Language taboos - Menstrual Matters

Language taboos...

Euphemisms
Silence
Dying from shame
Inadequate language

Evidence-based blogs...

Hiding that you're hiding it- the double burden of menstrual invisibility

Guest blog- research participants describe feeling under a lot of pressure to hide that they are menstruating.

Without expression; silencing the role of the menstrual cycle in ill health... part 1

People can be at a loss for words, or prefer to speak in euphemisms, when discussing the female reproductive body.

Is this a monthly problem?

Euphemistic language might spare our blushes in awkward social situations, but it has no place in the diagnostic process. Our choice of language can make all the difference.

Without expression; silencing the role of the menstrual cycle in ill health... part 2

Medical language, and ‘danger words’, that help perpetuate the menstruation taboo, even within the clinical context.

When 'hygiene' becomes a dirty word

Myth-busting the term ‘menstrual hygiene’, which unintentionally reinforces the myth that menstruation, and the people who experience it, are 'dirty'.

The pain that dare not speak its name

Many people can be reluctant to talk about, or seek professional help for, menstrual cycle-related symptoms, especially period pain in the context of the workplace.

Why we say 'people who menstruate'

The importance of being precise in the language we use to communicate with others about menstrual health, human rights, and gender equality.

Myth-busting the common sexist and erroneous idea that some, if not all, women become ‘irrational’, especially just before or during their period. The myth of the irrational female is very persistent...