Written by: Linda Berry (she/her).
Edited by: Zahra Taboun (she/her).
In my last year of middle school in 2017, I remember being in health class arguing with my friend, when a boy in our class leaned over his chair and asked, “is it that time of the month again?” His comment made me grow angry, as he was assuming my behaviour was caused by premenstrual syndrome. I thought back to what we had learned earlier that year about menstruation, and remembered only learning the very basic technicalities of it; we never learned about period disorders and menstrual sanitary health, period inequity, and possibly most importantly, that periods are nothing to be ashamed of.
Unfortunately, the stigmatization of menstruation is rampant all around the world, including Canada. The International Women’s Health Coalition conducted a study which found that there are approximately 5,000 slang words which are used to refer to menstruation in 10 different languages (1). Some common slang words in the english language referring to periods include shark week, code red, and aunt flow, among many others. The stigmatization around menstruation is caused by inadequate education about menstrual health, and cultural attitudes that deem menstruation as something dirty and disgusting – a taboo topic that is off limits for discussion. The results of this stigmatization are incredibly harmful to menstruators across Canada.
To begin, shaming menstruators has had detrimental impacts on their self-esteem and self-confidence. A report from Plan International Canada found that 74% of women under the age of 25 reported having been accused of having pms. The report also found that 50% of women have lied about being on their period, and a shocking 83% of young Canadians aged 13-21 say that they had tried to hide being on their period. Additionally, the report found that when young girls first get their periods, 36% say they felt scared, 39% felt confused, and 33% felt embarrassed (2). These statistics demonstrate that there is a lack of understanding and strong sense of shame associated with menstruation among Canadians.
Conversations are key to breaking down the barriers of stigmatization towards menstrual health.
Furthermore, it was found that menstruation is a subject in which very few feel comfortable discussing. In Canada, menstruation is considered one of the most taboo topics to discuss, even more than politics or sex. The Plan International report found that only 46% of Canadians are comfortable talking openly about periods, compared to 49% discussing sex or politics (2). This is especially concerning, since their shame limits them from admitting to having menstrual health concerns or problems, leaving them more likely to experience menstrual health problems without medical support.
Additionally, stigma surrounding menstruation in Canada has led to more serious problems such as period poverty. There was a national survey conducted which reported that one third of Canadian women under the age of 25 have struggled to afford period products for themselves and their dependents (3). Shockingly, 14% of Canadian women have been forced to use unsanitary products for their periods, such as old t-shirts, socks, rags, and sometimes even worse. Unfortunately, stigmatization has been an immense barrier in raising awareness about period poverty, as it was found that approximately 78% Canadians said that they did not know what period poverty was at all (4).
Furthermore, inadequate public education for menstrual health has resulted in poor health. It was found that in Canada, over 500, 000 women, or 7% of Canadian women, have endometriosis, a common period disorder that causes severe period pain, cramping, heavy periods, and infertility. Due to lack of awareness about this disorder, research shows that Canadian women usually have a diagnosis delay of over five years, leaving them without the proper treatment (5). Another menstrual health problem that few Canadians know of is toxic shock syndrome, a fatal condition caused by unsanitary practices during menstruation. Research found that between the years of 1976 and 1981, 53 cases of toxic shock syndrome were reported in Canada, and three cases resulted in death. Of these cases, 36 were related to tampon use (6). Many menstruators are unaware of the impacts of unsanitary menstrual health measures, or the symptoms of toxic shock syndrome. Learning about the proper application and sanitation measures for menstruation and common menstrual health issues in our public educational system could be life saving.
There is even more stigmatization surrounding menstrual health for trans and gender non-conforming individuals.
Lastly, there is even more stigmatization surrounding menstrual health for trans and gender non-conforming individuals, since menstruation has always been associated with womanhood and femininity. As a result, these communities have experienced challenges such as gender dysphoria, inadequate access to menstrual products, and safety concerns regarding menstrual health. Period products have often been found in the “feminine hygiene” aisle at the grocery store, and are usually wrapped in pink packaging to associate them with femininity, which can leave these communities feeling uncomfortable purchasing the products. Kenny Ethan Jones, a trans person and menstruator, reported when having his first period, “I felt isolated; everything about periods was tailored to girls, yet me, a boy, was experiencing this and nothing in the world documented that.” Additionally, trans and non-conforming individuals may not even have access to free menstrual products, since these products are usually left in women’s restrooms, which may not be the restrooms that they all feel comfortable using. This denies them the access that many women who struggle financially may have to free period products. Furthermore, many of these individuals experience fear in using public restrooms while on their period due to harassment from being seen in a male washroom carrying a pad or tampon (7).
In Canada, it’s clear that there is a lot of stigma surrounding menstruation, resulting in shame and lack of understanding for menstruators, lack of awareness and action to resolve period poverty, lack of awareness surrounding menstrual health, and lack of representation for non-conforming and trans individuals. The barriers of stigma surrounding menstruation need to be broken down in order to provide the resources and knowledge for Canadian menstruators to thrive. Canadian health care workers can better achieve this through advocating for increased public education about menstruation, having more conversations in the effort to destigmatize and normalize menstruation, and increasing representation in menstrual health for trans and gender-nonconforming individuals while defeminizing menstruation to create a more inclusive and safe menstrual health culture for all.
References:
1. Litman J. Menstruation Stigma Must Stop. Period. [Internet]. The Public Health Advocate. 2018 [cited 2021Jun27]. Available from: https://pha.berkeley.edu/2018/06/05/menstruation-stigma-must-stop-period/
2. Plan International Canada. Let’s Talk Periods! Menstrual Health & Hygiene in Canada [Internet]. Always Plan CA Lets Talk Periods Full Report. Available from: https://always.com/en-us/-/media/Always/Images/Callouts/Desktop/Brand%20Experience/MHH%20Canada/PDF/New%20PDF/Always%20%20Plan%20CA%20%20Lets%20Talk%20Periods%20%20Full%20Report
3. Canada PI. Boys Need To Start Talking, And Learning, About Periods [Internet]. HuffPost Canada. HuffPost Canada; 2018 [cited 2021Jun27]. Available from: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/plan-international-canada/menstruation-periods-tampons-boys_a_23443823/
4. Cision. Nearly one quarter of Canadian women have experienced inadequate access to period products, causing devastating effects on their health and wellness [Internet]. Cision Canada. 2020 [cited 2021Jun29]. Available from: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/nearly-one-quarter-of-canadian-women-have-experienced-inadequate-access-to-period-products-causing-devastating-effects-on-their-health-and-wellness-839484279.html
5. Canada AV. Endometriosis: an invisible disease affecting half a million Canadians [Internet]. Cision Canada. 2020 [cited 2021Jun27]. Available from: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/endometriosis-an-invisible-disease-affecting-half-a-million-canadians-806444898.html
6. Lindsay B. Toxic shock syndrome: B.C. teen’s death revives an ’80s anxiety | CBC News [Internet]. CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada; 2018 [cited 2021Jun27]. Available from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/toxic-shock-syndrome-1.4723453
7. Atkins C. For transgender men, pain of menstruation is more than just physical [Internet]. NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group; 2020 [cited 2021Jun27]. Available from: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/transgender-men-pain-menstruation-more-just-physical-n1113961
