We've have had periods for, like, ever which means we get asked the same questions over and over. There's so much misinformation and misconceptions about periods floating around, so here's what people in your life wish you knew about the time of the month from the experiences of people we surveyed!
1. “Tampons are hella expensive”
Every month we have to pay extra for a natural biological function. Not fun okay, not fun.
2. “Every period is different and different ones have different symptoms.”
You can't compare my period to someone else's. Just because your previous girlfriend or friend/sister/mom had a certain type of period, or didn't have cramps, doesn't set that as a baseline for mine. EVERY ONE IS DIFFERENT.
3. “It can be cripplingly painful to use basic sanitary products like tampons--they are not toys."
Whether you're trying the cup for the first time, or just living your life periods can be uncomfortable.
4. “How much $$ we spend every year on products, pain meds, heating pads, birth control, etc.”
Periods (and just being a woman in general) costs, which is hard because these are things we cannot help our body doing! This is why period poverty is also a really real, real thing.
5. “Birth control helps take [periods] from unbearable to tolerable, it’s not just to prevent kids!”
Birth control can help manage absolutely unbearable periods and their side effects like management of flow or cramp pain. We know countless women who rely on it to help with symptoms. It's so important.
6. “WHAT IT FEELS LIKE.”
The lining of my uterus is being ripped out. There are going to be side effects okay, it's no wonder. Cramp pain is real.
7. “That they really, truly suck.”
We're bleeding, our bodies are attacking us from the inside, and we're hungry AF. It's not ideal okay.
8. “The pain and how annoying it is when you bleed through.”
Bleeding through was created by the devil, change my mind.
9. “The PAINNNNNNN”
(See earlier point)
10. “They last longer than a day lol”
It's not a one day experience. For some people it can last much, much longer. We can't just "get over it" our body doesn't let us.
11. “While we’re not “sick”, we are severely uncomfortable and in pain for days on end.”
12. “We can’t “hold it in” and also yes, it does hurt as bad as we say it does.”
You can't "hold in" the blood. The menstrual blood doesn't come out of the same area that urine does!
13. “That it doesn’t mean I’m peeing blood out and knowledge about period products.”
It is 100000% guaranteed that someone you know will have a period. There's no way you can go through life without knowing someone who will have one and be affected by it. Educate yourself!
14. “Women find it just as aggravating as you do that we can’t control our emotions during our period.”
PMS is real and we get frustrated by it too. Know that we're trying our best to manage symptoms but our body sometimes works against us!
Do you agree with this list? List the one's you think we missed in the comments! If you liked the list feel free to share below! Get us some chocolate, or a way to stop our cramps to or just be considerate.
2 comments
Hi Ashley!
I won’t let us reply to your comment, but we wanted to say how much we appreciated your comment on our post. We’ve since gone in and changed the title because you’re so right. There’s so much misinformation floating everywhere regardless of gender and this has to be addressed! Thank you for your feedback.
I feel like this list could’ve been more inclusive. Even if you’re going to be trans- or non-binary exclusionary, I have heard these things from cis women. My grandmother, who had a hysterectomy after my dad was born, regularly tries to tell me outdated things about periods. Someone in a period group I’m in on FB shamed a poster asking for advice, saying she just holds it in until she can get to a toilet. Little girls regularly share horror stories from a friend of a friend that are rarely true. Everyone has some moment of misinformation regarding menstruation. Something like “14 Things We Wish More People Knew About Periods” covers cisgendered people, transgendered people, people outside of the gender binary, people of all ages and education levels, etc.