I’ve never been much of an activist on menstrual issues or an activist at all really. Never really understood why people make such a big deal about something so… common? But with the first National Period Day coming up on Oct. 19, I’ve been seeing a lot of discussion of the topic. A lot of that discussion surprised me. 

So what surprised me? Well two things. Firstly, all the things people still believe about menstruating women. Anthropologists conducted a cross-cultural study, which showed that taboos about menstruation are nearly universal; most of them include the notion of uncleanliness. 

Many in the Eastern Orthodox Church and some of the Oriental Orthodox Church advise that women do not receive communion while menstruating, to get more intense preparation to approach Christ. Bleeding = not ready to see Christ. Great. In Islam, it is often considered that women should not fast during mensturation, and should finish their fast at another time. Bleeding? Please eat. 

In Hinduism, menstruating women have traditional rules they are advised to follow. They are not supposed to enter temples, work in kitchens, wear flowers or touch other people. It is seen as a time of purification where women are supposed to be separated from everyone else. Only in September of 2018 did the Indian Supreme Court lift the ban on the entry of women to temples. 2018. That was a little over a year ago. 

Here’s some more statistics that, well, shocked me. A 1981 survey showed that a substantial majority of American people believe that it is socially unacceptable to discuss menstruation, especially in the company of men. Sure that was almost 40 years ago, but how many years did people have to get over the fact that it’s a thing that happens?  

While doing my research, I came across a list of beliefs about menstruating women, and some of them are truly something. You are clumsy when you are on your period, and you can’t take a bath. Want to go camping? Sorry, you cannot, because the bears can smell it from far away (this one is one of my favorites).  

If you touch any vegetables before or during the process of pickling they would not pickle or go bad. Speaking of spoiling food,  you can’t make whipped cream or mayonnaise: it will curdle, and dough will not rise. And just everything you cook will be a disaster. You also can’t touch flowers because they’ll die quicker, or cradle babies because you’ll cause them to get sick. Women really are witches.

Apparently, you cannot wash or cut your hair. Unless you want ghosts to come and haunt you, you need to wash your pads before throwing them out (another great one, in my opinion). And of course, how can I forget the beloved “all women get PMS and they are all cranky and irritable.”

My favorite is that you cannot have sex because that can kill your partner.

However, in some societies, menstruation is seen as protective and empowering, and offers women a space set apart from men (they knew what they were doing). Some cultures believe that menstruating women have increased psychic abilities, and become strong enough to heal the sick. Yet even though these beliefs aren’t necessarily harmful, they are still ridiculous. Or maybe I’m not lucky and didn’t get the ability to heal sick people. 

But what surprised me even more was how much people seem to care about something that seems as common and normal as brushing your teeth in the morning or washing your hands when you come home. 

In conclusion of all this madness, please listen to the Buddhists, who view menstruation as “a natural physical excretion that women have to go through on a monthly basis, nothing more or less.”