restored confidence in those women who felt that their lives revolved around pregnancy. She has become an influential icon to women all around the world who enjoy the security of birth control that gives them the freedom in their sexuality on a daily bases.
Nelson (2014) defines menstruation as the shedding of tissue and blood from the lining of uterus through a woman’s vagina. The author also states that menstruation acts as an important sign of puberty among females whereby they normally start having menstrual periods between the ages of 11 to 14 years old, around three to five days per cycle. Marshall (2014) studies that when periods come regularly, it is called the menstrual cycle which also implies the changes that occur in a woman’s body to prepare for fertilization and pregnancy. The cycle usually starts on the first day of the menstrual period and ends the day before the next period starts (Nelson, 2014). Ganong (2003) says the average cycle is 28 days but the length of the cycle is variable
In regards to the impurity of menstruation is an area in which a change from biblical to rabbinic law happens (Wasserfall pg. 60). Holiness Code in Leviticus twice states the absolute prohibition of sexual intercourse of a married couple while the wife has her menstrual period (Wasserfall pg.60). This innovation is the invention of the rabbi as an expert on menstrual blood, as the authority to be consulted by women thus displacing women as authorities over their own bodies (Wasserfall pg. 61).
The research literature has been somewhat inconsistent regarding PMS. The prevalence of PMS fluctuates dramatically depending on the report methods. Retrospective studies have found rates as high as 97%, while prospective studies have found rates as low as 3% (Sveinsdottir, Lundman, & Norberg, 2002). However, different methodologies and different populations could account for a large amount of this variation thus suggesting that PMS is not a purely biological phenomenon. Over the last decade, there has continued to be a large emphasis on PMS within the western culture. It has been theorized that PMS is a cultural-bound syndrome, in which women of western societies label any changes that occur during the late luteal phase as abnormal (...
Oakley, Ann. “Beyond The Yellow Wallpaper.” Reproductive Health Matters 5.10 (1997): 29-39. JSTOR. Web. 7 April 2011.
All people born with and retain a uterus are burdened with the menstrual cycle. It comes every month between the approximate ages of 11 and 55 and stays for approximately 5 days. For the sake of this paper I will mostly use the term women to refer to those who get their periods. Although, I want to strongly emphasize the point that Trans men who retain a uterus and do not take hormones may also have this problem. This monthly occurrence causes women to spend approximately $1773.00 a year on tampons (Huffington). That is an excessive amount of money given that women are forced to have a uterus. This excess cost of having a uterus is one small part of the concept of the pink tax. The pink tax is the additional costs people who buy items targeted towards women have to pay if they want such products. Pads and tampons are the biggest culprit in terms of the pink tax because it is the one thing men don’t have to buy. It’s not women’s fault that the uterus has a tantrum every 28 days and decides it is necessary to shed its layers
The society today is not one that lends itself to the topic of a woman’s menstruation; quite frankly it is revered as taboo. A woman’s Menstruation (her period) is seen by males as an obstacle and is considered very dirty sexually. The menstrual cycle as perceived...
Menstruation, or a period, is normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as part of a woman's monthly cycle. Every month a woman's body prepares for pregnancy; if pregnancy does not occur, the uterus (the organ in the lower body of a woman, or female mammal, in which the conception of offspring occurs; as well as, where gestation takes place preceding birth; the womb), then sheds its lining resulting in a period. Historically, people believed that the key to woman's health is in her womb. Coincidentally, these beliefs have led to rather absurd ideas about menstruation. Most ideas about menstrual blood still followed myths presented by Pliny, a Roman natural philosopher in the first century BCE, which claimed that menstrual blood was poisonous and could perform shocking, magical feats. These feats apparently included causing the wine to
As foolish as it may sound, periods are not socially accepted, and they are often associated with shame and embarrassment. As women we’ve come a long way, from fighting for voting rights to access to education, and the last thing one would want to encounter in the twentieth century is menstrual scrutiny. Period shaming is a real issue, regardless of what critics may say. Once a girl gets her period for the first time, the first thing she is told by her mother is to be discrete, and to be careful not to let boys see her sanitary products. We grow up with the idea that periods are not be discuss, and we often go to extreme ends trying to hide our sanitary products from the rest of the
Feminine hygiene is important to all women around the world, especially during their menstrual cycles. Maintaining feminine hygiene helps protect and prevent bacterial infections that could possibly lead to sterility, disease, cancer, and other health issues. However, in today’s society it has become difficult for some women and families to obtain these necessary products, specifically for girls in school. As a woman, I understand first hand how much a necessity pads and tampons are during a menstrual cycle. It is upsetting that even in 2017, women and girls are still not able to afford and obtain the hygiene products they need for their health, and in turn missing school because of it. All schools across the United States should have tampons and pads available to their female students for free.
The use of contraception was never as widely proclaimed and exhibited as it is now. The use of contraception has become so mainstream, that it is now “normal” for even teens to use these contraceptives. Schools promote the use of this once taboo practice of artificial birth control, and partake in the distribution of condoms amongst students. This is a clear example of how modern society and its practices can change the way people act morally and physically.