"Red alert, ragnagnas, ketchup week, tagadas" ... Lots of cute and delicate nicknames to imitate the natural menstrual cycle of women.
"I'm indisposed, this is not the right week, I'm in my red week" an abundance of pretty little phrases to embellish this sweet time that many dread.
Is this a way to avoid saying the word " Period " to better stigmatize them?
Let's go back to the time of Socrates in the 5th century B.C. to understand.
According to the Greek philosopher, women do not participate in procreation, they are only the recipients of the homunculus (the miniature man) deposited in them by man. And are thus, inferior beings.
As soon as the patriarchy began to interfere in societies, blood was split in two. The noble blood of men, the strong blood of the strong sex (the wounds of war or hunting) and on the other the blood of women, the dirty blood of the weak sex.
So why has it become a taboo? The birth of a taboo generally results from a deep fear of a power that we fear, that we dread. The centuries, the decades punctuated by the patriarchy wanted to muzzle the power of the body of the women by exerting a control, a pressure.
This phenomenon has grown and become a part of our culture. As children, we have all seen a television commercial where a woman is smiling as she pours a blue liquid onto a sanitary napkin. Pre-teenagers, teenagers, we all had this reflection at the arrival of the first Period "You are a woman now!
All this mystery persists in some families because many still associate Period with sexuality and/or first intercourse. Without simply associating it with human nature and biology.
In France, the word has been getting out for a few years.
Many women have used their influence to lift the veil on Period and on the disease that results from it for some: endometriosis.
The products are diversifying on the French market: panties from Period, menstrual cups, hormonal gels, boxes for the first Period...
The word is free, women went out in the street to demonstrate the obtaining of the "Pink Tax" for hygienic products. On social networks, some influencers have taken it upon themselves to assume and normalize panties sometimes stained during their Period. Associations and collections have been created in order to allow all women in precarious situations to benefit from this tax.
In some countries, the mystery remains for young girls:
Iran: 48% of girls think that Period is a disease.
Bolivia: Ban on throwing away towels in the trash. Young girls think that Period cause serious diseases such as cancer
Malawi: The Period must remain secret. They are forbidden to talk to boys during this period
Afghanistan: Showering is forbidden during Period or you will become sterile
Things are evolving, the cards are being redistributed and Period are changing, but there is still a long way to go.
Find Inher, our 360° solution for Period.
