PERIO END THE STIGMA,

Around the globe, the first period of a young girl signifies a new stage of her life: womanhood. This new stage of life, though initially appearing exciting, brings stigma. With varying levels of severity for women worldwide, stigma surrounding menstruation becomes the cause of inequity and abuse. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 1.8 billion women menstruate each month, with many of them experiencing the process through shame and indignity.

“I’m somewhat disappointed that this [menstrual stigma] is still going on… I think as a society in general we need to be more tolerant about all people,” pediatrician Dr. Anna McConnell said.

When a girl gets her first period, the perspective of her in some people’s minds shifts from a young innocent child to an unhygienic and matured woman. Although a natural cycle has begun, the attitudes and perceptions of menstruating girls everywhere change more rapidly than their bodies. According to the New York Post, 42% of women in the United States have experienced period shaming, with one in five being shamed by a male friend and one in 10 being shamed by a classmate.

and president of Women of Tomorrow

Condoleezza Alexis said.

When something is surrounded, or like menstruation, engulfed in stigma, it causes repercussions beyond the known taboo. Menstruation opens up the doors for unintended teen pregnancy, currently 19 states teach abstinence-only sex education, which has proven ineffective, as many of these states simultaneously have the highest percentage of teenage pregnancies.

“Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed” is a phrase that received notoriety through alt-right social media, signifying that once a woman begins her menstrual cycle, she is old enough for sexual reproduction. This phrase further perpetuates the danger carried by menstruation stigma; unfortunately, for many young girls, the beginning of a period leads to sexual violence. Ideologies like the one above further promote toxic cultures that harm girls and women.

Child marriage is a consequence especially prevalent in non-Western countries and cultures, as the start of menstruation indicates womanhood, which is commonly misrepresented as readiness to wed. Girls Not Brides, a charitable organization fighting to eliminate child marriage, records that 37% of girls in Nepal are married before the age of 18. As unsafe conditions continue to prevail with a scarce amount of interference, the current culture surrounding periods harms menstruating

Free and accessible water fountains and toilet paper in public spaces are a given — these items are used for uncontrollable bodily functions and are therefore a menstruate — an uncontrollable bodily function — do not have access to period products in public or private spaces. The lack of access to menstrual products negatively impacts girls and bars their educational and individual progress. According to the University of Michigan, one in five American girls miss school due to a lack of menstrual products. Furthermore, a study conducted by Thinx and PERIOD found that 20% of American teenagers struggled to afford menstrual products. Period poverty is a solvable dilemma where consequences are exacerbated by menstrual stigma.

“With period stigma comes people not wanting to talk about periods or address the situation in general and because of that a lot of important topics aren’t discussed or talked about…that directly leads to period poverty,” Alexis said.

The stigma surrounding menstruation

Sofia Taddeo-Goldstein Opinion Editor s.taddeogoldstein.thepanther@gmail.com

DESIGN BY ELLA PEDROSO

500 MILLION

People lack access to menstrual products and hygiene facilities

16.9 million People who menstruate in the US are living in poverty

23 percent Of students have struggled to afford period products

1 in 5 American girls miss school due to lack of period products

57 percent of students say they feel their school doesn’t care about them if they don’t provide free period products in the bathrooms

23 percent of students have struggled to afford period products.

“I’m really thankful to work here and be pregnant working at Palmetto, because my teacher friends are super supportive and share a lot of stories during lunch about their experiences, and when I need to take a step back, I feel like I have the support to do so”