Breaking Taboos by Making Conversation

When I say menstruation is taboo, I don’t mean that it’s being denied as a thing. Everyone knows what it is. There are coming of age celebratory functions all around diverse cultures of India. It is taboo in the sense that people don’t want to learn anything more about it. It makes them uncomfortable. Words like impure and dirty are attached to it to make it even more unpleasant to talk about. It is taboo in the sense that it is considered personal and not to be exposed.

When young girls of eleven must go through their first period, they must affiliate themselves to the idea that this will happen every month for half of their lives. It is unfair how we as a “modern” society expect little girls to accept it as a reality but let the universe move on after calling it a “girl issue”. Women’s bodies are only relevant when we are comfortable with it. From corsets to body shaming, we have subjected them to utter observation and judgement. But when it comes down to vaginas and blood, we look away like it’s an appalling truth meant to be kept undercover. Now this is where things take a turn for the worse.