ladies is it feminist to continue to subscribe to, identify with, and popularize the patriarchal medical myth that normal menstrual periods are supposed to make you irrational, weepy and aggressive for a week out of every month between age 12 and age 45
so the issue here is twofold: first, if you have periods so bad that they are physically or mentally disabling to how you live your life normally, that’s an actual medical concern. it means you need medical attention and it is not normal. a lot of bad doctors WILL tell you its normal, thats a real issue, and getting help for disabling menstrual issues can be really, really difficult if you cant find a doctor who isnt a moron (not to mention endometriosis and pcos, please see my other posts about those issues). however you need to know that it is not normal or healthy or tolerable for your period to be more intrusive to your normal function than “i feel a little bloated, a little gassy, a little bit of pain (like as much pain as a hangnail or maybe you bumped your shin on something. pain you can walk around with easily and ignore easily).” if you cant trust yourself to make decisions, tolerate basic daily stressors, drive a car, or speak to people while you are experiencing the effects around your period, that is de facto a Medical Problem and no longer a Normal Period. if you experience despair, suicidal ideation, psychosis, or an inability to maintain normal social interactions during or around your period, thats an emergency and not normal. its also not normal to have cramps so bad you cant walk or stand normally, or to feel so ill you have to call in to work or rest in bed. not normal. so when we normalize this belief that “women* on their periods are normally and in all cases insane and crippled”, and that this is a fun Relatable thing about periods that we all experience, we are telling people who are actually crippled by their periods NOT TO SEEK HELP because thats just how periods should be. and they arent. thats absurd. human society would crumble if every person with a uterus was out of their minds for a full week every month for the entirety of their reproductive years. it is patently and on its face Not True
the second issue should be obvious but isnt: one of the central tenets of misogyny is that women are Irrational. this tenet underlies all aspects of patronizing oppression against women. “women cant be logical or rational, they are purely emotional and reactive” is a patriarchal myth that underlies misogyny in general. whenever a woman runs for president there is discourse about how you simply cant vote for her because shes going to nuke russia as soon as she gets her period. when we uncritically accept and perpetuate this belief, even upon ourselves, this is carrying water for patriarchal oppression. it isnt true, it has been debunked repeatedly in extensive scientific trials, and its just bottom floor, basement-level sexism. “girls cant be president because uterus make them crazy and weak.” believing this, perpetuating it, telling it to people, and thinking it about yourself is actively harmful
FOOTNOTE: we are referring to “women” throughout this post despite women not being the only people who menstruate because patriarchal myths about menstruating currently are leveraged exclusively against women and people perceived as women (even if incorrectly perceived as such). this is a post about misogyny, not menstruation itself, although trans men and other non-women who menstruate can intersect with this topic as well in different ways, usually through experiencing misogyny through being incorrectly perceived as or assumed to be women
