I was at the gym last night and I grabbed a copy of Macleans magazine to read in between my weight reps. It was an out-dated edition (like the ones at the doctor's office or laundromat) from December 2005 and the cover story was about the "End of the Period". Hmmmm ... not my usual InTouch Weekly choice but an intriguing one. The article went on to describe the development of a new "menstration suppression" drug that would allow women to make their monthly flow an optional occurrence. Of course this drug has sparked controversy on all sides and the article does a solid job of presenting a number of "for" and "against" positions. It also offers some interesting background on menstration myths, current oral contraceptives and female biology.Having just read the article I am not sure of my confirmed position on the topic but one aspect did bother me. Many of the arguments FOR the suppression of a woman's period dealt with the inconvenience of it. How it impacted one's productivity. How some women felt TOO busy to have to get to the bathroom or deal with physical effects. And my back went up because such comments always make me feel that we are continually altering women's natural course to fit an econominc one built my male assumptions and norms. If being a professional or productive is negatively impacted (or perceived to be) by a biological process then doesn't it make more sense to alter the expectations of professionalism and productivity rather than the biology of a person?
Now I admit that I have not always embraced my own crimson tide. For the first 5 years of my cycle I faced regular anemia and it wasn't until I used some form of prescribed control that things "balanced out". And still, it is not always a walk-in-the-park-in-white-hotpants perfect. But would I want to give it all up? Would I want to medicate my body into a menstral hibernation? I would really have to think about that and hopefully you will too. These drugs are currently under review in Canada but not yet available. But keep your eyes open as the question of the period unfolds.
Read the entire article here.
4 comments:
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Great post, Raye! Such an interesting and controversial idea. As someone who has suffered from endometriosis and gone through surgery for it, I still don't believe in medically forcing my hormones into hibernation. It implies that there is something abnormal with a women's natural biological process. I don't love my period but it's part of being a woman - and boy am I ever glad to be one!
Stephanie
chhI don't think i'd ever have stopped mine either.. even tho I was in constant pain the last couple of years and it was hell..until I had to have the hysterectomy just because my flow was so heavy it was making me sick.. but nah I wouldn't have altered it ever to completly stop just for convenience sake..
Aunty A
Ever wonder if all the evidence and studies claiming that women want to live without their periods were done by men? They seem to think it is an inconvenience that we need to be "cured" of. Sure it's a pain in the butt sometimes, but jeez, it's a natural process. We'd probably be a lot more comfortable with it if people would stop implying that it's nasty and annoying!
Kat
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