Blog Project

[projectperiod1-blog]

                                                     Reflection

This project was a very emotional one for me and I learned a lot of things I never knew. Each new thing revealed to me yet another way in which women were oppressed because they aren’t men. There are so many examples in my research that show how often women are treated as second class citizens and how their health issues don’t matter as much. I was incredibly heartbroken over the realization that the odds really are stacked against women, this was something I already knew but my research made it very real. Sometimes it seems like being a woman is a curse, we go through so much. Even the process our bodies go through in order to give life is turned into something disgusting and taboo. Though being a woman might seem like a burden, it shouldn’t be. Menstrual shaming is an obstacle that tries to prevent women from living their fullest lives, but it is something we can collectively overcome as a society. Period shaming does not have to be the norm, there’s nothing inherently wrong or dirty about menstruation.

Discussion of the negative stigma around menstruation can help to bring about more understanding on why the shaming of periods works against women and their right to be considered normal human beings. Talking through misconceptions and stereotypes will help dispel the status menstruation carries as a taboo subject. Having better health education is important so that both boys and girls won’t have any confusion on the topic which will in turn normalize it. I think a big contributor to this problem is women being seen as “other” where males are normal. If men menstruated it would not be a taboo topic, only because it is attributed to women is it something shameful. Seeing blood in a tampon commercial will not harm anyone, neither will saying the word period because menstruation itself is not a crazy invention, it’s a bodily process a significant number of humans have. The sooner we all get over ourselves and acknowledge that, the better off we’ll be.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                           Annotated list of additional resources 

http://www.projectwet.org/media/blog/boost-education-early-reduce-menstruation-stigma This website provides substantial background on the issue of menstruation stigma, where it comes from, what is needed to combat it, and ways in which people can help. The writer, Rosalyn Kutsch, is a sixteen year old girl who can relate to the topic and also has solutions that are very in tune with this generation’s tech savvy.

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/5/menstruation-stigma-is-a-form-of-misogyny.html  This web article provides information on the relation between misogyny and menstruation shaming which I have discussed in my research. Writer, Erika Sanchez, relates personal experiences that are universal for anyone that menstruates or has felt the shame that often comes with first receiving your period. This web article addresses the numerous ways in which young girls are instilled with fear concerning their periods or misinformation that further shames them.

https://plan-international.org/stigmas-surrounding-menstruation-detrimental-girls%E2%80%99-futures This web article contains more information on the health risks facing girls and women in developing countries who suffer from the negative stigma surrounding menstruation. Measures needed in order for women and girls to have safe and clean environments during their periods are also outlined.

http://www.kansascity.com/living/article36401670.html This newspaper article I found online has a lot of the current ways in which people are already trying to combat the negative stigma surrounding menstruation. There’s a doll that comes with her own pad that helps to normalize periods to young girls. There’s accounts of women such as Kiran Gandhi who ran a marathon on her period without a pad or tampon, and Louelle Denor, who people tried to silence with threats to her life, because she posted a photo of her menstrual blood online.

http://mayas7dchallenge.tumblr.com/game  This mobile game helps raise awareness for girls especially in poor rural areas on the importance of good menstrual hygiene and attending school during their periods.

http://ghcorps.org/period-shaming/ This blog post by Irene Umba Zalira provided a solid personal account of menstrual shaming and how it connects to culture as well. Some solutions are suggested throughout to help stop period shaming and help to make girls feel safe in school during their periods.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0ahUKEwjhjeCA6bnJAhXL5SYKHQKpDJQQFggvMAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fm.friendfeed-media.com%2F3073db053b17daa66f22f6bbd91b994293e823d4&usg=AFQjCNE0gXAqZhnapFMvHA8Z9cjqiOpVPA&cad=rja This book goes into detail on what exactly menstruation shaming is, menstrual stigma, and how today’s feminists engage with this topic. It includes the solutions they propose and what different types of feminists feel on the issue. This book also introduces a unique viewpoint on how the topic of menstruation has been treated in earlier generations by feminists and how intersectionality plays a significant role in menstruation shaming being brought to the forefront of women’s issues.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-told-to-kill-herself-after-posting-photo-of-menstrual-blood-on-instagram_55e5d3abe4b0c818f61934fa  This web article on the Huffington Post talks about Louelle Denor, a Temple University student, who posted a photo of her menstrual cup covered in blood in order to bring awareness to the fact that some women had their instagram accounts banned simply for showing menstrual blood. She points out the hypocrisy in banning menstrual blood photos but allowing finger laceration photos that could be considered more graphic.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-011-0052-z This scholarly article provides important research on menstruation, its perception in the general public, and how people are socialized to view menstruation by the media. It also looks specifically at how these perceptions affect young Western women and some solutions to menstruation stigma.

http://www.tamponrun.com/ This game and iphone app dispels the negative stigma around menstruation. The two high school students who developed this game, Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser, made it in hopes of getting rid of the idea of menstruation as taboo. Socially aware and fun, this game rules.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                         Your suggested solutions to the problem. 

1. Lack of access to menstrual products needs to be addressed and proper facilities for girls should be built at schools, so girls have places to change and clean up during their period. This all requires funding which can be obtained through raising awareness and destroying the taboo of discussing periods. Making this an issue that cannot be ignored is the first step towards progress.

2. Addressing the stigma around periods is vital. We all have to recognize that we play a part in how we perceive menstruation. Although living in a patriarchy is in large part to blame, women themselves hold back discussing their periods, or the fact that they even have one. Men and women have to learn how to be more comfortable with this topic in order to dispel the negative stigma surrounding it. Periods shouldn’t be seen as other and neither should the people who have them. Having class discussions on menstruation or even making it a longer focus in health classes along with additional stigma breaking dialogue can help.

3. Donating pads and tampons to charities that work with disadvantaged women is something that can help and break negative stigma. Something as simple as giving a pad or a tampon to a homeless woman can really make a difference. It shows that caring about women’s issues is important and women having periods and needing supplies is normal. Taking these steps helps to fight back against menstruation being a taboo.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                                                     Summary

When I first started this project I had an idea in mind of what exactly period shaming was. I thought it was basically a refusal to acknowledge that women do in fact have periods and that when it was talked about it was immediately deemed gross or unnatural in some way. While this is true, I realized the problem is so much more than that. Menstruation shaming is part of a deliberate attempt through misogyny, to shame women, hide and invalidate their issues, and to continue the idea of entitlement to women’s bodies, all of which oppress the female population. Anything attributed to women can be made to be seen as shameful or unimportant, this includes wearing “too much” makeup, housework, raising children, engaging in sexual activity, and last but not least, having a period. A man’s pursuits are always seen as important in some way or advantageous to his society, but if a woman is involved in the same thing it is not. This connects to the Waring reading in class that talked about women not being seen as contributors to their local economies. This included the global economy because the way in which women contributed labor was not recognized by the system as actual work. Waring pointed out that as soon as men took over the same kind of work women were doing for profit then, and only then, was it seen as something that benefited and contributed to the economy. The work these women did was deemed unimportant until a man took over. This applies to the lack of resources and money used to buy pads/tampons for women who have periods. Periods are connected to women commonly, therefore it is already considered unimportant by a patriarchal society. Not only is this mindset disrespectful towards women, but it affects where money goes in relief aid to poorer countries, because periods are not even discussed and are therefore, not even considered important many women never get essential supplies such as pads or tampons. In my research it has been proven that many homeless women almost never get the one thing they need most at times, pads. It begs the question, if men got periods every month then would menstruation become a more important topic?

One of Misogyny’s goals is to shame women for being women. Women are made to feel as “other”, as we discussed in class, and anything having to do with them as well. That is a basic reason why we have period shaming because, unbelievably, periods are not seen as normal even though half the population gets them every month. If something is not seen as normal the natural response of others is to shame it. That is why the subject of periods is taboo, that is why blood can be shown in a violent scene on screen but not on a tampon in an ad on the same channel, that is why some women are sent to live in dilapidated huts during their period because they are “impure”. The shame connected to menstruation is astonishing considering it is as natural a body process as breathing. It should not be shocking however, because as previously stated, anything connecting to women specifically, can be shamed.

Another classic identifier of misogyny is the perceived entitlement to women’s bodies. Misogynistic ideals hold that women are objects and that any part of their body is for a man’s enjoyment and does not actually belong to them themselves. This is why breast feeding is seen as gross by some people but the same people can attest that boobs are sexy. The same logic can apply to periods. One of the dominating viewpoints in a patriarchal society is that a woman’s vagina is there for a man’s pleasure. This is evidenced in the way women are seen as sexual objects with no real feelings of their own. Women are constantly sexually objectified whether in the media or their own personal lives. So the idea of a vagina is fine, until the fact that it also bleeds is brought up, then it is disgusting and not to be talked about. Sex is obviously talked about more than periods, even though they both involve the same body part. Women’s issues aren’t important unless they can benefit men in some way, this is the overarching theme seen in so many patriarchal societies.

Menstruation stigma affects the ability for many women to obtain an education or even go to work. As a result of the problem not being talked about or being provided any funding, many women suffer in silence. In some countries, particularly some parts of India, menstruation is seen as toxic due to religion and culture. Women are cast out into huts where they must stay until their periods end, not even being allowed to cook for themselves which leads to malnourishment according to http://www.projectwet.org. Some women and girls even die due to infections from using dirty rags for menstrual blood flow. Proper attention must be paid to this issue because women’s livelihoods are being endangered and for no substantial reason, other than the fact that they are women.

[projectperiod1-blog]

            Description of how the problem is an Intersectional issue

Menstruation Shaming is an intersectional issue because not only does it affect women on the basis of gender, but it can be more severe based on race and class. Menstruation Shaming can also affect trans men as well. People of color can perhaps be more significantly affected by period shaming, as discourse on periods can be nearly non-existent or not as prevalent when compared to White Feminism. Concerns with larger racial/feminist issues can take the place of discussing menstruation and its shaming. Class factors in because welfare does not often cover feminine hygiene costs as well as the fact that many homeless women cannot afford to buy pads/tampons. Most likely homeless women will not be offered any by strangers as the entire subject of periods is “taboo.” Trans men can also suffer shaming when they have their periods because society deems anything feminine concerning males as shameful. This relates to the Lorde reading on how women of color are constantly facing more obstacles than white woman when it comes to feminist issues. Lorde also talked about how class affects different women and what their experiences are in comparison to women of a higher class.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                        Discussion of an Institutional example

Menstruation shaming affects public education systems all over the world. In many impoverished countries women are held back from attending schools because they are seen as impure and must stay in specialized areas during their cycle. This stops women from obtaining the same quality of education as their male counterparts. Not only is this inherently unfair, but it also functions as a tool to keep men dominant over women. Women’s lack of access to education is a serious human rights violation as well as a factor in contributing to continued poverty for women. Menstruation shaming also affects public spaces such as places of employment and the prison system. Many women in third world countries can’t go to work because of their period and in many prisons funds are not spent on providing pads and tampons for inmates. As a result of menstruation being shamed, it is considered not as important and therefore less money is spent to help disadvantaged women with obtaining materials for menstruation.This affects feminism and the right of self-governance for women. This topic relates to Period Shaming by Irene Umba Zalira. In this web article she discusses how menstruation and its shaming can interfere with a girl’s ability to get an education and what can be done to combat this.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                              Discussion of an everyday example

Menstruation shaming can have a very real impact. Louelle Denor, a white young woman who goes to Temple University, recently learned this. Denor posted a photo of her menstrual cup with blood on it, in order to bring awareness to women who had their accounts banned on instagram due to posting menstrual blood. Denor questioned why posting a photo of a finger laceration that might show more blood was better than posting a photo of menstrual blood. The reaction she received was visceral. People attacked her with violent messages and threats to her life. What was most striking is that these comments came from not only men but women as well. Denor posted photos of the reactions to her post. One such comment stated, “Feminazis should be put in a shower dispersing male semen onto their faces." Another comment simply states, "Kill yourself now plz.” The public’s reactions to a woman who dared not be shameful about her period shows just how much we, as a patriarchal society, are socialized to consider menstruation as dirty, unspeakable, and a social taboo. Denor later posted a written response to all the hate she received because of her photo. “Look, you don’t have to like my picture, you don’t have to agree with values. But am I wrong in hoping that I can post a picture of some bloody fingers and a weird disk without the threat of being sprayed with sperm and set on fire?... Women in this country are routinely raped to be “taught lessons.” Women are at risk of violence for speaking their minds, for posting pictures, for talking about their vaginas, for wearing short skirts, for wearing clingy clothes, for being bitchy, for looking bitchy, for sounding bitchy, for being slutty, for being hard-to-get, and the f**king list goes on and on and on. This is a HUGE problem. It really is. As someone who’s suffered sexual violence more than once, let me tell you, it is pervasive and it needs to be taken very seriously.” Denor has privilege in her position as a university educated white woman. Therefore, she has a higher platform to speak on in which people will pay attention, which explains why she wrote her message. Denor also states she has been a victim of sexual violence which gives her a background in understanding how often people can overlook issues that seriously affect women in their everyday lives. This example connects to the scholarly article I used to talk about young Western women’s feelings about their periods and the general public’s perception of menstruation and often pervasive shaming of it.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                            Analysis of a second scholarly source

In, New Blood: Third-Wave Feminism and the Politics of Menstruation by Chris Bobel, Bobel talks about how third wave feminism, or current feminism, and how it relates to the topic of menstruation shaming. The foreword which is written by Judith Lorber, talks about menstruation as something that was easily minimized by the generation before and how this was actually preferable. The generation before was more focused on having families but still being able to work, therefore menstruation was not something that was focused on. This generation however, is more focused on menstruation, its shaming, and its political impact. Bobel talks about various topics that relate to menstruation and how current feminists have tried to tackle them. One particular point made is, how the current discussion centering on menstruation rides the line between treating menstruation as a huge problem or “completely inconsequential. I agree on the assertion that menstruation should not be seen as “other”, not only is it extremely harmful, but it also reinforces the idea anything having to do with women is inferior, which also reinforces misogynistic ideology. I disagree with the argument that talking about issues that concern menstruation will somehow help perpetuate sexism. It is important to recognize that there are negative symptoms associated with menstruation and to recognize that women can legitimately suffer from them. Some questions that can be asked: Does third wave feminism exclude Black Feminism or does the focus on menstruation exclude Black Feminism? In what ways did second wave feminism address menstruation and its shaming? What connections do menstruation focused activists have to Ecofeminists? This book talks about a wider range of perspectives in feminism when it comes to menstruation compared to the other scholarly sources I have come across. This book relates to the Lorber reading in class as it has the same writer. It also relates because it talks about menstruation shaming which goes along with the idea of a socially constructed body and females grooming and constructing bodies for social approval.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                                       Analysis of a scholarly source

The Menstrual Mark: Menstruation as Social Stigma by Ingrid Johnston-Robledo and Joan C. Chrisler, is a theoretical paper that analyzes young Western women’s attitudes towards their periods. This paper also analyzes the general public’s attitudes toward the menstruation, where menstruation shaming begins, and the way we are socialized through poor education and advertisements to treat menstruation as taboo. This paper includes the effects of the negative stigma concerning menstruation on women and the way they perceive their bodies. This paper makes a point of highlighting how menstruation shaming reinforces the idea of women as second class citizens, as well as suggesting ways to improve the way women and menstruation are perceived by society. I agree that menstruation shaming is totally perpetuated by media. I did not disagree with any points this article made.Some questions that can be asked are: What is special about the way western women experience their bodies? What differs between they way Western women perceive their bodies and periods as compared to women from other parts of the world? How big of a role does socialization play in menstruation shaming? This source differs from the web article because of its focus on young Western women, compared to the web article that focused on women and girls from developing countries. This scholarly article also focuses more on the origin of menstruation shaming. This theoretical paper relates to the Bornstein reading we did in Unit 1. The way young Western women relate to their bodies can be connected to the way people identify with a certain gender. This paper also relates to the Lorber and Martin reading that talks about socially constructed bodies and the idea that a woman’s body is not really her own but something that belongs to others who think they have the right to judge it. Women cannot relate well to their bodies because they are socialized to think that the thing their bodies do, which is to menstruate, is somehow wrong or dirty.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                                    Analysis of a Web Source

In the blog post titled, Period Shaming, by Irene Umba Zalira she discusses how the subject of periods was first brought up to her in a classroom when she was twelve. The classroom was half full of boys and after an inadequate explanation of periods by a male teacher the boys began to tease and harass the girls about their impending periods. In some countries such as Malawi, where Zalira is from, a lack of education about menstruation and a tradition of shame associated with periods continually holds back girls from their education while also endangering their lives. Zalira was told she should never let her father see her period blood or he would go blind. Zalira also writes about how in impoverished places in India a woman is considered unclean when she’s on her period and may have to use dirty rags and may even be subjected to sleeping in a shed which leads to infection risks. There is a real sense of shame that holds girls back even in education. The Population Council conducted a survey to determine if there was a connection between a girl’s absenteeism in school and her menstruation cycle. The survey found at least one-third of girls in Malawi reported missing at least one day of school during their previous cycle. The subject of periods being seen as taboo also contributes to a lack of resources offered to girls on their periods, especially the pads that would enable them to come to school during their cycle. Although poverty is a large reason why girls in these countries cannot get pads the shaming of having a period contributes to the idea that they should not try to even come to school on their periods as they are “dirty.” The point of view has to be changed in these countries so that women and girls can have an equal chance of receiving an education.

I agree with the idea that women and men should be involved in a discussion about periods when it comes to the girls in their family. However Zalira also argues that separate bathrooms for boys and girls perpetuates period shaming and teaches girls their body processes are seen as “other” so they need their own bathroom. I think that separate bathrooms are not harmful and might actually help a girl feel more comfortable going to the bathroom on her period especially because boys have been known to harass girls about their period. Some questions that can be asked about this post would be: What are some concrete solutions to ending period shaming?& Is period shaming worse in third world countries? This relates to street harassment which was discussed in class because there is a definite targeting of women, precisely because they are women, which in turn works to endanger them. Both period shaming and street harassment make women feel unsafe which is a definite problem.

[projectperiod1-blog]

                                     Menstruation Shaming

                                                Introduction

All across the world, women are shamed for a natural process their bodies go through every month. Menstruation better known as the monthly period has essentially become a taboo topic of discussion. Having a period is something that is seen as shameful and gross, something that must always be hidden and never discussed, especially in front of men. Shaming women for having periods is just one of the many methods patriarchy uses to make women believe they are subordinate to men and that men have what is considered normal body functions while women are still seen as other or a “mystery.” Period Shaming is a tool of gendered oppression and something many women continue to feel and fear as they progress through their lives. I’m interested in this topic because I realized I have been conditioned to be ashamed of anything having to do with my period as well as many other women have. Even buying pads has sometimes been a sort of stealth mission that I never questioned. The topic of Period Shaming has been increasingly relevant in the news. One of the many stories that broke social consciousness was a woman who had got her period on the day she was supposed to run a marathon. Instead of wearing a tampon however, she elected to run without a tampon or pad. This story made many headlines and drew many negative comments as well, from men and women. On this blog I want to further explore just why periods are so unmentionable and how this mindset negatively impacts women everywhere.

By MB