When marathon runner Kiran Ghandi received major backlash on social media for bleeding on herself during marathon, documentaries like “Period. End of Sentence” become so important in today’s society. Oppression of this natural phenomenon is battled through social media and film activist to normalize menstruation globally.
This battle, like most, is two sided with people of the opposite views posting pictures or "memes" as a way to degrade women for their periods. Author Rupi Kaur created a picture thread on Instagram in efforts to normalize female bleeding and to represent female empowerment. However, the pictures were immediately removed as they "violated the community standards". This picture in particular became viral along with men commenting on how they would kick a woman out of their house if they bled on themselves.
"Some would say that it's to do with everything in terms of the female body that's leaking and seeping, and anything that's coming out of us as women is seen as disgusting". - Jane Ussher, professor of Women's Health Psychology at Western Sydney University".
So when will this stigma end for women all across the world? Why is it that society as a whole can't bare to grasp the concept that a women's body is not to be shamed or treated in disgust for something universally uncontrollable? The clash on social media will continue to go on and girls everywhere will feel dirty, vile and embarrassed at the beauty our bodies are capable of.
Keep fighting the stereotypes, keep posting despite the rules and regulations, use the multimedia tools we are blessed with to normalize the menstrual cycle.
