Let’s Talk About Your Period!

    Due to the lack of sexual education in Russia, full-on prudishness and triumphing patriarchy, I had to learn about menstruation in secret, when I was about 14 years old and have been already having periods for at least a year. My school teacher brought only girls to a classroom and talked about tampons and sanitary pads while boys were in the classroom nearby sitting and waiting cluelessly. I remember how shy we were, how uncomfortable our teacher was, and how curious boys were about what was going on. We were talking about menstruation – something you cannot discuss, something you should be ashamed of, something you should hide from men. 

    You feel terrible, you experience pain in all-new places, you leak blood and leave stains on your skirt or school bench and feel ashamed. You feel like there must be something wrong with you but you cannot talk to anyone about it – it’s against the rules. You have to hide it!

    The stigma was so far ahead of me that I couldn’t even talk to my mother about my feelings and experiences. I remember how I used to leak almost every time and hide it by carrying my purse in an awkward and weird way. Figuring out which methods to use and how to use them is what our system failed to teach us. For some reason, using a tampon was frowned upon. There was a rumor that you might lose your virginity with it! How crazy is that?

    Recently, Zomato – a food delivery company in India – has implemented a menstruation leave policy that triggers a lot of conspiracies and contradictions. Some people say, this policy derives from a conservative tradition of upper Hindu caste who did now allow women to touch food while menstruating. On top of that, women argue that this policy will devalue the entire feminist fight against gendering at work. 

    I am highly underqualified to argue about Indian culture and politics, however, I cannot help to be happy about the fact that it is finally acceptable to talk about menstruation. Finally, we are not ashamed, we are not trying to protect men’s feelings and hide the fact that we bleed once a month. We can show actual red sanitary pads in commercials and not this blue water crap.

    I am happy that the new generation will grow up in a world where it is ok to discuss it, share your experiences, and even complain to your boyfriend. I am glad that they will not hear the question like: “oh, is it your time of the month?” from obnoxious men who have no clue what they are even talking about. I am psyched that boys will learn about menstruation early on, not from teachers but probably from the media or their female classmates, and become more tolerant and open-minded.