The 24-hour day falls into the patriarchy’s lap
Studies have shown that women run on a different clock than men, so why does everything still revolve around the 24-hour circadian rhythm?
It’s no secret that we live in a capitalist-infused man’s world. we are expected to run like robots 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, women have a different hormonal cycle from men, and I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anybody but the world is set up to favour the latter.
Men, or those assigned males at birth, have a hormone cycle that runs over 24 hours a day, this is known as the circadian rhythm. Women do have this too – but they also have what is known as an infradian rhythm. The infradian rhythm overrides the circadian rhythm. Essentially the circadian rhythm is the biological sleep and wake cycle, it repeats every 24 hours and is based on the rotation of the earth. The infradian rhythm cycles with the moon and is often overlooked in a patriarchal, capitalist society, despite it being not only beautiful but important, too.
The infradian rhythm and the menstrual cycle
The infradian rhythm has a powerful effect on the brain, the immune system, the stress response system, and the reproductive system. This is why men might have small shifts in energy throughout the day, menstruating bodies have these shifts as well as more intense highs and lows throughout the month. Capitalism, and of course the patriarchy, much prefers the circadian rhythm and the 24-hour biorhythm. The result? Much of the planet does not accommodate the monthly fluctuations that half of the world goes through. Not to mention, the majority of research conducted into circadian rhythms is based on males.
There is an almost celestial magic that makes the menstruating body so unique. Our ancestors have been honouring our natural ebbs for centuries, it only seems to be seen as an inconvenience in a modern-day, late-stage capitalist society.
It comes in four stages. – Follicular, Ovulation, Luteal, and Menstruation.
Follicular follows menstruation and leads up to ovulation. There is a rise in energy as the body begins to prepare for ovulation. Ovulation is when many women feel that they are at their peak – their energy is high and they are productive. Ovulation is often the stage of our cycle that we are most valued at – for obvious reasons. Then, if the egg hasn’t been fertilised, we enter our luteal phase. This is characterised by a drop in energy. However, while society doesn’t accept this phase it is important to honour it. The right side of our brain becomes much more active – the side heavily associated with intuition. Then, it’s time for menstruation, despite popular belief, this is the time that our brain is the most level – the right and left sides are the most interconnected. Any emotion that you feel during this time is, logically, the most valid.
Just like the moon, a woman’s biorhythm comes in phases.
The patriarchy, the calendar, and capitalism
With our bodies running on a more delicate, longer cycle that fluctuates, our energy, mood, productivity and creativity also flow and fluctuate. However, capitalism has prioritised the 24-hour circadian cycle. It’s the male-dominated, predictable, and repetitive cycle that better serves men and the capitalist system that places productivity above human value.
Not only are women treating their bodies like a machine, but we aren’t even programmed correctly to be able to conform to the very system that is keeping us down. It’s a lose-lose situation.
For men, their testosterone levels peak the very first thing in the morning. As the day progresses, their hormones slightly dip, allowing them to settle nicely into socialisation and eventually sleep.
It seems women have always honoured the cycle of the moon and the months. Roughly 20,000 years ago the remains of what is believed to be the first-ever calendar were found – an Ishango bone with engravings in it. For decades it has been debated what these markings could mean/what the calendar could be for. But realistically, who else but a woman following her period would be keeping track of a lunar cycle?
The menstrual cycle has always been understood by our ancestors. Recipes have been discovered to treat the lack of menstruation and literature has been found indicating that it was understood bleeding meant a lack of pregnancy.
In Maori culture, it states; “the moon is the permanent husband, or true husband, of all women, because women menstruate when the moon appears.”
Barbara G. Walker, a feminist author, also stated that calendar consciousness was developed by women; “Women were the first observers of the basic periodicity of nature, the periodicity upon which all later scientific observations were made”.
However, despite our contribution and centuries of honouring the phases of our bodies and the moon, time and cycles in the modern day, limit women. The monthly calendar is now simply a tool which we use to monitor when to get paid, pay somebody, or pay off a subscription.
Menstrual leave and birth control
Menstrual leave is a hot topic at the moment. With more women in the workforce than ever before, their complaints about PMS and period pain usually are ignored or not even addressed. The majority of women are scared to even mention periods – they believe doing so may hinder their performance and push their male counterparts above them.
Women are left with two options: go on as normal, even if that means they only really reach the male-dominated idea of productivity during their ovulation phase or take hormonal birth control.
Women can use various forms of birth control to manipulate their cycles, avoiding their period altogether. It could be argued that capitalism and the patriarchy are forcing us to prove ourselves as “equal” to men by making us just like men and exist quietly in a system that was built for them. Should women be taking hormonal pills just to be able to fit into a system that doesn’t respect them? Capitalism and the patriarchy hold each other up, making the former a feminist issue in itself, too.
The system is not built to support feminine energy, which is why it seems easier to change ourselves and be just like the men around us. Yet, our bodies are just not tuned to be like that, which should be embraced as a sacred shift. In a world that calls our hormonal changes unpredictable and emotional, we need to courageously embrace them and push for a change in the way we live, work, and socialise. Women have uncomfortably changed themselves to fit in for too long, it’s time for society to make accommodations for us.
What should we do?
It’s time that we start creating spaces where menstruating bodies can exist without any kind of restraints – throughout every phase of their cycle. We need more flexibility and downtime that honour the phases in which our bodies are forcing us to rest. Period leave will allow women to comfortably make their way through a painful, physically demanding phase, too.
Some companies have introduced paid period leave, and others have introduced downtimes – but more can still be done.
Women should have a right to be able to live in a society where observing their biorhythm and taking time off is not a threat to their career, income, or academic achievements. The world has benefited from the women’s infradian rhythm for centuries and it can still benefit more.
