Caution: Girl Stuff

[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.

[3894]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

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.

Been there, believe me. And I have even been told by another woman that my hysterectomy was due to me buying into the patriarchy. I am not kidding.

A large part of me is thinking menstrual/physical suppression equals emotional suppression of yet another generation of women. Let's personalize this. I'm thinking of my two daughters, ages 17 and 14. I want things to be different for them than they were for me. I hope my two daughters can resist the constant bombardment of messages that teach women to dread menstruation, to conform to media-driven images of beauty, to become a silent, smiling, nodding people-pleaser. There has to be a correlation between our society's menstrual taboo and rampant low self-esteem expressed by eating disorders (and other things).