menstruation taboo... strong as ever?

I went to boarding school and there was definitely one week in the month when the "blue bins" were fuller than usual!

TeiTua no, I didn'T say women's periods synchronized with the moon. I said that they are timed by the moon (i.e they come every month- the month is defined by the moon, hence the name ' mon th' (the chinese character for month is moon) and the name "monthlies" given to periods. Different women come on at different times of the month, but the majority come on at the same time every month.

I also mentioned that wOmen who live together find that their periods synchronize. Again, a group of girl-students in one halls of residence might come on at a completely different time to three sisters down the road, but those women living together generally become synchronized. Nuns too

'Interesting' is one way of putting the experience of an all-girls boarding school and 3/4 of the senior school having PMT and periods at the same time (and then staff assuming half of us were making it up).

The effect was somewhat diluted in sixth form once you could escape more.

Men I've known have always been politely concerned and quite fascinated. All the OMG how could you let anyone know!!! has been from women.

Women's periods synchronize with other women they are frequently in the company of ...now thats interesting

Come on now, women's periods don't generally synchronize with the moon. If they did, all women would have their periods at the same time. But maybe if we all lived outdoors and our activities varied according to how much light was available, that would nudge the hormones enough that women would ovulate/menstruate according to the state of the moon.

What would work best, ovulation at full moon so that people could find each other, or ovulation at new moon so that couples could sneak away from the campfire without the whole tribe seeing them?

now there's a cute image in my mind of a knitting expectant mother

Just remembered that my children always asked and I said,
'oh that's something that happens to mummies so that if they don't see a little bit of blood they know they are having a baby and can start knittingtheir clothes!!'

My mum luckily did the knitting and I bought their clothes or they would have been naturalists from a very early age

that was interesting earthymama. How amazing is it that menses means moon and our periods synchronise with the moon, which makes months.
Women are so connected to the universe

I think that [[http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=113560015348457#!/group.php?gid=113560015348457
this]] is a really powerful way of challenging the tabboo, but it resonates with my spiritual path so may not have meaning for those who don't feel the same way. (I guess I'm saying I know some people will find it totally OTT!)

This looks interesting for parents of girls.

I love the 'nest made of blood'. Will definitely use that too - great way of putting it.

PMSL at the Bag of Shame. (Although it isn't funny really).

I also agree that we should be celebrating our femaleness more too. I don't mean in a tree huggy way but in a down to earth 'wow, women and their bodies are AMAZING' way.

wherethewildthingswere I love the 'nest made of blood'

"
'they are sort of like a nappy, so your clothes don't get messy, they are there to catch a nest made of blood, that mummies body would have needed if she was having a baby, but she isn't so the nest has to come out and is caught by the pretty nappies"

Oh, I'm going to use that one for my kids

Then again, in Japan if you buy sanitary products they put it in a BLACK non-see through carrier bag, almost like a Bag of Shame, so that you can't upset any unsuspecting passer by with what you've just bought... (or because you might not want people to know you've just bought tampons)

I think my mother's mother had issues with periods, and my mother had some as well. I do remember her main emotion being surprise when I first came on and showed her the blood on the bed. She wasn't happy for me, just surprised. SHe also gave me NO information on how to manage my periods properly (keeping a diary or what have you).

I'd like to be happy for my daughter, to show her that being a woman is something to be proud of.

I don't think there's much of a taboo, not like there used to be, but I do think that the female body could be celebrated more.

I always remember being so excited with my friends when we had our first period. There was a real sense of 'joining the club'. I also found it fascinating how women's periods synchronize when they live together.

I would like to save up to do or buy something special for DD when she starts her period.

Also, in Japan the entire family celebrates a girl starting her period and the mother cooks a special celebratory red rice (red signifying blood perhaps?!) . Some women would be horrified at the thought of their brothers and father celebrating their coming of age, so that means there is still a certain taboo around.

My mother never ever talked to me about anything related to periods until I started , and then only to complain bitterly that I fairly frequently got blood on my knickers. She seemed incapable of understanding that periods could be irregular, and seemed to think that I was doing it on purpose until she made me keep a diary and realised that yes my cycle did vary from 2 weeks to six weeks. she also didn't seem able to accept that they were very painful and never ever supported me really (notes for school etc). In fact it wasn't until she went through the menopause a few years later and went on HRT for a while that she truly took on board that periods could be genuinely painful.

I grew up in a family with two sisters (and a brother) and my big sister did all the birds and bees type stuff with me. I don't know why my mother had such a strong taboo really, but remember us all staying at the same house many many years later and my mother trying to get my big sister to hide her box of tampons "in case your father might see them". Very very odd really.

dh has always been totally open and supportive, but remembers that some of the other guys at university just being totally unaware - he was amazed that some of them didn't even know when their other halves had their period - even the ones that lived together.

When I was growing up it wasn't a taboo but neither was my mum comfortable talking about it and my dad didnt talk about it at all. I was so frightened when I started bleeding and my mum wasnt very reassuring at all.

In contrast DD asked lots of questions when i was pregnant/on my period and now knows most of the basics (she is 5). My pads aren't hidden away in the bedroom and if i have forgotten to take one into the bathroom with me I will dispatch her to get one for me. I'll give the same info to her brother. DH has no problem talking about it either.

i wouldn't rely on the school to tell DD or DS as when I was a 1st year university student ten years ago, I ended up enlightening a whole group of similarly aged male students whose sole education seemed to have come from school. They had no idea of the specifics, the length of time a period lasted and several even thought you sat on the loo and it all came out at once. These were 18 year olds who had had/did have girlfriends and mothers, but they chose to ask me as I was 'one of the boys' with a reputation for being unembarassable.

My DS is 10 now, this exact second.

I told him about periods two years ago when I had endometrial ablation.

I would hate him to be worrying what was wrong with me.

Wtf Snorbs is a bloke??:..anyway i digress ..i'm straight up about periods..my DDs have asked me and I have explained it's a natural occurance in women of birthing age...that simple...my father was pretty cool too..although he never wanted to go into detail he was very caring and funny during my period when i lived with him...i know it freaked him out but he just wanted to make me comfortable and happy..ie hot water bottle , leave me alone. bring me chocolate an my DH is similar supportive and mindful of my moodiness ..during my period I tend not to handle bull-shit very well..

As a teen, I spent a lot of weekends at my friend's house. There, we had to wrap up our ST's very carefully and put them in the Aga to burn. This all had to be done by stealth without her Dad or brother seeing.

What did they think would happen to the men if they found out? Would they turn to stone or something?

I'm really surprised anyone has secrecy about it.

My have a DS and DD (4 and 2) and both of them know that sometimes blood comes from my fanjo and it's fine. Neither of them bat an eyelid - I go to the toilet with the door open anyway.

When my brother was little, he saw my mum in the toilet and he asked her when he was going to start bleeding like that .

louii

this has just reminded me of teh time my friends step dad offered me vouchers for money off always pads. i was 19. i used tampons at the time and sort of stuttered out this to him with a huge red face. best friend and her mum and sis thought i was hilarious for being embarassed. i just couldn't fathom why a man would even discuss such a thing, let alone be offering me vouchers for sanitary towels. he just said, "sorry, i didn't mean to embarrass you, when you have two girls you get used to period talk as the norm. X (meaning my friend) informed me this morning she would be grumpy today as her period was due"

My dad used to go and buy my tampons for me when I was a teen, my friends were horrified by this, was no big deal in our house, just another bodily function.

DS who is 5, takes no notice really, he knows what periods are, no big deal.

And yes it was certainly taboo in our house. The first time my mum ever talked about periods with me was when I got my first one at about 14, and she said, "You know what that is, don't you?" . Good job someone else had told me!