Talking about menstruation

[robotic]

._. i have a dilemma.
my brother & i are both 17.
aaand even though we're twins and have grown up together,
he doesn't know anything about menstruation.
i guess it would be okay with him not knowing,
but ever so often when it comes to fasting or praying...
and i can't do it, he needs to know why.
my mom and me, so far, haven't been able to come upfront and say why it is so, and make up reasons like i have a tummyache or don't feel so well. and then there have been embarrassing times when he's seen blood, and been frightfully concerned about me being seriously injured.
yes, i am guilty of the "bloody disgrace"

has anyone encountered a similar situation?
how did you solve it?

ps. hopefully this topic will open up discussion on why talking about menstruation is such a taboo. have we really liberated ourselves from the oppressed view of the "menstruating curse"? it's hard to feel that we really have.

[eos]

this reminds me of my classmate's brother. he absolutely could not take it when we talked about "female problems". so when we wanted to annoy him and make him leave the room, we just mentioned tampons and pads and he would turn around and walk away.

but i understand what you're saying. for example, when i'm cramping really bad, exhausted, bloated, and/or bitchy, the females in my life get it. but i feel weird/uncomfortable telling my dad or any other male what's going on. i remember one time he asked what was wrong and i said nothing and he kept asking and finally i whispered, "i'm on my period." and this was only a couple years ago too.

[bluemonq]

Originally Posted by robotic

ps. hopefully this topic will open up discussion on why talking about menstruation is such a taboo. have we really liberated ourselves from the oppressed view of the "menstruating curse"? it's hard to feel that we really have.

it probably comes from being the son of a doctor and a nurse that the topic of menstruation didn't bother me when i was 8, but the first question i thought of after reading your post was, "how exactly does sex ed. figure into your high school curriculum - if at all?"

[robotic]

Originally Posted by bluemonq

the first question i thought of after reading your post was, "how exactly does sex ed. figure into your high school curriculum - if at all?"

never had sex ed ;_;
i grew up in the middle east and it was a big big taboo while i was growing up. in biology lessons, we did learn about how our own bodies worked, but we more or less pretended that sex, birth control, how the opposite sex's bodies work etc. didn't exist. i vaguely remember the sex chapter in our 7th grade science books being smudged in sharpie... so it was a really hushhush thing.

[bluemonq]

Where you're going to school now, there is sex ed, right? Try explaining the situation to them; they'll probably be pretty sympathetic. A more roundabout way would be to accidentally on purpose leave a wrapped tampon on his desk. If the boy has any sense of curiosity at all, he'll ask what it's for. This is a win-win: even if you end up being way too embarassed to explain, he'll probably look it up online. And if all fails you can always try a song:

(sung to the Green Day cover of The Who's My Generation)

Well these cramps have got me d-down (talkin bout my menstruation)
It makes me bloated all around (talkin bout my menstruation)
Man this toilet seat is c-c-cold (talkin bout my menstruation)
At least it'll stop when I get old (talkin bout my menstruation)

This is my menstruation
This is my menstruation
This is my menstruation, baby
This is my menstruation, baby
(snip)

I'd continue but I think The Who would sue me.

[sageb1]

A long time ago, menstrual blood was one of the ingredients in calling up a guardian angel to protect the woman from harm.

This was before men stopped believing in the power of women's magick.

As well, virgins supposedly had more powerful magick than older and wiser mages, whose magick was corrupted by too much sex magick.

This is my explanation for the young Ukrainian lady who has medical vision. Her hometown also used to be full of shamans before the corruption by Orthodox BS blew into town. And their magick used to work before faith healing got attributed to the work of God.

Even so, I am relating this cos u could always say God cursed women once a month to remind them about what got 'em kicked out of Eden.

Like, in Eden, Eve didn't menstruate; she couldn't even beget.

Now look at the world!!