It happens monthly, yet so much stigma still exists.听
You may have guessed what I鈥檓 talking about. A girl or woman鈥檚 period. Menstruation.听
But not all cultures feel embarrassment or fear. Our culture, however, definitely does.听
If you don鈥檛 understand where the stigma exists, let me paint a picture.听
It exists when my friends hide their tampons behind the toilet paper underneath the bathroom sink before their boyfriends come over. Or watching a woman at the grocery store awkwardly wedge her box of pads between the bread and eggs while we stand in line to pay.听
And even me, when I whisper desperately to my girlfriend in the library when I feel it starting, making sure no one in a direct radius of me can see my shoving the pad in my pocket as I rush to the bathroom. Not that I haven鈥檛 noticed these patterns before, but I always thought it went away when you entered adulthood.听
This stigma has come to my attention because I have met not one, but two male students here at university who believe that a woman鈥檚 period only lasts a day. Shocked? Yes. Upset? No.听
I can鈥檛 blame the lack of knowledge on these boys entirely, but it made me think about who I could blame.听
Lack of sex education in schools? The underlying fear of anything to do with the female body? Maybe that is the reason so many young girls are upset when it begins. Menstruation has been wrongly connected to fear and uncleanliness.听
In several cultures, menstruation is a sacred shedding of negative energy. In many indigenous nations, a woman鈥檚 moon was considered a powerful time to obtain guidance for the entire village. In one raven鈥檚 tale, the Grandmother Moon gifted women with the ability to embody the power of the moon and purify herself. It is a time where women are considered most powerful and it is a time to be honoured, not feared. And perhaps the most important, reminding them of their incredibly ability to bring new life.听
So I propose a new culture for Aunt Flow.听
Talk to your children, regardless of gender, about what menstruation means and does to the body. Carry around a pad or tampon, regardless of your gender, in case a friend or relative is running low.听
Understand that even though there can be discomfort and pain, menstruation does not lessen a woman鈥檚 capability of making decisions whilst embodying the power of the moon. It just might mean more of an immediate need of chocolate at all times.听
听
- Ashleigh Giffen is a 麻豆社国产resident studying theatre and indigenous studies at the University of British Columbia in the Okanagan. She has heritage in several indigenous nations, but is mainly Oji-Cree and Anasazi.
