THE STIGMA, SHAME AND SILENCE OF MENSTRUATION

Image by Megan Bevis

Menstrual taboo is forcing us to hide our periods and it has to stop

The stigma surrounding menstruation is deep rooted in today’s society. From period jokes to shameful comments from your peers when you’ve accidentally bled through to your jeans. Periods are still a taboo topic around the world, forcing people who menstruate into feeling ashamed, embarrassed and uncomfortable about such a natural process.

At 11-years-old, I came on my period halfway through my year six SATs exams. I felt confused and sad sitting in the toilets wondering what the hell I was going to tell my mum. I thought back to a few weeks before. The primary school nurse had removed all the girls from class one day, separating us from our male peers in order to teach us about what will start happening to our bodies. I thought back to watching the female teacher unwrap a tampon and place it in

a glass of water –– watching it slowly expand to the size of the pint glass instantly filled me with terror. I quickly wrapped toilet roll around my pants hoping I wouldn’t bleed through onto my summer dress.

I hadn’t told anyone at school that I had started my period. I decided the least embarrassing way to handle the situation was to send a text to my mum explaining what had happened and that I didn’t want to discuss it. My mum had prepared me a box of sanitary products laying on my bed for when I got home; pads for daytime, extra-heavy pads for night time, pads with wings, pads without wings. I was lucky enough to have access to sanitary products –– something that one in ten don’t have –– but the stigma that I had already come face-to-face with at only 11-years-old had set me up for how I would handle my period throughout my teenage years: in silence.

The silence surrounding menstruation is placed on girls from a young age, in an act as simple as separating the girls from the boys in primary school to quietly prepare them for what is to come, but the shame and stigma doesn’t end there. Research conducted last year by ActionAid found that more than one in three UK women have experienced period shaming through acts such as isolation, bullying or joking about it being “that time of the month”. The study showed that this behaviour takes place in different environments, to people of all different ages who menstruate. 77% who said they felt isolated when on their period said this happened at school, 63% who had experience shaming said it happened at home and 34% said this occurred at the workplace.

Another survey conducted by Plan International UK found that half of girls in the UK are embarrassed by their period and as a result find it difficult to discuss, while a massive 82% of girls had hidden or concealed sanitary products when going to the toilet. Jessica Curran is an advocate for period positivity and founded Stories About My Period with the aim of normalising menstruation. “My inspiration for Stories About My Period is to help other young girls and women who need it and to provide a platform,” said Jessica. The first Stories About My Period event was hosted in Manchester last November, “I had a mixture of actors, writers, spoken word artists, poets and musicians come together for a night of education and entertainment all based around periods. It was very empowering and opened peoples minds to just how complex periods are and that they are so much more than just blood coming out of your vagina.”

“Not only did I want the Stories About My Period events to spark a conversation about all things menstrual, I also wanted to use it as a platform where women could voice what they had to say and how they felt, in a unique way,” explained Jessica. The event is a chance to go and hear people talk about each of their unique experiences with periods, which comes as a breath of fresh air in a world so determined to silence those who menstruate by forcing them into being too ashamed to talk. Jessica said, “We should never feel ashamed or encouraged to stay silent about such a normal body process. I think the shame and disgust attached to something that is so natural is one of the major reasons there is such a stigma around periods and demonise something that is very much part of being a woman.”

Plan International UK also found that 50% of the girls surveyed had missed an entire day of school because of their periods, and 59% of those had made up a lie or alternative excuse to being on their period because they were too embarrassed to discuss it. If a girl misses school every time she gets her period, that sets her back 145 days of education and it’s all down to the silence surrounding periods and the fear of being shamed having a lasting impact on all people who menstruate. Jessica said, “I think if we express how silencing our period is ultimately hurting women then we can take more action to normalise periods, help period poverty and stop period shaming. If you can get through to one person that it’s okay to speak about menstrual bleeding they could then carry this on to someone else, so you should never underestimate your impact.”

But there is progress being made and changes happening to help normalise periods. The government have announced that it will be made compulsory for all pupils to be taught about menstruation in school by 2020, also making it LGBTQ inclusive. A huge part of the stigma surrounding menstruation is also believing that only those who identify as female get periods. From sanitary product advertisements of feminine women playing sports, to the name ‘female hygiene products’ used to refer to pads, tampons and cups, the topic of menstruation should include all people with periods. “I believe that the more we speak about periods, hopefully the more it will become normalised and the societal induced fears we have will fade away,” said Jessica. “For my new event I want to expand on the topics we touched on previously as well as new topics such as having a period as a transgender man or woman, FGM, menopause and how we can celebrate our periods as something to be proud of.”

Aunt Flow is a brand that sells 100% natural cotton, biodegradable menstruation products, which also donates tampons and pads to people in need, and prides itself on recently switching the language it uses to become more gender inclusive. Daniella Ferguson, the current events manager at Aunt Flow, shared her views on menstrual taboo. “Aunt Flow believes people should have access to the necessary tampons and pads no matter their economic status. As we’ve grown and listened to those around us we realised we needed to expand our idea of inclusivity to include gender. Those who identify as cis women are not the only people that menstruate. Trans men and those individuals who do not identify as either binary gender also menstruate. To stay true to our mission –– to ensure everyone has access to menstrual products –– we could not exclude this population.”

With more attention on the topic of menstrual taboo and period poverty than ever before now is the time to demand for a better understanding of menstruation, to raise your voice above the shaming and to eliminate the stigma of periods by normalising them. Change is happening; pupils at school will be taught more about the physical, personal and social aspects of menstruation all together in the same class room and apple will be releasing the first menstruation emoji in an attempt to normalise period blood. But there’s so much more that can be done. Educate your non-menstruating peers and spread the word that bleeding is normal and something that definitely shouldn’t be shamed. Or share your own story by reaching out to Jessica on Instagram (@storiesaboutmyperiod), set up your own event at school or just have a conversation with your friends.

The stigma, shame and silence surrounding menstruation is a social issue deeply impacting all people who menstruate but the only way to ensure change is to speak up, educate others and fight the status quo.

You can help to fight menstrual taboo globally by visiting the Plan International UK website and signing up to the Because I am a Girl campaign to learn more about how you can get involved in the fight to end the stigma.