Facts about Periods that Girls can Relate to and Boys can Learn from

Periods are something that are made taboo and shameful in our society. We generally don't talk about it. For the Tamil society, the menarche of a girl is announced to all and sundry by puberty function and then the girl gets told to keep the rest of her menstruation a guarded secret.

Indian guys, particularly Tamil guys have misconceptions about periods in the name of 'understanding women and their bane.' To further educate these guys, I have listed 10 relatable facts about periods. Here we go!

1. You can never be sure that your period will come on the day you think it should come

The female reproductive organ has a mind of its own. You can predict your period’s arrival but it never arrives on the day you think it will. If it’s early, you’ll be cursing, “Damn you, I wasn’t expecting you so early!” If it delays, even for 1 or 2 days, you get all kinds of doubts depending on your age, sex life and marital status, “Oh shit, I haven’t got my period yet, am I fertile/at menopausal stage/pregnant?” Then it comes and life takes its normal course.

2. You walk funny coz there’s a wad in between your legs

You know the ‘duck walk’? We all have done that because of sanitary napkins between our legs, especially when we were getting our first periods. We struggle to use tampons or menstrual cups because there are tricks to place em and they need practice – some discomfort is also involved.

3. Staining your clothes is your worst nightmare

Thanks to the shame associated with periods, staining is the dreaded tell-tale, especially when the flow is heavy. You also ask your female classmate/colleague to check your back to see if there any stains. You like to wear dark colored skirt or pants so even if you stain, it won’t be visible.

4. You sit on your ass fully to avoid staining

You lean on your chair in school or workplace chair and sit on your ass fully. This is to intercept period blood from leaking to your butt, staining your clothes.

5. That Niagara rush moment when you sneeze/cough/laugh out loud

The pressure exerted on your uterus which is shedding the endometrium lining when you sneeze/cough/lol, makes your period blood gush out from your vagina. I always liked to think that the gushes actually reduce my bleed-out time.

6. You get that Psycho movie moments in the bathroom

Yes, blood everywhere on the bathroom floor when you bathe as you wash up unless you sit on the toilet and bathe. You also can't wipe your vagina deeply as blood will stain your towel.

7. You would have asked for a pad from someone

Your period would have caught you unawares and you’re not prepared for it – that’s when you SOS your friend/classmate/colleague for a pad.  

8. The pain or the absence of pain dilemma

You’d know that the period experience is different for everyone. If you have period pain, you’d be dreading them and be jealous of your friends who don’t feel a thing. If you don’t have period pain, there is a tendency of you viewing those who do have period pain as ‘overreacting’.

9. Accidental masturbation in the shower

You want to clean your vagina from any vestige of period blood while showering so you direct the shower jet to it and the water jet hits your clitoris resulting in stimulation. Not a bad thing at all though. Now, lentils, don’t jump at this. There is nothing wrong in masturbating and if you say women shouldn’t masturbate, you walk your talk and lead the way by stopping jerking off at porn.

10. You fake period cramps to escape standing in the assembly/ PE class

Yeah, this is one perk of being a girl. Girls being stopped from attending school because of period or because they started menstruating, not a perk.  Now, lentils, don’t say ‘you won’t stand in assembly but want to enter temples when menstruating?” Nope, it’s us not wanting to feel guilty when we forget that we are menstruating and go into puja room. It’s us wanting to feel like an equal human as men and not feel like some kind of filthy creature because of something we can’t control, be it at home or anywhere.  

                                                         

Periods make humanity a possibility. Just say it as it is. There’s nothing to be shameful about it. If you think periods is a shame, as a resultant of periods, you are a shame.