Similarly, Shivani Narang, a cast mem- ber of the UC Berkeley annual Vagina Monologues, was able to fully embrace an unexplored aspect of her- self by participating in the event. However, she had never heard of any conversation on campus delving into period stigma prior to her experience with the Vagina Monologues. “If you think about it, sex in gen- eral is uncomfortable at first. Learning how to undo a lot of the damaging ideas we have internalized about our genitals is the first step in overcoming the initial disgust many people have towards period sex.I am a huge advo- cate for people who want to explore period sex. -Nidhi Patel “I haven’t really heard it anywhere else in my life — not on campus or at home. Nowhere else, other than the Vagina Monologues, has there been that space and comfort to talk about it. Menstruation is supposed to be silenced. Being open to breaking that silence is important. Focusing and cen- tralizing that conversation on the per- son with the vagina, and honoring that person — woman-identifying or non- identifying, it doesn’t matter. But we need to celebrate that, be more encour- aging of that. Whether this means pop- ping a bottle of champagne or just talking about it, as long as you’re giv- ing love and not shame. ” According to Gleit, acknowledge- ment of menstruation on a daily level is minimal, indicative of lack of aware- ness and acceptance of the period. “It is almost like people trivialize the issue,” she said. “They will say things like, ‘Oh, you are just making it up in your head,’ or ‘Deal with it,’ when it comes to symptoms of the period. Really it’s just a lack of empa- thy from a lot of people. I think women themselves are also afraid to talk about it openly for fear of not seeming like (they) fit in. Plus, when- ever the conversation turns to men- struation, guys just don’t…the conver- sation just stops.” Tan acknowledges that, while the Vagina Monologues did help her be
their sexuality, sexual responses, anatomy, consent, and more by show- casing different perspectives through fellow students, speakers, and confer- ences (like the Queer and/or trans people of color conference). Being a part of FemSex allowed Patel to accept herself and her body more. “In FemSex, we have this one day we call Menarche Party where we cel- ebrate periods.” she said. “I loved the feeling it gave me of accepting my body and all of its functions. I remem- ber this was one of the first times I heard a bunch of people talking about period sex in such a sex positive way, and it was incredibly liberating.” Patel also believes that period sex is a specific taboo that people should openly discuss. “Period sex may seem uncomfort- able at first, but that’s not because there is anything inherently disgusting about period sex,” she said. “If you think about it, sex in general is uncom- fortable at first. Learning how to undo a lot of the damaging ideas we have internalized about our genitals is the first step in overcoming the initial dis- gust many people have towards period sex.I am a huge advocate for people who want to explore period sex. I also believe that people should have sex in any way they want to. If period sex is not for you, that is fine. Just don’t look down on people who enjoy it.” FEM Tech, the first technology club for women of all majors, aims to support women from all backgrounds through training workshops, mentor- ship programs, networking events, and organized seminars. Diana Arteaga, a member of FEM Tech, has never been more confident to talk about her body. “FEM Tech …created a space and community for women and other underrepresented groups to talk about our unique challenges that we face,” she said. “It’s been really validating and I feel solidarity with my fellow members. So now I feel totally com- fortable talking about women’s issues, even with men. It’s given me a lot con- fidence to own who am I am.”
According to “The Menstrual Mark: Menstruation as Social Stigma,” one of the main perpetrators of men- strual disgrace is silence. It starts when, in fifth grade maturation class, boys are separated from the girls to talk about their bodily changes. It implies from a very formative, young age that menstruation is something we should be embarrassed to talk about openly. Had there not been any reason to hide our period, the article says, we wouldn’t need to call it by its several euphemisms like, “our time of the month.” We would just call it what it is — the period. Several groundbreaking move- ments to embrace the period have flourished in light of these repressions of menstrual freedom. In 2011, photog- rapher Ingrid Berthoin-Moin pho- tographed 12 women wearing their period as lipstick. Soon after, Jen Lewis used her period blood to construct visual art, often using abstract visual ideas and the cellular complexity of menstrual blood to emphasize the beauty and power in menstruation. In 2015, Harvard graduate student and former drummer for singer M.I.A., Kiran Gandhi, ran the London Marathon without a tampon, letting her blood flow freely, representing the larger “Free Bleeding” movement that has been brewing on the feminist blo- gosphere since as early as 2004. But have these large scale move- ments sparked conversations on the microcosmic levels of universities like UC Berkeley? Have they changed any- thing? The Period Conversation at UC Berkeley “I come from a relatively conserv- ative South Asian family where sex and body parts are not talked about,” says Patel. “My mother often made it seem like periods were dirty and that they were something that I needed to keep secret about. It wasn’t until col- lege and taking control of my own sex- uality did I finally confront all the shame I had around periods.” FemSex, taught by student facilita- tors, enables students to learn about
16 www.indiaparentmagazine.org
October 2018
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