“Women have become so adroit at sparing men’s blushes and shaming each other that they have either wittingly or unwittingly denied themselves the chance to talk about their periods, becoming weirdly active participants in the great global hush-up.”
I found this book in my lovely Expand book box and immediately loved it. I was only a few pages into this book, and I already knew how good it would be.
“I raise this mad urge towards concealment not because I think women should be talking about their periods all the time, but because this culture can harm women’s health.”
If you love "fun fact" stories, you’ll love the many anecdotes in this book, sadly revealing the level of shame around periods. The story of her first period made me want to hug her and especially her mom who did an amazing job helping her daughter come across periods with confidence.
Most of the stories can also make you feel kind of hopeless. Consider for instance her story about the NASA engineers who tried to figure out how any tampons Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, would need for her week-long historic mission in 1983.
« Their guess? A flabbergasting one hundred. For a seven-day gig. And these are some of the smartest menfolk in the world. »
I also loved to learn about all the myths around periods, not only in religion (they almost all deem women impure at this time of the month), but also myths around daily activities. « Walk through fields of courgettes, pumpkins or fruit trees -all will rot and wither » REALLY?
The debate around menstrual leave is also discussed in this book. Would it help women in the workplace or would it hurt our employability and careers?
“It's just silly that women are still in a position where they are made to feel that the ideal worker body is a male, and so any sign of femaleness must be concealed.”
Written by Mathilde C.