Once a month women all over the world suffer from the same problem. It's irritating, occasionally painful and sadly there's nothing we can do about it.
Yes, that's right, it's misunderstanding and misconception.
It's not their fault, men, it's just that they've been exposed to all sorts of media that gives them the wrong idea. To many men a period is still either a form of punctuation or a socially taboo topic to discuss. Sweeping generalisations are made, such as about PMT - men, as a whole, seem to assume that menstruation causes us to become snarling monsters who'll bite their head off for no reason. Ergo, when we're in a foul temper and get into an argument their response is quite often along the lines of 'is it that time of the month?'
No. It's just that time of the day when you've p*ssed me off again by being a moron.
It's not just a large proportion of the male population that are misguided, it's advertising companies too. They seem to think that advertisements featuring happy, smiling women roller-blading whilst wearing white clothes will appeal to those of us who have no choice but to shop for sanitary products. Excuse me, but I'm unlikely to go roller-blading at the best of times, never mind when I'm on my rag - and as for the white clothes? Don't even go there. They've mellowed a little recently though, with adverts about comfort instead of exercise - but one brand of sanitary towel has started putting 'helpful' little messages on their wrappers, which just drops the whole industry standard once again.
'Feel like kicking things? Try calming those frayed nerves by adding a few drops of lavender oil to your bath' No, when I feel like kicking something I'll put on a pair of pointy shoes and find the nearest man to use as target practice, THEN I'll find a bottle of vodka and pour three shots into a glass to help my frayed nerves.
What can we do? The world, as a whole, has it in for women on their periods. Some women like their periods (as an affirmation of womanhood or something like that, don't ask me, I don't fall into that group), some find them an inconvenience, and still others loathe them with a passion either because they're painful, because they're a reminder that we're still not seen as being on equal footing with men (despite years of 'equal opportunities' campaigns), or for any one of a plethora of reasons. There are probably almost as many reasons as there are women, and THAT is the crux of the matter. We're all different, we all view, and cope with, our bodies and bodily functions in different ways. Advertising companies should give up and realise that there's no way to make sanitary products sexy or appealing, and that we're going to buy the damn things anyway out of necessity - they should save themselves some money and throw away their lousy advertising campaigns (hmmm, save money on advertising and drop the price of the product instead, novel idea).
Men, treat us like individuals: we're living, breathing humans, not portable uteruses that occasionally have a hissy fit.
02/03/2004 ©
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