What is the easiest way to get a guy to walk away or leave the room, simply mention that your Aunt Flow is coming to town or, if you want him to speed walk out of the room, just say you are menstruating or you have your period. These terms carry a more graphic connotation that most guys cannot seem to handle. However, if you really want to see a guy sprint, all you need to do is just utter those three infamous letters- P M S. Not only are men freaked out by the topic of the female menstruation cycle, but also they are even more freaked out when a female’s hormones are uncontrollable. It is understandable why men tend to avoid women when they have their periods, I mean women sometimes even avoid other women when they have their periods, I mean who likes dealing with a moody, chocolate craving, female…not too many people.
However, even though guys may be think that the menstrual cycle is a somewhat disgusting topic, it is in no way shape or form abnormal. As Anne Sexton writes in her poem, “it is a celebration of the woman I am” (331). While, I am hesitant to believe that many other women see this as a happy celebration (most think its bothersome) it is none the less part of womanhood. Sexton goes on to further say how all women factory workers, marine biologists, mothers, etc experience this natural phenomenon.
What I find amazing is the fact that people used to, and some today still do, believe that women were abnormal because they went through this process. In my opinion, it is absolutely idiotic that people still believe that a women’s reproductive functions place them below men in certain aspects of life. Scientists used to believe “that menstruation rendered women ‘more of less sick and unfit for hard work’ for one quarter of each month during the best years of life’” (Fausto-Sterling 93). Unfit for hard work? I am sorry, but give me a break.
There is a Tampax commercial with Serena Williams and Mother Nature. Mind you, Serena Williams is one of the best female tennis players in the world and all one needs to do is look at her and see that she is not a weak individual. The basic point of the commercial is that Williams and Mother Nature battle each other; Mother Nature tries to tell Williams that she has her monthly present and that she will beat and stop her. However, as one might guess, Williams conquers Mother Nature. Not only do I find the commercial amusing, but I also think that it shows how women do not stop working hard when that time of the month comes around.
However, we cannot forget that “If you’re a woman you can’t win” (Fausto-Sterling 95). While women have made progress in gaining power within society, we still lag far behind men. Men are the dominant sex. They are depicted as being strong, power individuals who, especially when compared to females, are right. “Why do researchers looking as women’s hormone cycles and mood changes fail to mention the month cycle of testosterone? The answer, I suggest is that testosterone is seen as a male hormone hence ‘normal’, and thus not an obvious subject for inquiry when looking at the ‘abnormalities’ of menstrual mood changes (Fausto-Sterling 105). I think that this point is extremely amusing.
I do think that it is important to acknowledge the fact that Fausto-Sterling never gives any set answer as to how the menstrual cycle affects women. It further shows how these claims of how women are drastically hindered as a direct result of their period as bogus.
On a quick side note, I was always curious as to how early hunter-gather women dealt with menstruation. Thus, I thought Fausto-Sterling’s section on how in these primitive societies dealt with this situation was interesting. “Women were either pregnant or lactating and since life spans were so short they died well before menopause, low-fat diets made it likely that they did not ovulate every month, they thus experienced no more than 10 menstruation cycles” (96). Ultimately, this like other generations to come, also viewed women as physically abnormal.
Great thoughts, Katrina, Caren, and Kirsten. The Tampax commercial is a really fascinating example, and a complicated one. On the one hand, it does portray Williams' strength. On the other hand, it portrays menstruation as something "outside" women, rather than a part of them, and something that they must battle against. This could be celebratory, because the woman wins, but also gets back to some of the imagery that Fausto-Sterling protests: menstruation as an "invader," a disorder that needs to be overcome, etc. Kirsten, I think you're onto something with your point about the ways in which we might flip this on our heads and think about the power of the female body. I wonder: might all of the rhetoric about periods and PMS, etc. be a (conscious or unconscious) means of neutralizing the strength and potential of women's reproductive systems?
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how you point out the "battle" between Venus and Mother Nature, as if menstruation is something we need to win a war over. Yes, cramps suck and sometimes we take medication to lessen the pain, but by no means does PMS or our periods in general inhibit us as women from leading productive and successful lives.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd how normal and regular menstruation is (it is called a cycle, after all), yet it's such a taboo to talk about. Nobody wants to acknowledge that a woman is on her period, except to call her out and attribute her bitchiness to PMS. So, as normal as menstruation is, most of society still consider it as a female abnormality. Weird.