Caution: Girl Stuff

[Alex]

It's good to know that us poor suburban kids were hip to the Hell's Angels lingo.

For a while, the "why is pubic hair curly" joke and the meaning of "red wings" was the extend of my conception of oral sex.

[3894]

In matrifocal cultures, menstruation is powerful and sacred. In our patriarchal society, menstruation is disempowered and chemically suppressed. Menstruation is not "the curse".

Women's menstrual and reproductive problems often begin during periods of stress. One cause of the stress is the conflict of being female in a male-oriented, male-dominated society where there are few positive views of the feminine and little support of the female cycle. In many cultures women are highly revered, but also avoided because of their relationship to blood, which is seen as a symbol for life and death. In the past, blood mysteries were seen as the divine power of women; they formed the basis of religious rites which we enact even today in some cultures. The power of woman-say the Native Americans-lies in her ability to give life and to use this creativity in different ways. Patriarchal societies, however view women's blood mysteries as a threat to their power, and have suppressed woman and their knowledge of their menstrual power.

-Women's Blood Mysteries by Adelheid Ohlig

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by 3894

In matrifocal cultures, menstruation is powerful and sacred. In our patriarchal society, menstruation is disempowered and chemically suppressed. Menstruation is not "the curse".

So where does this fit in?

http://www.mikvahproject.com/infoabout2.html

http://www.pass.to/newsletter/take_me_to_the_mikveh.htm

[3894]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

So where does this fit in?

http://www.mikvahproject.com/infoabout2.html

http://www.pass.to/newsletter/take_me_to_the_mikveh.htm

The second article answers your question really well. Fun fact: I actually knew a woman in college whose last name was Mikvah, although it might have been spelled with a "c".

Are there women here who practice mikveh?

[Strangler Lewis]

Well, it answers it, but does it answer it in a good way or in an internalized victimization way: "I like being a prostitute; it's empowering." "I put the boot on my own throat." Etc.

[Alex]

Interesting. So they do it for different reasons, in different ways, on different occasions and still call it the same thing?

Why not just give it a new name and remove any controversy?

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by 3894

In matrifocal cultures, menstruation is powerful and sacred. In our patriarchal society, menstruation is disempowered and chemically suppressed. Menstruation is not "the curse".

Did anyone say "the curse"? Not me. I'm not offended by the term though. We are all bound by our bodily requirements, part of the reason we drink caffeine, eat large meals, and use toilet paper.

I may sound crazy to you, but I will say very easily that I don't want my menstration "empowered". I don't want to be respected for a body function. I would like to "suppress" it. In Jr. High I was let out from school for horrific cramps on multiple occasions. I would go home and lay in the fetal position in bed, or do the knees on my chest thing, just wishing I could pass out from the pain. I have memories of entire outings (Magic Mountain, for one) ruined for me due to surprise periods and crippling cramps. Only after I disempowered and chemically suppressed my sacred blessing from Mother Earth's womb was I ever really free of it.

I know that my period is a monthly reminder that I can give birth, and that's a wonderful thing. But the reminder itself can fvck off. I understand what you are trying to say about womanhood, but I've given myself one too many cotton injections and ruined too many pairs of pants to forget that having my period sucks, regardless of whether we're a matriarchal or patriarchal society. (How come you used "patriarchal" but not "matriarchal"?)

I don't have much experience with Mikveh. I find it very similar to the ritual washing of hands before meals, and the laws against "unclean" animals. These were great ideas to help keep things healthy before scientific inquiry was invented. As far as ancient traditions go, us Jews were the cleanest, I guess.