This Essay is about a Myth in society, my view on the myth and how I would change it if I could.
Enjoli Rountree
College English
Instructor, Sharon Coleman
19 August 2010
Menstration in the Media
PMS = Power Made Sacred
Menarche is defined as the occurrence of the first menstrual cycle. Imagine growing up as a young Woman and learning about the magic of your being. You grew up knowing that every detail of you, from your body to your thoughts, is perfect and serve a divine purpose. You were taught to love and take care of yourself at all times, especially before your monthly blessing. You were reminded daily by the Men and Woman in your family that you are beautiful and perfect just the way you are. As you grew out of adolescence into young woman-hood, you and the other Woman and Men in your family rejoiced in the celebration of your rite of passage as a Woman, Menarche.
The current media saturated reality of today’s young woman, entering her rite of passage, is that she will have a week of hell each month until she experiences “The Change,” also known as Menopause, in about Forty years. The image above is from the Tampax Tampon Website. The Image shows a Woman dressed in a very old fashion outfit from the 30’s or 40’s with a red present, wrapped in a pretty red bow, in her hands. You can see by the expression on her face that she doesn’t want her present. She doesn’t want her present! She can’t go swimming; she’ll have cramps, bloating, headaches and fatigue and she now has an excuse to be a complete bitch. The media makes women out to be disgusting and cruel during menstrual and pre-menstrual cycles. So the young women of today get to hide themselves during their menstrual cycle for fear that someone might find out and be disgusted. Most men will avoid a menstruating woman in disgust and see her as useless during this time since she is not in a position to have sexual intercourse. In the essay, “Fly Girls to Bitches and Ho’s,” Joan Morgan accurately states, “Clearly we are having a very difficult time loving one another.” I personally believe this is a result of a loss of love for ourselves.
The Native North American tribes regarded the menstrual cycle as an auspicious time for women. Upon her Moon Cycle, the Native woman would take a four day vacation so she may take care of herself. This also ensured a break for Women since they were always working even when Men are not. The woman would also refrain from being around men because they believed that her power was so great, during her cycle, she may take on masculine energy that is not wanted or needed by the female body. The Menarche or first period was regarded as the most powerful and potentially dangerous time for a woman since she is learning how to control this power for the first time. Upon the experiencing of the Menarche, the Natives believe that the woman has just bonded with the Earth and the Moon. This is why some call their period a Moon Cycle.
A group of Wise Women wrote the following, “We women….we must learn the sacredness of who we are. What do we do with the "Sangre de Madre" (menstrual blood)? We throw it away in a garbage can. I am not garbage! This sacred gift and responsibility I have been given, I do not disrespect it so that I would treat it as trash; a thing to be discarded with little thought. How can this be bad or dirty? Is this not the Creator's way? Is this not a part of the miracle of creation? Think of it! It is the Creation of LIFE. It is Sacred! Among my people, when a young woman comes to her first Moon Time she is given a pad, which catches the flow. When she changes this pad, she puts it into a container of water - the blood of Mother Earth - blood to blood - from which we all come. At the end of her time she takes that water and plants a tree, using that water to feed the tree. As she does this she prays for her family, and she prays for a mate that is whatever she desires (and she gets very specific..'I want him to be 6' tall and handsome and a good provider and not to be thus and so'). When she is married she again uses this Moon Time water to give the tree praying for children or for the children that she has been given, her husband and any others she chooses. In this way she nourishes not only the tree, but also her family and her community. Yet she also nourishes herself in acknowledging the sacredness of who she is and the gift and responsibility she has been given.
You women. Why do we wear skirts and dresses? Watch me as I walk (she says as she moves around in her white native dress). You see the shadow surrounding me? It is always a circle and it always surrounds me. Therefore I am always within a sacred circle. I am always protected. These things are our women taught. As women, we have two mouths. Yes, two. In the mouth with which we eat, we take in nourishment, we take in life. Yet in the mouth below we not only take in life…we also give forth life. We teach our young women that just as we must be careful what foods we eat so that we may be healthy and strong, so must we be careful what we put into our mouths below, so that our people may become strong and healthy. These things we teach." (Galisgisgia and Bird Clan Mother)
It is amazing to me how far removed we have come from such a wise time for Woman and as a united people. With the factual and intuitive information about the power of the menstrual cycle and the female body, I see how the media uses this to their advantage. If a Woman, on her monthly cycle, is as powerful as the natives believe, then directing the energy of that woman toward the negative side of herself would be beneficial to all companies who provide products that give the illusion of a solution. This global act is quite comparable to a young native woman hanging around men during her Moon Cycle, adding unnecessary masculine energy to her body. If a Woman is insecure during her menstrual cycle, as most women have become, she gives up her power to pills, unhealthy foods, beverages and everything her body craves as a result of a lack of love for herself.
We know not every woman is on their moon cycle at the same time. This means that at any given time there are women menstruating. This gives the Media a very large window to work with when marketing toward the Female gender. Every Woman knows how crazy our mind can get during and prior to our Moon Cycle. So think about how, the subtle hints within each advertisement may be affecting even the most conscious Woman. In “Two Ways a Woman can get Hurt,” Jean Kilbourne says it best, “The main goal, as in pornography, is usually power of another, either by the physical dominance or preferred status of men or what is seen as the exploitative power of female beauty and female sexuality. Men conquer, Women ensure, always with the essential aid of the product.”
The newest products for Women stop the menstrual cycle all together taking away a Woman’s monthly super power completely. Side effects my include, loss of limb, blood clot, shortness of breath, loss of sex drive, depression, suicidal thoughts, constant diarrhea, lots of tumors because you are stopping the natural flow of nature, but you won’t have to wear one of those awful maxi pads! Plus if you act now, by the time you are menopausal you will have a cabinet full of medications to counter act the medications you will be on because you stopped your natural flow…Hurry! Ask your doctor today!
I would love to see young ladies being blessed with “Changing Woman” ceremonies and parties. When I become a mother my goal is to mimic the Dené and other Native Tribes by showing my Daughter her beauty and magic. Some of the most powerful menstrual rituals were developed by the Dené Tribe. For one year the young woman would drink from a vessel made with Swan or Goose bones and wear a beaded veil upon the completion of Menarche. Once all resources where gathered, gifts and feasts, a grand event would take place with the entire tribe celebrating not only the joining of the Woman with Earth and Moon, she is transformed into the, “Changing Woman,” and forever regarded as a Deity. “These are the most important ceremonies of these cultures. No man who has taken part can possibly disrespect a woman who has undergone these rituals, and no girl who has endured the ceremony can ever lose her empowerment in being a woman, for during the time of ceremony, the young woman becomes a deity.” (Paper Pg.95)
I see Women across the globe reconnecting with their femininity and loving it. There are global Goddess Gatherings that include powerful conscious Men helping to balance the Yin and Yang in Ceremony. There are moon cycle retreats and Menarche celebrations for the, “Changing Women,” to become Deities. We are teaching our daughters to love themselves enough to love Mother Earth and give nourishment to Mother Earth as she does so abundantly for us. The negative side of the Media has dominated long enough. The Media will be most powerful when it taps into the Light of Life for all Beings. This is why I am a student of Advertising, to ensure that this happens.
Citations
• Native North American Religious Traditions, Dancing For Life
By: Jordan D. Paper
• The Native American Woman
Myths Vs. Reality
By: Anita Atsila Galisgisgia, Bird Clan Mother, Southern Cherokee Tribe & Associated Bands in Texas http://www.blueskywaters.com/page_36.htm
• From Fly Girls to Bitches and Hos
By: Joan Morgan
• Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt
By: Jean Kilbourne
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