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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
fast-paced
Really wanted to love this but found it a bit surface level. Would have appreciated reading from a wider range of experiences too; save from the brief mention of one trans man this is entirely cis/heterosexual focussed.
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Periods. A subject that for some reason people feel uncomfortable talking about. I like that this book is essentially all about that. Why is there a stigma attached to discussing periods?
It’s also a subject close to my heart. Barnett is a fellow endometriosis sufferer and I’m completely with her on her book’s message. Women must be able to discuss their periods without feeling shame or embarrassment, so that they have the confidence to know when something is wrong. Also, education about the topic is completely inadequate - we need to educate everyone (that includes girls, boys and men) about periods in a much more open and effective way.
Unfortunately, the structure and quality of the writing in the book is poor and doesn’t do the idea behind the book any justice at all. The chapters don’t flow together, instead they’re stuck next to each other at random. It’s messy and certain points are repeated unnecessarily throughout the book. Also, typos! And my version claims to be ‘revised and updated with new chapters’…perhaps the publisher could tidy it up a bit.
Despite this, please do give this book a read because it is so important that everyone is educated about a major part of women’s health so that women and girls can have discussions without feeling ashamed or embarrassed.
It’s also a subject close to my heart. Barnett is a fellow endometriosis sufferer and I’m completely with her on her book’s message. Women must be able to discuss their periods without feeling shame or embarrassment, so that they have the confidence to know when something is wrong. Also, education about the topic is completely inadequate - we need to educate everyone (that includes girls, boys and men) about periods in a much more open and effective way.
Unfortunately, the structure and quality of the writing in the book is poor and doesn’t do the idea behind the book any justice at all. The chapters don’t flow together, instead they’re stuck next to each other at random. It’s messy and certain points are repeated unnecessarily throughout the book. Also, typos! And my version claims to be ‘revised and updated with new chapters’…perhaps the publisher could tidy it up a bit.
Despite this, please do give this book a read because it is so important that everyone is educated about a major part of women’s health so that women and girls can have discussions without feeling ashamed or embarrassed.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
I loathe my period. Really, I do.
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
But, then again, I’m just about to get my period (Whoa!)
Periods, we all get periods
Every month, yo, that’s what the theory is
“Sheezus”, Lily Allen
There’s this story my Grandma tells, about her great-aunt or something, who started bleeding out of nowhere. She had no idea what was happening to her, but like a good girl decided not to worry her family and kept her newfound illness to herself. For days she was crying in the corners, thinking about her incurable disease and the burden she must carry by herself for as long as possible. She had resigned herself to dying.
She had just gotten her first period.
We have always laughed at this story, though perhaps we should be revolted by it- who’s to say you cannot have both reactions? Speaking as someone whose OCD went undiagnosed for a while, I know some things about believing you have some sort of rare, undetectable infection after having flushed a public toilet.
If blood had started coming out of my vagina like it did hers- out of nowhere- I would have certainly panicked. Not only that, I would have almost certainly pinpointed the infected handshake that’d caused it; and blamed myself for my compulsion for politeness outweighing that for hygiene- which is the highest in the hierarchy.
So, perhaps that is why I laugh: I know that unfounded feeling of blind infection. If you’re not crazy, you are dying. If you are not dying, you are crazy. Granted, it is completely ridiculous, and I was aware of that. But I couldn’t help it going on under the radar even if I was not actively thinking about it.
Even though I understand all of this, I still think the story is funny. It’s the unfathomability behind it- that no one had bothered to tell the poor girl- that really does it, in my opinion. It’s so absurd, and yet that is what some girls still go through, alone, given the taboo around periods.
And once you start thinking in 21st century terms, the story becomes a bit more than a simple anecdote regarding the ignorance of basic facts.
Granted, this is the same character who, in her wedding night, had to be given “the talk” by her new husband- so this was a family particularly unwilling to talk of anything remotely related to those parts. Apparently, the husband was very understanding and did not force or pressure her onto anything until she felt ready- still, mighty awkward, even for 19th century standards.
*
While this case is- hopefully- an extreme instance, Emma Barnett’s Period aims to start a conversation about menstruation and the many ways in which not talking about it have harmed women. She uses herself as an example, as her endometriosis could have been diagnosed much earlier, had she known her period pain was abnormal. Instead, Barnett spent decades thinking every woman was going through the same thing. Furthermore, it was only officially diagnosed once she was having trouble conceiving.
Barnett’s point that doctors only care to learn about women’s reproductive systems to the extent that it is about reproduction is eye-opening. There are a thousand fertility treatments, yet no determined causes of endometriosis. This *might* indicate greater concern with generating potential male heirs than a woman’s overall health.
Yet health is only one of the reasons why we should be talking about periods. It is closely followed by the obvious fact that periods are hilarious. They are the most untimely and inconvenient, and not talking about them because some stupid social norm dictates we shouldn’t is pathetic. As Barnett puts it, everyone has a good leak story.
Mine took place on the second year of high school, when my (male) cousin inconsiderately decided to stay at school for an hour longer, leaving me and my (female) cousin to hang out at a classroom with the interns, meant for studying.
I sat on a desk.
Soon enough the interns had to close, and I realised I could not get up. This desk was now my home, my place in the world, and I wouldn’t leave it, ever. My cousin convinced the internet to leave and helped me wipe the blood off the desk. It looked like paint.
The fact that this classroom was actively used by a morning class left me feeling quite sorry for whomever that desk belonged to. They never could have known how great an amount of blood had been spilt upon the surface on which they now spelt.
I was never squeamish about periods. Of course, it’s quite embarrassing to leak- especially if one is by a poolside being pulled in and criticised for being a buzzkill- but I was still in high school when I ditched my tampon/pad pouch/holder/case.
In Biology class, we talked about menstruation constantly. Sex Education in Brazil is exemplary in that I was not only taught about every single STD I could get at the age of ten, I could list every contraceptive known to man. So, if boys were supposed to answer what hormone is being released during which part of a woman’s cycle, they should not be shocked by the sight of a menstrual pad. And no one ever stared at me weirdly, either, for carrying a pad to the restroom.
I recall telling this to my mom; her being horrified. To me, carrying a case seemed like the most pointless nonsense ever. Girls know what you’re up to anyway, and boys are being shielded from what exactly? The idea that women are people, who bleed and pee and shit?
This is why it is important to learn about our reproductive systems, and how they work. I cannot even imagine a world in which school does not teach that over and again. In a way, you end up just as misguided as my grandma’s great-aunt, albeit in different ways.
The first time I heard about periods, I noticed my mother was bleeding and thought she was sick. She was quick to reassure me that she was fine, and she and my father explained this was something that happened every month, something to do with babies and all.
“Oh, so you are in heat.”, I said, “Mom is in heat!”
They were both mad at me when I said that, but who could blame me? I’d only ever seen that happen to my dog. That reminds me; I need to spay my dog- not that dog, that dog died, sadly, though they did meet; the dogs.
*
All in all, Emma Barnett’s book was a fun, informative read. The list of euphemisms for getting one’s period was the cherry on top- though the Brazilian one must be a mistranslation, since I have never heard anyone say that, whatever it was.
Barnett did not change my opinion concerning periods- I already shared her opinion. I do think it’s reminded me why having this discussion is important; and provided me with ammunition in the form of research, and some good laughs. There are some things more difficult to get on board with than others- free-bleeding, for instance, seems to my OCD like a health hazard- and I found it hard to wrap my mind around the idea of “missing” one’s period come menopause. That has got to be a very small amount of people.
Overall, however, I do feel more encouraged- almost excited- to speak about my period- isn’t that what her proposed period pride is about? Hopefully, men will read this book as well, and talking about periods will become commonplace.
And, while some might find this challenging to get through, it was to me as if a friend of mine were telling me about her cycle- that is why I in a way felt compelled to share in return. Such are the conversations we have about periods, and I hope we start having them more and more.
Periods, we all get periods
Every month, yo, that’s what the theory is
“Sheezus”, Lily Allen
There’s this story my Grandma tells, about her great-aunt or something, who started bleeding out of nowhere. She had no idea what was happening to her, but like a good girl decided not to worry her family and kept her newfound illness to herself. For days she was crying in the corners, thinking about her incurable disease and the burden she must carry by herself for as long as possible. She had resigned herself to dying.
She had just gotten her first period.
We have always laughed at this story, though perhaps we should be revolted by it- who’s to say you cannot have both reactions? Speaking as someone whose OCD went undiagnosed for a while, I know some things about believing you have some sort of rare, undetectable infection after having flushed a public toilet.
If blood had started coming out of my vagina like it did hers- out of nowhere- I would have certainly panicked. Not only that, I would have almost certainly pinpointed the infected handshake that’d caused it; and blamed myself for my compulsion for politeness outweighing that for hygiene- which is the highest in the hierarchy.
So, perhaps that is why I laugh: I know that unfounded feeling of blind infection. If you’re not crazy, you are dying. If you are not dying, you are crazy. Granted, it is completely ridiculous, and I was aware of that. But I couldn’t help it going on under the radar even if I was not actively thinking about it.
Even though I understand all of this, I still think the story is funny. It’s the unfathomability behind it- that no one had bothered to tell the poor girl- that really does it, in my opinion. It’s so absurd, and yet that is what some girls still go through, alone, given the taboo around periods.
And once you start thinking in 21st century terms, the story becomes a bit more than a simple anecdote regarding the ignorance of basic facts.
Granted, this is the same character who, in her wedding night, had to be given “the talk” by her new husband- so this was a family particularly unwilling to talk of anything remotely related to those parts. Apparently, the husband was very understanding and did not force or pressure her onto anything until she felt ready- still, mighty awkward, even for 19th century standards.
*
While this case is- hopefully- an extreme instance, Emma Barnett’s Period aims to start a conversation about menstruation and the many ways in which not talking about it have harmed women. She uses herself as an example, as her endometriosis could have been diagnosed much earlier, had she known her period pain was abnormal. Instead, Barnett spent decades thinking every woman was going through the same thing. Furthermore, it was only officially diagnosed once she was having trouble conceiving.
Barnett’s point that doctors only care to learn about women’s reproductive systems to the extent that it is about reproduction is eye-opening. There are a thousand fertility treatments, yet no determined causes of endometriosis. This *might* indicate greater concern with generating potential male heirs than a woman’s overall health.
Yet health is only one of the reasons why we should be talking about periods. It is closely followed by the obvious fact that periods are hilarious. They are the most untimely and inconvenient, and not talking about them because some stupid social norm dictates we shouldn’t is pathetic. As Barnett puts it, everyone has a good leak story.
Mine took place on the second year of high school, when my (male) cousin inconsiderately decided to stay at school for an hour longer, leaving me and my (female) cousin to hang out at a classroom with the interns, meant for studying.
I sat on a desk.
Soon enough the interns had to close, and I realised I could not get up. This desk was now my home, my place in the world, and I wouldn’t leave it, ever. My cousin convinced the internet to leave and helped me wipe the blood off the desk. It looked like paint.
The fact that this classroom was actively used by a morning class left me feeling quite sorry for whomever that desk belonged to. They never could have known how great an amount of blood had been spilt upon the surface on which they now spelt.
I was never squeamish about periods. Of course, it’s quite embarrassing to leak- especially if one is by a poolside being pulled in and criticised for being a buzzkill- but I was still in high school when I ditched my tampon/pad pouch/holder/case.
In Biology class, we talked about menstruation constantly. Sex Education in Brazil is exemplary in that I was not only taught about every single STD I could get at the age of ten, I could list every contraceptive known to man. So, if boys were supposed to answer what hormone is being released during which part of a woman’s cycle, they should not be shocked by the sight of a menstrual pad. And no one ever stared at me weirdly, either, for carrying a pad to the restroom.
I recall telling this to my mom; her being horrified. To me, carrying a case seemed like the most pointless nonsense ever. Girls know what you’re up to anyway, and boys are being shielded from what exactly? The idea that women are people, who bleed and pee and shit?
This is why it is important to learn about our reproductive systems, and how they work. I cannot even imagine a world in which school does not teach that over and again. In a way, you end up just as misguided as my grandma’s great-aunt, albeit in different ways.
The first time I heard about periods, I noticed my mother was bleeding and thought she was sick. She was quick to reassure me that she was fine, and she and my father explained this was something that happened every month, something to do with babies and all.
“Oh, so you are in heat.”, I said, “Mom is in heat!”
They were both mad at me when I said that, but who could blame me? I’d only ever seen that happen to my dog. That reminds me; I need to spay my dog- not that dog, that dog died, sadly, though they did meet; the dogs.
*
All in all, Emma Barnett’s book was a fun, informative read. The list of euphemisms for getting one’s period was the cherry on top- though the Brazilian one must be a mistranslation, since I have never heard anyone say that, whatever it was.
Barnett did not change my opinion concerning periods- I already shared her opinion. I do think it’s reminded me why having this discussion is important; and provided me with ammunition in the form of research, and some good laughs. There are some things more difficult to get on board with than others- free-bleeding, for instance, seems to my OCD like a health hazard- and I found it hard to wrap my mind around the idea of “missing” one’s period come menopause. That has got to be a very small amount of people.
Overall, however, I do feel more encouraged- almost excited- to speak about my period- isn’t that what her proposed period pride is about? Hopefully, men will read this book as well, and talking about periods will become commonplace.
And, while some might find this challenging to get through, it was to me as if a friend of mine were telling me about her cycle- that is why I in a way felt compelled to share in return. Such are the conversations we have about periods, and I hope we start having them more and more.
informative