When I think back on my pre teen and early teenage years I don’t recall ever seeing menstruation mentioned in movies. I was from the era where all our information came from magazines like J17 or the dodgy biology class that you received about two years two late. During my later teenage years and early adulthood however, I do recall seeing these topics talked about or shown more but never in a particularly good light, or even an accurate or educational one.
Menstruation and the media
As a teenager in the 90-00’s I grew up watching the likes of Clueless, 40 year old virgin and American Pie, all of which did give reference to periods. Unfortunately, every time the references were made they would be of ridicule and embarrassment, making out like periods should hidden and not discussed. Thus making our generation believe these thoughts, avoid discussing “women’s issues” and pretending we weren’t on no matter how uncomfortable we felt.
If you speak to most people who are my age age or older and ask them to name a film where periods were included you will be probably find that the most memorable inclusion (for all the wrong reasons) is Stephen King’s “Carrie,” and the infamous scene where Carrie White experiences her first period at school. Her classmates bully her, throwing tampons and sanitary napkins at her while taunting her for being “dirty.” Her religiously fanatical mother also reacts with disgust and shame when she finds out Carrie has had her period. This scene portrays menstruation as a source of trauma and violence, reinforcing negative associations with the natural process. Watching this I remember cringing at the scene and being embarrassed watching it, hoping the scene would end soon and no one would comment on it or ask me about it.
Many of these films, especially older ones, portray menstruation as something to be ashamed of, uncomfortable, or even dangerous. This negative portrayal contributes to the larger societal stigma around periods, reinforcing the idea that menstruation is an inconvenient or embarrassing event rather than a natural and normal bodily function.
Thankfully menstruation in the media has evolved since these films. There are an increasing number of films and even soap operas that now mention them, helping to normalise them and the impact they can have on a persons day to day to life. More importantly is the fact that these are being included in programs aged at those yet to start their periods so that they are for warned and for armed, to normalise it before it’s too late and to encourage the next generation to remove the stigma currently attached to menstruation. Films like Turning Red and programs like The Loud House have been great for this.
The increase of the influencer and social media marketing has also improved the conversations around such topics as many every day people are taking on their platforms to discuss their own experience of periods, menopause and other women specific issues like endometriosis and PMDD. With teenagers often following accounts on TikTok and instagram these conversations will hopefully filter through to them too and start to normalise the conversations around menstruation.
These open and honest conversations are extremely important. They allow people to have a better understanding of what is normal and what isn’t, what requires a GP trip and what shouldn’t be ignored even if your doctor doesn’t take you seriously the first time. Breaking down the taboo, in this instance, isn’t just about raising awareness and reducing embarrassment it really is about empowering women and potentially changing lives or even saving them.
Personally I massively applaud the writers and directors that include menstruation in their programs such as Emmerdale and Seeing Red because menstruation varies massively from one person the the next and the more we normalise it the more acceptable it will and females will be able to embrace a life that allows for cycle changes that don’t need to be hidden.
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