No More Period Shaming
I was born in China and spent the first 18 years of my life there. My first period was when I was 15 years old, and since then all the voice I have received is not to tell anyone that you are on your period and that it is shameful when people see you are buying menstrual pads. Therefore, for 36 of my periods, I have considered having a period to be humiliating, and when I buy pads I always use other items to cover them up and use opaque plastic bags. Even when I needed to go to the bathroom to change my pad, I would hide it up my sleeve so no one would see. I am not the only one, almost all girls are taught that menstruation can be embarrassing.
When I walked into the supermarket with my male friend, his reaction to seeing me purchase a pack of sanitary products was embarrassment and shame. When COVID broke out in China, the lack of menstrual products for female healthcare workers became an issue that needed to be addressed. However, when these products were donated to them, they were politely rejected by male leaders. When women are involved in any event, men constantly belittle women because they have menstruation and even see it as trouble.
I applied to college in the United States when I was 18. To be honest, this was the first time I saw tampons and pads in the restroom, some of them might be free. And in my first class on human health, I realized that it seemed that I was the only one in class who would see menstruation as shameful. In the course, my teacher told us that we should be honest about our periods. Not only do girls need to face up to their periods and respect themselves, but boys need to be taught to respect women as well. This became one of the reasons why I studied public health.
In China, students lack too much knowledge and courses about their body health. And the older generation passes on their deep-rooted misconceptions to the children. Children are not taught correctly leading to low self-esteem and disrespectful behavior toward women. Now, I am 22. I joined the sex education program at University Health Center, which provides Chinese students with knowledge and campus activities about sexual health and menstruation. I believe I am not the only one speaking out for women, and I already bring my friends around me to join in helping Chinese girls face menstruation and be proud of it.
