The four to eight days women spend sorting through various premenstrual symptoms of physical woe is not often thought of fondly. Gruesome bouts of bleeding, emitting dark odors, touches of wrath, ceaseless stabbing pain- these are all elements of what many women associate their periods with and ironically also descriptors of some of the most unnerving horror films of all time like, In the Mouth of Madness, Christine, and Trick or Treat.
If you’ve ever taken the time to watch these classics, you might come to understand that a great horror film is at least an artistic trip into unbridled imagination, a dissection of human power, and often times a horror film is an excavation of some part of forgotten days of old.
So, how could horror films possibly connect to periods? There is a certain horror we can feel when we find ourselves bound to a cycle we haven’t biologically chosen for ourselves. Yes, there are some new, nifty ways to bypass the slasher film in your pants, however for most women it is a struggle to accept menstruation as anything other than the ways it’s presented to us by popular media, advertisements, and the scope of conversation among friends and relatives- annoying, embarrassing, inconvenient, disgusting, and all too eerily close to the feelings associated with horror films –fear, rage and question.
Living a civilized life means adhering to social norms that keep women moving, working, and battling the struggle. As much as the struggle is real, so is the reality that we’re moving away from honoring menstruation as long as men and women don’t take action to exact change in the way we think about periods.
If you’re anything like the fierce women we like to celebrate and inspire at Maxim Hygiene Products, you aren’t the type of person who simply likes to read about problems. You’re the type of person who has to shake out a problem from all angles, reflect upon what’s come before, and then tries to assess what could be done to evacuate grotesqueness from life. In this case, I think it would be intelligent to take a moment to look back on a few simple case studies of what systems of menstrual honor, not horror, have come before our time…
- Firstly- In pre-colonial Maori communities, menstruation was seen as an honor that represented a oneness with life-flow. “In traditional Maori society, the onset of a girl’s menstruation was celebrated with rituals including a naming ceremony, her hair was ritually cut and ears pierced, she was initiated into new arts and knowledge, given new responsibilities, and was tattooed on the chin and lips (moko kauae), alongside feasting and gift-giving.” (Stodart) It was a rite of passage and a moment of strength amongst the tribe for a young woman to experience menarche.
- Secondly- The Apache tribe of North America would honor their young women through a year-long process involving at its pinnacle, what is referred to as the Sunrise Dance. The dance is four days long and preparation is supposed to be so elaborate and symbolic that through her journey, a young woman would see herself differently and better understand her purpose in the Apache tribe. The way a girl comported herself throughout the preparation was said to influence the rest of her life. (Markstrom)
In these two simple examples from history, we see women and tribes people taking responsibility to shape meaning around menstruation for their young women and developing a narrative for men to see and respect. With the Maori, young women were encouraged to evolve and express change on their bodies. The young Apache women were given a trial of sorts- a new, elaborate task to help them think through a critical time of change.
Of course, it should be said, both of these tribes were warrior tribes who aimed to raise their women to face horror with courage, insight and honor, and so these two case studies can leave us to answer the following question in our own tribes: In our modern times, how can we transform the horror of menstruation with our own timely sense of honor?
Bibliography
Markstrom, Carol A. Empowerment of North American Indian Girls: Ritual Expressions at Puberty. Lincoln: U of Nebraska, 2008. Print. Stodart, Kathy. “Menstruation celebrated by pre-colonial Maori.” Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand Oct. 2013: 13. Academic OneFile. Web. 11 Sept. 2015.