When Kiran Gandhi got her period on the day of the marathon, she decided to run anyway. This, in itself, is awe-inspiring. I am not able to run a marathon on a good day, not to mention when I’m on my period. But this wasn’t enough for Kiran: she decided to go on a mission… and run without a tampon.
A while ago, artist Rupi Kaur posted a series of photos on Instagram that dealt with the topic of menstruation and menstrual blood. Instagram removed the photos claiming that they’re indecent, stirring a controversy.
The Huffington Post quoted Rupi Kaur saying: “I wondered why I scurry to hide my tampons and pads from the world and why I’m too ashamed to tell people I’m in pain, because of my period at times I may not be able to do certain things like come in to work.”
Kiran Gandhi, the tampon-less marathon runner, explains on Buzzfeed: “To me, period-shaming is when you – as someone who is experiencing the bleeding – have to make somebody else comfortable before yourself.”
Yes, I see it’s a problem that women have to make other people comfortable before themselves… let’s say in the case of menstruation, maybe it’s not a bad idea at all.
There’s a new, disturbing trend out there: women are deciding to forgo sanitary pads while on their periods – it’s called free-bleeding. Modern Woman Digest describes the trend as feminist, explaining that menstruation is not something to be ashamed of or cleaned up, and I even read blogs describing it as “beautiful”, “sacred” or “life-giving.”
I wholeheartedly disagree.
Blood is a body fluid and has to be kept hidden, like other bodily fluids such as vomit, urine or faeces. If you need to pass any kind of body fluid, do it out of sight (with the exception of breastmilk but that’s food so it doesn’t count).
There’s the problem of hygiene to consider as well – menstrual blood isn’t necessarily sterile. After all we make sure we don’t come in touch with other people’s blood to avoid infections, and menstrual blood is no exception. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Yes, it’s important to talk about periods. It’s important not to be ashamed when you’re bleeding and in pain. I understand it’s a problem that a woman is considered less trustworthy if she’s seen carrying a tampon or when Donald Trump makes a joke about menstruation.
I understand we need to draw attention to the parts of the world where menstruating women are considered dirty and cannot attend worship or eat with other people.
But I think we have better ways to do it than running a marathon without a tampon. It doesn’t really help anyone and only unnecessarily shocks people, diverting their attention away from the real cause. Let’s talk about our periods. Let’s fight misogyny and speak out against gender inequality.
But let’s not waste our clothing to make a point.