The Moon Inside You - has changed my view of feminism...think I had it all wrong!

[FlamingoBingo]

Has anyone else seen this amazing documentary about menstruation, in which a man clearly says that the suppression of women has been possible by doing whatever possible to hide from them the power of menstruation, and their incredible potential for connection with nature.

It follows that celebrating our very womanness, and encouraging all other women to do the same, to reawaken ourselves to the power of being a woman...I'm not expressing myself very well here...I used to think that the pill was an amazing invention, and helped women immensely, but I can see now it's actually done a lot of harm.

They interviewed the inventor of the contraceptive implant - OMG what a misogynist prick! And the ignorance surrounding periods!

And today I went along to a devotional chanting session, aimed at honouring the feminine divine - many spiritual leaders (e.g. the Dalai Lama) are saying things along the lines that we need to focus on reconnecting with the feminine because we've been 'ruled' by the masculine for too long and the imbalance is what's damaging the whole world so badly.

I'd be really interested to hear other feminists' thoughts on all of this...

"the power of menstruation, and [the] incredible potential for connection with nature."

For those of us who haven't seen it, could you expand on this?

I can see that we have all been taught that signs of feminity = signs of weakness.

That 'female' character traits (in men or women) are seen as pathological in our society, but talk of menstruation and connection with nature or the feminine divine turns me right off.

I suppose it's the spiritual aspect that makes me think of flakey women floating around in california painting fanjos all day...

TBE, I'm not clear, why do you think it's so powerful to have women only groups?

genuine question, not trying to be facetious.

It sounds interesting. In what ways does the film see menstruation as powerful?

Eccles - hmm...will have a go...and this will be jumbled, but there are heaps of books out there about connecting with the power of menstruation, so read one of those if I make no sense at all

So, it's no coincidence that our cycles are, on average, 28 days long, and it's thought that, if we lived more in tune with nature, our cycles would match with the lunar cycles...and, of course, each others. We are mostly made up of water, and the moon has huge effects on water.

However, when we disconnect from that, as we have been persuaded to do by the patriarchy for a good couple of thousand years - being told that we are impure or dangerous when we're menstruating, that menstruating women can kill newborns just by holding them, that we go mad when we menstruate etc. - we miss out on a powerful awareness of how our cycles really work.

We are so conditioned to live statically - the same day by day - and we don't honour the fact that we do actually have changed emotional states, abilities, and even states of consciousness throughout the month...hence PMT.

When we're coming up to our periods, we're naturally more creative, more in tune with our subconsciousness, and we don't put up with things we normally put up with - but instead of seeing that as a gift - a chance to see what problems there really are in our lives, we see it (thanks to the patriarchy) as a curse.

When they did studies to see how productive women were in the workplace, thanks to menstruating, they found that men's moods changed just as dramatically as women's, but that women had the benefit of being able to predict their changing moods.

Imagine if we lived in a world where women retired from life once a month, to dream and meditate on their lives, on problems, on society, to make plans, to rest, and to be creative, together...and then were super-productive and super-respected the rest of the month?

This is how we used to live, when we had matriarchal societies, and before power became the issue it has been for the last couple of hundred years. Now menstruation is something to hide, and to be ashamed of. It's something to ridicule, not to celebrate.

Does any of that make sense?

Hello TBE Was thinking of you all while I was watching this film and thinking 'Yes, Yes, Yes!' All feminists should see this - so enlightening! Difficult to find out where its being screened though - look up The Women's Quest and see if there's any groups or anything local to you.

SGM - you're lovely How was the march this year? My cousin was away so I had nowhere to stay - will hopefully come next year though

that would have been fab! Never mind. x

There are some enormous generalisations about women there, which I find just as alienating as folk who say women go bonkers when they get their period.

Where are the generalisations, Hambles?

that 'we' are more creative and more in touch with our subconscious etc, that menstrual cycles affect all of us in the same way.

Look when it comes to puberty, women bleed and men's penis grow. Women bleed because they are fertile for perhaps 40 years. Then they stop having periods around the age of 50. You will reach this age and you may mourn or be Yay at the stoppage. But you will go on to live another 30 years after your periods have stopped.

You are not defined by the powerfulness of menstruation. It's a natural part of being a woman. As is childbirth. As is getting a degree. As is being a CEO. As is being a human being and taking part in all aspects of life on earth.

I never let my periods get in way of my life nor did I think that I was 'special' because of them. Bollocks.

Hambles, I meant naturally - unfortunately, we're so far removed from how humans live naturally that of course we all experience our menstrual cycles differently - we all have different experiences of the menarche, all have different experiences of how menstruation was (or was not) talked about as we were growing up etc.

Dworkin - it's exactly that oversimplified 'we are just bodies' thinking that is so damaging to women IMO. And being aware of our cycles doesn't mean that we can't get degrees or be CEOs, but if our subjugation as women is thanks to men taking away our understanding of our bodies and, therefore, the opportunity to really make the most of the changes in our cycles. If you were naturally most creative on days 4-7, for instance, but those were the days when your duties were simply filing, then what a waste! When you could be putting your brain to far better use on those days.

We're not making the most of being women, because we think that our periods are just that...a few days of bleeding once a month...but they're not. They're so much more than that, and it's the patriarchy that have hidden that from us, really very successfully...don't you wonder why?

HH I really appreciate being told that my Spiritual beliefs make you sick, very generous and open-minded. There is a cliche that springs to mind but I won't use it.
There is a Red Tent movement that is gaining strength, look on FB and on-line.
I believe that we experience such powerful changes in our bodies through our monthly cycle, it is something we should explore and enjoy.
Sorry, only half an eye on MN I'm leaving this to those who are more articulate.

So when the cycles stop where are you? Does your brain stop working because you no longer have those cycles? It's a load of crap as is the meme that hormones rules us. No it doesn't. Hormones circulate in men but they don't get that 'I've got pmt therefore I'm mad' syndrome.

Sounds very woo to me, to be honest.

I agree that many of the negative connotations of menstruation (e.g. that it's dirty, that its a sign of sin, that it's punishment, etc.) have been perpetuated by sexist traditions and institutions as a means of demeaning and controlling women. It is sad that it is still often seen by many women as something bad, burdensome and embarrassing when it's just a normal body function an need not be viewed as a bad thing or a good thing, it's just a thing.

I'm not convinced by the argument that the secrecy and shame "imposed" on menstruation was a means of controlling some powerful, even threatening natural phenomenon. It's just identifying something that's different about women and spinning it as something negative.

Dworkin has a point. There are plenty of women who don't have periods. The idea of some superior spiritual and intellectual state involved in menstruation excludes non-menstruating women. That can't be right.

Dworkin - you're left very wise and awake, if you've paid attention throughout the time of your life you're bleeding.

Widow - so what? Is everything 'woo' necessarily wrong?

KRITIQ - the only naturally non-menstruating women, in general, are women who have passed the menopause, and they, traditionally, have always been seen as the truly wise women, not the 'past it' old women of today, who are ignored and shoved into a corner. And they were probably seen as wise and hugely respected because they let themselves learn so much about themselves as women throughout their lives.

Menstruation is powerful - it's life-giving. Even if you don't have babies, if you pour menstrual blood onto the earth, plants grow there much more strongly - try it on a pot plant if you don't believe me.

I dare those of you who are sceptical to lose some of that silly 'it's woo so it's rubbish' idea and really, really pay attention to your cycles for a few months...I bet you'll see you dream differently on different days of your cycles, that you're more creative on some days, and that you're more in tune with your subconscious on some days. Your subconscious is really wise and often points out things that we are not aware of most of the time - being given a chance once a month to really connect with that is a blessing, and an opportunity to get to the real root of problems and things that might be having a really negative impact on our lives and those of those around us.

You may even find you stop getting PMT and any other negative physical and emotional issues you have with periods. Fancy that! Fancy not being told your emotions are to be ignored when you're bleeding, because it's just PMT, but being told to go and have some quiet time to listen to those feelings because they're the ones that are really important and could be really helpful, not just to you, but to everyone.

Earthy - I 'red tent' nowadays, and it's so helpful - really replenishing. Have you done the Women's Quest? I'm starting it this month.

I think there's probably some truth in the idea that the build-up to menstruation sees women closer to their 'natural' state - i.e. less inclined to put up with unfair treatment. I've lost count of the number of women I've met who fall out with their partners over the housework during this time. They always dismiss it with self-deprecating humour about PMT, whereas I always think that they way they are during this phase is the 'right' way IYSWIM.

I've always thought that the angry stereotype of an angry pre-menstrual woman is patriarchy's way of dismissing rightful female anger against mistreatment and unfairness. Not least because all female anger can be blamed on it, since it's not easy for a woman to prove or disprove where she is in her cycle apart from when she's actually bleeding (and then only to those intimate in her life).

MyName - I'm not saying they're silly, I'm saying the dismissing of things that people describe as 'woo' is silly, without really exploring it and being open-minded enough to think it may have some truth in it.

And I'm afraid I don't know enough about it to talk about how it fits with PCOS and Endometriosis. Not sure how trying to be more in tune with your body can do more harm than good

Sunshine - Quite!