bunny said: I wanted to post on the last one, basically affirming your stance and wondering why menstruation holds such weird taboo power. Men are squeamish about these things. Why?
ninsi said: i have a few ideas:
1) "never trust anything that bleeds for 7 days and doesn't die"
2) they don't understand, and therefore fear it
3) we bitch about it so much, they've associated negatively with it
4) historically perhaps even historically, it's been taboo
5) most people consider stuff that comes out of ones nether regions gross + most people consider blood gross = menstration = supergross
ok. here's my thoughts on her points, and she's got some good ones.
1) Do NOT ever say this to my face. It will piss me of somethin' fierce, and I won't be able to be civil to you for quite some time. This is such a piece of bullshit that it almost makes me completely inarticulate, even now. I think that it is a cover for the reality, which starts with the next point.
2) I think this is more like a real answer. But I still think it's kind of a cop out.
Fellas. This is not that scary. Just ask your girl about it, have an adult conversation. If it freaks you out to talk to your partner, ask a female friend. Ask me, I'll be straight with you. Think about it this way: if she's on her period, she's not pregnant.
3) We do bitch about it. And we do tend to do it a lot. But there are a couple of reasons for that. It it a shift in hormones, fellas, and it happens to you too, just not as dramatically. And it is uncomfortable. It does make things hurt, and our clothes tend to not fit right. But almost always we would rather go through this than be pregnant. Almost.
4)It has been taboo for just about forever. But that doesn't mean it has to continue to be. It also used to be taboo for women to show their ankles, or wear their hair down before/after they were married. Think about it.
5)ok. I can give on this one. HOWEVER, I still think that this attitude is prudish and artificial; I think that girls that act all squeamish and freaked out by this subject are just putting on an act that they think is neccessary. I find this a juvenile attitude/behavior. I also think it shows a distinct gap in education, or perhaps intelligence.
There was something I was going to post about today, but I got distracted by this thought line. If I think of it later, I will write it down so I can tell you about it ...
