Stigma with Period Production

Do you remember your secret period stories? Stuffing a pad into your pocket and sneaking it to the washroom at school? Hiding a tampon under your sweatshirt while rushing to the bathroom? Talking about it in hushed voices?

Menstruation has always been a taboo within society. Despite it being 2020 as conversations regarding feminism exist within our fill into our social spheres (not as much as we'd like but nevertheless), periods are still considered a cursed illness that attacks women. How will this perception change if we don’t start having normalized conversations about periods, a normal part of a female’s life? Men continue to recoil at the mention of "periods" or "tampons" and even politicians refuse to acknowledge menstrual issues. Even Instagram, one of the most widely used social media platforms, continues to remove content that discusses talks about periods for and classifies them as "inappropriate content," while simultaneously allows for posts that invite hate speech against women. Why is it that society causes females to be ashamed of something so natural and inevitable?

Lack of awareness around periods and period products cause a societal pressure people feel to not discuss these issues, and this silence, and thus lack of awareness, feed the stigma surrounding period products. These stereotypes and lack of conversation further lead to problems.

Name: Sana Bashir

Editor: Claire Ottenstein