Women gather to discuss womanhood, society

Discussion aims to show the female body is natural and beautiful.

By Ryan Beck

Published Feb. 9, 2007

Women gathered to talk about their womanhood and society on Wednesday in the Women's Center during a discussion called "Seeing Red: The Politics of Menstruation." The session was led by senior psychology student Kristina Bradley and focused on the media's portrayal of menstruation.

Bradley, who is studying menstruation, presented advertisements from three different decades, from 1973 through 1993, to the participants.

Advertisements for feminine products including Tampax, Midol and Summer's Eve were passed around to help stir discussion about what public message has been suggested about the female body and menstruation.

Participants discussed the types of themes and ideas each advertisement conveyed. One of the underlying messages discussed during the session was how the advertisements advocated a period as something that should be hidden and not discussed.

Women in the discussion found this to be unjust.

The idea behind the discussion was to show menstruation and the female body as natural and beautiful things, senior Cameron Smith said.

"One thing that I really took away that I thought was interesting was how historical contexts of society were linked to the feminist movements happening in that period of time," Smith said.

Another common theme discussed was the portrayal of the period as something dirty and gross, Bradley said.

The women discussed this topic and proceeded to tell stories about the first time they had learned about menstruation. Some also shared their first experiences with menstruating.

The women told stories the group agreed were embarrassing at the time but are now laughable and enjoyable because all the women could relate.

"Some people are going to make fun of it, and some people are going to celebrate it," freshman Julie Heidbreder said. "But in the end, it's a very natural occurrence in a woman's life."

Although the group decided all the themes relating to menstruation through advertisements were negative, Bradley said there are some positive aspects of having your period.

"Some women experience menstrual joy," she said.

Menstrual joy is described as the opposite of premenstrual syndrome.

Many of the women who participated in this particular menstrual discussion are also taking part in the "Vagina Monologues" Feb. 17 at Jesse Hall.