The month of March signifies Endometriosis Awareness Month. Organisations like Endometriosis UK hope to shine a light on the gynaecological condition and those individuals who make up the 1 in 10 statistic.
For many though, you won’t have necessarily heard of the condition until you face the prospect of being that 1 in 10 statistic. When I was at school there was an astounding lack of sex education focused on women’s bodies, gynaecological conditions and most importantly menstruation. In 2017, Plan International UK found that 48% of girls aged 14 to 21 were embarrassed by their periods. I asked the Empoword Journalism contributors on their experiences and thoughts surrounding the importance of menstrual education within the school curriculum.
“For as long as I can remember, periods have been a very taboo topic in an educational setting. My first encounter with the ‘hush hush’ nature of menstruation was in primary school, when boys and girls were separated while we had our very first “talk” about puberty with the school nurse. Clearly, while it isn’t uncommon for ten-year-old girls to have their first period, it is too much of a sensitive topic for boys of that age to deal with. And that attitude has to change. There are a worrying number of adult men who still don’t fully understand the menstrual cycle (comments like ‘can’t you just hold it in?’ spring to mind), and the only way we’re going to tackle this problem is by addressing it at its source. Periods are a natural bodily function that approximately half of the population deal with; it is vital that we properly introduce menstruation to school-age children, to avoid gross misconceptions as they grow older.” – Eva Bailey
“I feel like sex education in general was very much brushed over in both primary and secondary schools, especially on the most important topics like endometriosis and PCOS that many women aren’t aware of until their adulthood’s or if they know somebody with the condition. I think in the future of sex education light needs to be shed to the symptoms to conditions like endometriosis and also the negative effects of the pill to’control’ your periods and how it actually can change you completely and increase the risk of many other issues.” – Charlotte Smith
“When I was in High School, I had excruciating period pains to the point that I couldn’t leave the bed, and the only way that pain was relieved was after I vomited. Even now, after taking Mefenamic Acid and going on the pill not much has changed. Despite many trips to the doctors in school and university, I can deal with the pain and nausea, the back and headaches, the cravings and fatigue. But the general attitude in society that women have to suck it up and are not able to speak confidently about their experiences without raising eyebrows is so infuriating. Menstruation was talked about at school with the assumption that we already knew what it was, covering only the basics of how to use a tampon, or taught in an exclusively scientific context without much regard for the emotional impact it would have on us as young women. And on top of this, boys were largely excluded from the conversation. Perhaps this was done to save us from embarrassment but the impact it has had on my female friends and I is that now we feel as if we’re not allowed to talk openly about our experiences around men, and when we do it’s usually because we’re defending our right to complain about periods or we’re educating them.” – Sophie Revell
“At school sex education lessons were always uncomfortable, they were just as awkward for us, as they were for the teachers. However these lessons possibly wouldn’t have been as uncomfortable if we had been encouraged to be more honest and open with each other. Growing up we were always told to hide sanitary products from the boys in case they got too excited and we would feel too embarrassed. Or we were told not to talk about being on the pill in front of the boys as they may get the wrong idea. Recent events have shown that these are exactly the conversations we should be having around boys. I wish we had been taught more about menstruation, especially what’s normal, what isn’t and when you should see a doctor. I’ve learnt from being open about my period within my friendship circle, more of my friends have felt like they can be honest and share their experiences too.” – Neve Gordon-Farleigh
“I hit puberty pretty young. I was around 8, and started my period by 10, so I’ve always been aware of the stigmas surrounding menstruation. Being the first of my friends to have those experiences,I felt ashamed and embarrassed. I literally tried wishing it away so I could be like everyone else again. It should have been a time to comfortably celebrate my development and learn healthily what it all meant – but it was just a confusing feeling, I had to do this in secret to avoid it catching anyone’s attention. Even in high school when a girl took her bag to the toilet, the whole class would laugh – so we all got pretty good at discretely sliding pads and tampons in our pockets. Why should we have had to?
It’s important to improve education about menstruation for all genders so that it is normalised from as young an age as possible. Menstruation is not a taboo, it is completely natural and happens to most women. Stigmas formed from a young age will be harder to shake off later – so we should tackle this as soon as possible, to build a better overall understanding of what people who menstruate go through.” – Faye Minton
So here’s to less hiding of sanitary products and more open conversations.
Photo by Annika Gordon on Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.