The Mystical, Magical Properties of Period Blood
How one fairly innocuous fluid became so central to so many myths
Though periods are a fact of life for tens of millions of humans around the globe, the reality of a period — that for several days, multiple times each year, a person bleeds somewhat consistently — is often obscured by the ethos around them. We talk about PMS, “that time of the month,” cramps, syncing, and even period pain somewhat freely — but the actual byproducts of a menstrual cycle remain unspoken, unexamined, and generally ignored or stashed away.
The Western world’s discomfort with menstrual blood is evident in its relative absence from just about every aspect of life. Euphemisms abound, soiled items are mummified and hidden in the bottom of wastepaper baskets, and, until very recently, advertisements for hygienic products whose sole purpose is the staunching of blood never feature images of it or even speak its name.
However, this isn’t universally so and certainly hasn’t always been the case.
Though there is a persistent and widespread legacy of negative associations with periods and period blood — anthropologist Beverly Strassmenn called it “almost a cultural universal” — there are the few outliers who have viewed and still do view menstruation, and its products, as…
