We hear the phrase “periods happen naturally” whenever teachers bring it up during sex ed. Despite all the “education” over menstruation, people still shy away from the topic and stigmatize periods. The shame society associates with menstruation manifests in many aspects of women’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. These issues derive from ignorance and the casual jokes that many who don’t menstruate make.
The lack of knowledge about menstruation also comes from vernacular speech. In Korea, women (especially young girls) feel insecure about openly talking about periods and instead use euphemisms such as “마법의 날 (the magic day)” or simply, “the day.” This arises from the cultural taboo around the topic.
Although periods supposedly only matter to women, we must address this problem, as this stigma and lack of awareness bleeds into women’s minds and makes them view menstruation as a disgrace rather than a sign of health. In a study by THINX, 73 percent of women said they purposefully hid their pads or tampons on the 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 women the most. Girls exposed to the stereotypes around periods from a young age without proper information were more prone to menstrual distress. In a conversation with a fifth-grade teacher at Daegu International School about menstruation, 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 sexuality bleeds into parents’ minds as well, making 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 around menstruation. Moreover, up to 27 percent of girls start their periods before they learn about it in school, which often leads to fear and discomfort. Despite this, legislation like the ‘Don’t Say Period’ bill, bars early education on these crucial topics.
As is with fighting all stereotypes, this education needs to happen before elementary school when children can accept periods as a natural part of life, rather than something shameful. According to California pediatrician Jan Johnson, by this age, children can understand the basics of menstruation, and some extra knowledge of bodily processes will never hurt them. Only such education can remove the stigma that bleeds into our minds.
–July 17, 2023–
