Unfortunately, women didn’t sign up to have periods; they just came as part of the package. There were no T&Cs; it was just a mandatory clause in our contract. I started my period at age 14. In primary school, girls were given a talk about sanitary products. But nothing about the trials and tribulations a period would bring every month for every woman. Nobody talked to us about hormones or told us what was normal and/or abnormal.
20 years ago, periods/menstruation cycles were deemed a taboo subject to discuss openly. Thanks to social media, I see many TikToks of women or even GPs discussing what is normal and abnormal when it comes to your menstrual cycle. Women make funny and relatable videos of what being on your period is like. This shows how less of a taboo subject menstruation is nowadays.
However, one big question is this – is menstruation being presented badly in the media?
Representation really does matter when it comes to menstruation. Even today, I still see menstruation being portrayed negatively. Sometimes it is portrayed as something that doesn’t need to be talked about. There seems to be a strong emphasis on shame and secrecy – like it needs to be hidden away because it’s a burden for others to know about. I do think that sometimes the media portrays women as being emotionally unstable or irrational during their menstrual cycle. Obviously, hormones do have their part to play, but some forget that men have hormones too, not just women.
How are we still using euphemisms to describe a woman’s menstrual cycle?
When people refer to a woman’s period as their “time of the month” – that really grates on me. Why are we still living in a society that refers to a woman’s menstrual cycle by that phrase?
Sometimes advertising isn’t representative
I think we’ve all seen the menstrual product adverts on TV, the ones where they use blue liquid rather than red to present how much the pad or period pants can hold. It kind of contributes to the idea that periods should be hidden.
Now, not all media outlets portray menstruation badly.
TV programmes i.e. soap operas have played out storylines in the past about menstruation-related subjects e.g. menopause, endometriosis, PMDD etc. You find that soap operas and dramas really portray this side of things well.
Magazine shows like This Morning does weekly phone-ins with a GP about your ailments. Also, they may do a special item about periods/menstruation to make some women feel less alone with their period predicaments.
TV shows doing stuff like this disprove stereotypes, and allow others to learn and begin conversations.
When it comes down to it, representation is what truly matters.
Increasing visibility, showing diversity and showing fair representation in the media can normalise something that women experience for half of their lives.
