Hello, Mr. Finley,
I am a student at Wellesley College and am trying to do some research on the hysteria in women's medical history in the late 1800s/early 1900s. I am trying to prove that PMS [premenstrual syndrome] is in many ways a continuation of hysteria in that it attempts to "keep women in their place" by claiming to turn them into irrational, emotional creatures during their periods. If you have any links to any information pertaining to hysteria or PMS, please let me know. [Here's what patent-medicine maker Lydia Pinkham wrote about hysteria and offered as a cure.]
Thank you,
Mariah Levin
Hi,
Your site has been included in the OpenHere.com index and search engine. OpenHere is one of the 10 largest index and search sites on the Internet.
www.OpenHere.com is frequented by both children and families. As a result, www.OpenHere.com does not include links to material which is illegal to display to minors.
Sara
www.OpenHere.com
Your key to the Net!
Hi, there,
I read with interest the letter from a Harvard student and, being from the U.K., felt I just had to respond to her comments.
On the subject of advertising reflecting the national mood, (on any subject, not just menstruation), it should be remembered that, by and large, the product of a marketing department's idea on what the national mood is, quite often, seriously off the mark. So I think it is a mistake to judge an attitude to menstruation on the basis of advertising material.
The British "paranoia" referred to seemed a tad harsh considering the last paragraph makes a passing reference to AIDS and hepatitis - these are real dangers. [Those references were actually mine, which the writer acknowledged in a later e-mail.]
The disposal boxes, I agree, have long been the subject of mixed debate. Why have them at all if they are not regularly emptied? This defeats the purpose absolutely; however, on the plus side, they do encourage women to change their protection and surely this is better than either not changing because there is nowhere to put soiled tampons/pads (check out www.populationconcern.org where you can look at the horrific figures relating to urinary tract infections caused by poor hygiene practices during menstruation ) or carry them around inside their bag - YUK.
Finally, I do not get the reason why anyone would want to pin a disposal bag on her door or collect a whole load of them on their travels - what is the point ? - are you really proving anything ? [Oops. Well, see what your MUM has done, in New this week, above.] I mean, most of the women I know, (proud to be women and not embarrassed about their periods), would rather be more private and personal about when they menstruate and what type of protection they use, and it doesn't mean you have evolved to a higher plain of womanhood because you are unconcerned about having disposal bags pinned to your door. Sorry, I just do not get it.
Anyway, these are my opinions and I do respect your right to have yours.
Carole MacKay
The writer, who lives in Scotland, sells a carrying case for pads and tampons at www.just-n-case.com
Harry,
I imagine you get myriad messages about MUM and many sound the same. [That's OK; I appreciate them!] Well, here I am to join the ranks. I feel connected to your endeavor for two reasons: firstly, I'm a woman (ta-daaa) and secondly, because I'm a poet who is very interested in the history of women's bodies and women's lives. Most of my poetry is about those very things. In fact, I'm currently working on a poem, an epic to be (I hope, I hope) about menstruation and "the great body of pains" in which we live. [See also "Menstrual Traveling Show," a song cycle by Geneva Kachman, which will soon be complete.] Tid bit of background so you know I'm not some nut: I have a B.A. in poetry, an M.F.A in poetry and am finishing a second masters in writing education that will be leading to the Ph.D. in women's studies. And throughout my education, my genre has been contemporary women poets and women's studies.
Onward.
I'm fascinated by your site and your work. And, like most people, I admit my hesitancy to take it seriously when I first came upon it. But, I commend you for your insight and passion. I believe so deeply in reworking how women's bodies are dealt with, viewed and lived in. I struggle constantly with trying to love my body and all its wacky ways and pains versus just being plain damned inconvenienced and annoyed. I believe our bodies are amazingly miraculous (as are men's, by the way, and I'm just as darned interested in those as well [!]) but young women grow up in a culture still stuck with the impression that their bodies, at those times of the month, if not always, are unclean and disgusting. There is such resistance, I feel, to let go of this. I believe your museum and work may help change that.
Now, I didn't explore the entire site and of course, I've never actually visited (although, I'd simply love to when it finds a home) [the actual museum - here's a tour - was open for four years and closed because I was worn out] but I wonder where the idea of loving what our bodies do and appreciating the wonder of them is? [I do my best to be politically neutral in showing things related to menstruation and women's health. Viewers can then decide what they want to do with them. But I know I am not always neutral.] (OK, I'm trying not to sound trite here, but may be failing miserably). I believe our culture is constantly asking us to defy and betray what our bodies really are (makeup, implants, shaving, etc., etc., etc.), which you capture quite eloquently and with great graceful humor throughout the site [many thanks]. I too am so struck by the media and its portrayals of women past, present and future (another connection I have to your work).
But, America (and I believe this is not as prevalent in other cultures and countries) is not only obsessed with, but in fact encourages, women to hate the way their bodies "naturally" (and I use quotations, because I'm not sure exactly what that word even means in 1999 anymore) work and function. We're taught from birth to alter everything we can. From perfumes, to makeup, to implants, to shaving, to hair color. (And I admit, I do so many of those things, and, sadly, I do them happily. How conditioned I am. Woe is me). But I believe your work has so much to do with that and could possibly become a way for women to not only learn about their bodies, but learn about the way advertising works against them, and has historically done so.
OK, just as a small reminder (maybe more for myself than for you), I'm not a radical feminist. Unfortunately, that word "feminist" is such a weapon these days and has come to mean something entirely other than it used to. And it requires great efforts to explain oneself when used. Ugh. I certainly, and proudly, consider myself a feminist (and would also consider you one, going on the little I know of you) [you're right]. I am of a school, however, that doesn't buy into a "hateful" mentality as so much of feminism has come to known by. By that, I mean, one of a male-bashing, spiteful, vengeful attitude. I love men. (You guys are so dreamy.) [Holy mackerel!] But, I can't ignore history and where it has lead us and the problematic culture it's birthed. [You're right again.]
Enough. I commend your work and wish you only the best with the future of the museum. I feel you are on the cusp of a great thing. : ) [Many thanks! The problem is getting from here to a finished museum. It will involve a lot of people and a lot work.]
Kelley Beeson
[she asked that her name be used]
Betty can't come to the pool party.
Why not?
Answer: Because she was having her period.
Hm. Just the sort of answer strategically designed to induce further questioning.
Period?
At this point, if a parent were to design a flow [!] chart I imagine it could go two ways. One would dictate the implementation of a simple (or not so simple) birds-and-bees-type physiological run down of the effects and affects of hormones during these critical and most natural stages of human/mammalian development. The facts and figures should be enough to ward off the more subtle and complex issue of social interaction between genders during so tender a discussion. (Grin, providing one has not already taken place).
The opposite box of the chart would prescribe dealing directly with these subtle, complex issues - and that's where matters become far less socially defined.
I have heard several explanations from parents as to "why" Betty couldn't attend the pool party and was surprised at some of the answers I have received. Everything from avoiding embarrassment from leakage to swimming being sinful during menstruation. These are comparatively normal answers depending on the era of ones upbringing, religious background, etc. Yet I have heard some other answers that I found pretty shocking.
Swimming during menstruation: it can cause illness, infections, sterility, STD's; "It could cause foster temptation," "It is a practice that could harm a girl later in life," "is simply unlady like." I once stayed with an old Cajun family in Louisiana where a girl in her mid teens was sent to a "Trator" (a rural faith healer of sorts, in some cases associated with Voodoo) for complaining of pains after a day swimming with friends. It was later revealed that it was her time of the month and that she knew better than to do that.
Well, my flow chart goes no further than possible embarrassment even though I understand "that" to be an uncommon reason given the products in use today. Please elaborate and provide backgrounds for "myths" surrounding swimming and menstruation. [That's a big topic, but start by looking some of the old booklets for girls published by menstrual products companies.]
According to the U.S. Naval Observatory [Washington, D.C., the timekeeper for the U.S.A.] the end of the second millennium and the beginning of the third will be reached on January 1, 2001 [not 2000!]
This date is based on a calendar created in 526 A.D. by Dennis the Diminutive, the head of a Roman monastery who forged a common calendar from the divergent dating systems of his day.
To read more about it please go to http://justclickandgo.com.do/millennium
Please, may I post a letter on your letter page?
I'm researching a documentary for the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] about menstruation - myths and facts and blessing or curse.
I have much information about the curse and prejudice but I am finding scant information about the blessing! I was thrilled to find medical information linking surgery for breast cancer and the menstrual cycle and the New Scientist report about differing medication levels required during the 28-day cycle, and the research about eating requirements differing during the cycle etc., but I want to hear from women who have evidence of the cycle as a blessing, for example, artists, writers, etc., who are at their most creative whilst menstruating.
I also want to meet women who practice menstrual seclusion, as with menstrual huts of the past [and of the present; women still use menstrual huts].
And anything and everything to do with research into menstruation.
Next week I am interviewing Mr Peter Redgrove and Penelope Shuttle who wrote the first book on menstruation that offered positive information, The Wise Wound, 1978. I am very excited about asking many questions resulting from the book. If you have any questions for them pertaining to the book or their second book, Alchemy for Women, about the dream cycle corresponding to the menstrual cycle, I would be delighted to forward them to them on your behalf. They are not on the net so any questions would have to have addresses!
Thank you so much for this glorious Web site [many thanks to you for saying that!] and I look forward to hearing from visitors to your site.
Ali Kedge.
ali@shortkedge.freeserve.co.uk or fflic.zip@business.ntl.com
Irregular menses identify women at high risk for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which exists in 6-10% of women of reproductive age. PCOS is a major cause of infertility and is linked to diabetes.