*This article was originally published in Headliners in Education.
We hear the phrase “periods happen naturally” whenever teachers bring it up during sex ed. However, despite all this “education”, people still shy away from and stigmatize the topic. The shame society associates with menstruation manifests itself in many aspects of people’s lives.
While at school, a fellow student rummaged through my friend’s bag and found her pads. He immediately asked, “What are these? Diapers?” My friend, unsure how to respond, stormed out in embarrassment. Just from this incident, you can see how tremendously the lack of knowledge on periods impacts those who experience it all throughout their lifetimes. These issues derive from ignorance and the lighthearted attitude of those unfamiliar with the subject.
This negligence can also be reflected in the usage of vernacular speech. In Korea, people who have periods (especially young girls) rarely open up about their cycles, and instead use euphemisms such as “마법의 날 (the magic day)” or simply, “the day.” This arises from cultural taboos and the public’s refusal to have open conversations on the topic.
Though the issue mainly concerns people with biologically female bodies, we must address this problem collectively. Such stigma and lack of awareness bleeds into all of our minds and makes us view our physiological needs as a disgrace, rather than a sign of health. In a study by THINX, 73 percent of women said that they purposefully hide their pads or tampons on their way to the bathroom. Compared to how we openly flaunt our “healthy, glossy hair,” for example, we can see how ludicrous period shaming is.
Even worse, this absurdity affects young minds the most. Girls exposed to stereotypes from a young age without proper information are more prone to menstrual distress. In a conversation with Ms. Morissette, she recounted that some girls came to her for pads because they felt too uncomfortable to talk to their own parents. According to research, the connection society makes between periods and sex influences parents as well and makes it harder for them to approach their children about it.
The flaws of sex-ed curriculums require a new course of action. By the time kids reach their pre-teen years, they already connect menstruation with “sexuality,” and it becomes veiled by shame. The term “sex education” itself makes teenagers associate periods with sex and exacerbates the stigma towards menstruation. Moreover, up to 27 percent of girls start their cycle before they learn about it in school, which often heightens fear and discomfort. Despite this, legislation like the ‘Don’t Say Period’ bill bars early education on these crucial topics.
As is with fighting any stereotype, this education needs to happen before elementary school so that children come to accept periods as a natural part of life, rather than a humiliation. According to pediatrician Jan Johnson, children can understand the basics of anatomy from an early age, and extra knowledge of the bodily processes won’t hurt. Only such education can remove the disfigurement that seeps into our minds.
