" It feels like afford birth to a jellyfish . "
Thanks tocenturiesof social stigma, lack of research, and good ol' sexism, there’s a lot of misinformation and ignorance about periods floating around.
So, whenu/5pinktoesasked"What would women like men to know about having periods?“in r/AskReddit, I thought it might be useful to round-up some of the more popular replies.
1.“It sucks, but we still get shit done.”
2.“As far as cramps, moodiness, and bloating go, there is no one rule. It’s not just different for every woman — it can be different for the same woman at different ages.”
3.“Even the folks with pretty regular cycles still experience disruptions, sometimes for no discernible reason.”
" I had two month where my period was move completely normally ( for me ) , and seemed to have passably much enclose up . But just when I ’d usually expect it all to terminate , a deluge that souse through everything came the next sidereal day . "
– u / KingBayley
4.“Sneezing is pretty much playing Russian roulette.”
5.“Periods don’t just stop when you hit 40.”
" Hell , sometimes they go on past 50 ! "
– u / delusion_magnet
6.“Tampons do not break the hymen or cause sexual pleasure.”
7.“We’re still expected to operate at 100% in our daily lives. There’s always work to be done and we’ve been socially conditioned to work through the pain, then get called ‘bitch’ for not smiling or being bubbly. "
" Women are so tough , but we ’re certainly not weak for rent a day off while we dispense with body pain , diarrhea , and painful bloating . "
– u / PastelPalace
8.“It’s just a normal bodily function. Seeing or buying tampons and pads shouldn’t freak you the fuck out any more than toilet paper.”
9.“It’s not a 28-day cycle for everyone.”
" Some have a short cycle , and some have a long one , and some have an irregular one . "
– uracil / Outside_Performer_66
10.“If you’re not mature enough to buy your girlfriend/fiancee/wife a box of tampons in an emergency, you aren’t mature enough for a serious relationship.”
11.“Please remind me that my period isn’t gross and that you don’t find my period products gross.”
" There ’s a lot of generational pity around periods that some of us are still play through , and the encouragement aid . "
– uracil / therealdildoexpert
12.“It’s not just lower abdomen pain.”
13.“For me, the worst part is really that I am not supposed to let anyone know.”
" Telling mass ' Wow , really having high-risk menstrual spasm ! ' is not turn over o.k. . "
– u / turdusphilomelos
14.“If she sends you to buy supplies, do not substitute without approval. We are pretty specific in our products because we know what works best.”
15.“Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not crabby because of hormones, I’m crabby because I feel like shit. You are also crabby when you feel like shit. This isn’t rocket science.”
16.“Cramps can be absolutely brutal. If someone calls off work for cramps I believe they are that bad.”
" I ’ve had them where I ’m just curled up on my side for hours embrace a ardent water system bottle . They are n’t always terrible , but when they are , they are . "
– animallX22
17.“It feels like giving birth to a jellyfish.”
18.“I went to gymnastics practice with appendicitis because I couldn’t tell a difference between my cramps and appendicitis. I was 13.”
19.“I don’t want to babied. I don’t need extra attention and coddling. I’d prefer to just be mostly left alone.”
" I do n’t experience skillful , and I ’m not being bad-mannered but it has nothing to do with you if I just require to hunker down on the couch with a cover . The kindest affair you could do for me is pick up a couple of additional household task like I ’d do if you were sick of . "
– u / spoonface_gorilla
20.“We can’t hold our periods like pee.”
21.“It is possible to get pregnant while menstruating.”
22.“Just try to give us some sympathy and flexibility.”
" No want to treat me as slight or a demon , just a person take a grating time . "
– u / zisnotabird
23.“It’s never ok to say ‘my mother/sister/girlfriend/ex have periods, so you’re wrong or exaggerating when you say that your periods are like that.'”
24.“It’s called period ‘blood’ and ‘bleeding’ colloquially, but we are not actually bleeding.”
" It ’s just tissue getting moult off the same manner your skin cells are drying up and peel off off all the fourth dimension . tissue paper in the human body renews itself , cover with it . "
– u / zazzlekdazzle
25.“Period farts. The ungodly amount of gas I have is like a fucking war crime.”
– uranium / Fake_Gamer_Cat
26.“Vulvar pain. It feels like somebody hit me with a hammer repeatedly around my entire vulva and pelvic area.”
27.“For the last time, the tampon size reflects the amount of blood loss NOT the size of the vagina.”
28.“Our personalities don’t change for five days a month. It irritates me when men disregard my genuine feelings and write them off as ‘PMS.'”
" I retrieve being overturned with a acquaintance , and I assure my husband about my feelings , and he order , ' I think you might just be timeworn or have PMS . ' Like , what ? ! Being a individual who menstruates does n’t modify my ability to do my problem well , be a drawing card , suppose clearly , be noetic or processemotions . I wish people would stop treat womanhood like they ’re disabled for one week a calendar month . "
– u / AlertOtter58
29.“If you have a woman important to you in your life, just talk to them about it. They’d likely be more than happy to help you understand what they personally deal with.”
bank bill : submission have been edit for length / clarity .
