Point. Blank. Period.

Periods end our sentences, not our lives, so let’s be real about what it means to have one.

By Briana Valdez

Periods. Not the kind you put at the end of a sentence. No, those periods indicate the ending of a statement, the completion of a thought. Some form of resolution. The periods referred to here have ironically become the antithesis of resolution. Periods, or rather menstruation, is a never-ending stream of question marks. Why is your period late? Is it normal to poop this much during your period? Do those reusable period panties actually work? The very nature of menstruation feels eternal when you are bound to bleed every month.

The only hero being menopause, which typically happens around the age of 51. Even then, you are faced with a shiny new set of problems. Those include hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood changes, this, that, and more. Until then, you are left with repeated google searches and trips to the gynecologist that leaves you with more questions than you began with.

In the current state of the world, period positivity is growing and the dialogue surrounding menstrual health is getting louder. Just four years ago, the Oscar-winning documentary, Period. End of Sentence, a film on period stigma in rural India proved triumphant in tackling harmful taboos. Its progress is in the right direction but there are still plenty of misconceptions about menstruation that get swept under the rug. It’s necessary to separate invented stereotypes from authentic experiences. What is real and what is not?

Outfit: IAMANYOU Tights and shoes: Ying Feng

NOT REAL: Periods are for the girls.

****First and foremost, the idea that menstrual health is solely a woman’s issue is false and dismissive of menstruators who don’t identify as women. Transgender men and nonbinary people are constantly pushed to the outskirts of the conversation as menstrual health is heavily celebrated as a milestone of womanhood. The female-centric language used to talk about menstruation neglects some of the most marginalized groups that experience the same issues. This is why it’s crucial to establish an inclusive language and terminology, one which uplifts the voices of all those who menstruate. It’s time to call it what it is: a human rights issue.

NOT REAL: Period blood is dirty.

The depiction of period blood as impure and dirty is a tale as old as time. But that’s just what it is, a tale. It should be treated like any other bodily fluid, however, the media has pigeonholed/deemed it as an intrusive eyesore.

Take, for example, the scene from the 2007 comedy Superbad, when Jonah Hill’s character discovers a period stain on his jeans from a girl dancing on him. Immediately, his reaction takes the form of repulsion, gagging and pacing the room as onlookers ridicule him. But it’s not blood itself that causes viewers to look away.

Blood is advertised every day with the circulation of war and violence in mainstream media. But as soon as the tampons come out, the censorship kicks in. It wasn’t until 1972 that ads for pads and tampons were even allowed on television.

From a young age, children are exposed to graphic depictions of blood and violence in video games and the horror film genre. Exposed and slowly desensitized to blood born from violence. In the words of artist Maia Schwartz, “menstruation is the only blood that is not born from violence, yet it’s the one that disgusts you the most.” Even the documentary Period. End of Sentence, cannot escape this taboo as it fails to show even a drop of period blood on screen.

NOT REAL: “It can’t be THAT bad.”

Oh trust me, it can be that bad. One of the biggest battles for menstruators is being taken seriously, specifically within the medical community. Academic Emergency Medicine published a study that showed women who went to the emergency room with severe stomach pain had to wait for almost 33% longer than men with the same symptoms.

There are two main causes of painful periods: Dysmenorrhea and endometriosis. The former is used to describe general period pain while the latter is a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. Left untreated, endometriosis can cause infertility, a harrowing fact given it takes an average of 10 years to receive an accurate diagnosis from symptom onset in the U.S.

The first time I was admitted to the hospital was because of my period. Two hours after waiting and watching the doctor flirt with the nurse, I left the hospital with an Aleve prescription and his words replaying in my head. “It’s just a bad period. It’s normal.”

The “bad period” he was referring to is actually a common phrase doctors use to describe difficult periods. “Bad periods”are defined as “the catch-all term doctors and many people use to characterize chronic pelvic pain,” along with other symptoms.

This gaping hole in medical care can be attributed to the infamous “pill for every ill” model. This model emphasizes the notion that menstrual pain can be fixed with some form of painkillers or contraceptives. In other words, it’s lazy science.

Meghan Cleary (creator of the website “Bad Periods Are Real”) argues that “bad periods'' go untreated or undiagnosed because traditional medical care makes the assumption that if a doctor cannot identify the problem then the problem simply doesn’t exist.

Healing A Bleeding Wound

A history of pain and a present riddled with confusion. It leaves those who menstruate with one question: how can you heal a wound that doesn’t seem to close?

With issues of gender bias, medical discrimination, outdated stereotypes, and beliefs, the problems pile up like dirty laundry. The hardest part is getting started.

The closest and sometimes, the hardest place to start is with yourself. It’s easy to blame the surrounding institutions and societal pressures for the menstruator’s cruel reality. To be brave means to unlearn the internalized misogyny you have adopted into your own life. The shame, secrecy, and censorship continue in part because we let it. Start by saying the word “period” more. In your room, in conversations with friends, in classrooms, in the workplace, and at the dining table. There is no right or wrong space to talk, to shout about menstruation. If you don’t redefine the limits of your freedom, others will do it for you, as they have been doing for decades.

What does it mean to have a period? Remove all predisposed notions society has assigned to your body and start over. Relearn the beauty of bleeding and wear your scarlet letter proudly. Existing in the world as someone who bleeds can feel hopeless at times. We forget too quickly that our bodies have the capacity to be bloody and beautiful all at once.

Editor in Chief, Creative Dir: Pilar Bradley

Editorial Dir: Nadia Adams

Junior Photo Dir: Justice Tilford

Junior Fashion Dir: Brianna Tirado

Models: Carly Capote, Patricia Lin, Victorious Konig

Photographer: Holland Rainwater

Co-Stylist, Senior Fashion Dir: Monica Robles

Co-Stylist: Angie Hines

PA: Claire Munley

Makeup Artist: Jade Burdman

Makeup Artist, Hair Stylist: Brooke Harry

Videographer: Kalie Lomeli