For those unaware Planned Parenthood has a fairly straightfoward explanation to the question “what is menstruation?” Simply put menstruation (a.k.a a period), is a natural usually monthly processes in which blood and tissues from a woman’s uterus comes out of her vagina. Prior to the European conquest of indigenous people, feminist historians and scholars like Fred E.H. Schroeder argue that while indigenous cultures marked menstruation with rituals, western societies on the other hand have simply ignored it covering the whole affair in silence.
Thus, in a 1978 satire published in Ms. magazine, feminist Gloria Steinem attributes the lack of normalcy surrounding a woman’s period to the fact that men are not the ones magically menstruating. Steinem’s essay states if men where the ones having periods, “menstruation would become an enviable, boast-worthy, masculine event.” As a result, Steinem envisioned a world in which menstruation would ultimately justify a men’s place anywhere. As well as, leading to the creation of products with dazzling names like “Paul Newman Tampons” and “Muhammad Ali’s Rope-a-Dope Pads.”
Unfortunately, forty years after the publication of Steinem’s essay it still holds the same relevance seeing as there has been close to no improvements made towards menstrual equality. For instance, while the 1970s was the first time in which a rise in Toxic Shock Syndrome was seen. The Washington Post has recently reported on five cases of menstrual-related toxic shock syndrome (TSS) in the state of Michigan nearly fifty years later. TSS is a complication that arises from an infection with certain types of bacteria in which the body has a dangerous response to the toxins they produce that could lead to death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes TSS as showcasing symptoms such as high fever, a sunburn-like rash, low blood pressure, etc. Sadly, women who have their period are most likely to get TSS due to the chemicals used when making these menstrual products such as tampons and pads.
Not only are these products bad for their targeted audience, it is also harmful to the environment. Estimates show that the average woman will dispose of 11,000 sanitary products throughout years of menstruation. A report posted by the National Geographic found that in the year 2018 alone, people in the U.S. bought 5.8 billion tampons the majority of which end up in landfills as plastic waste. One pack of sanitary pads contains the same amount of plastic as 4 bags one tends to carry their groceries in. As a result, menstruation can be characterized as a problem for Ecofeminist.
Ecofeminism arose in the 70s and 80s combining feminist and environmental theories and activisms. Ecofeminist believe the only way to end the oppression felt by the natural world and women is to combine the two in order to examine the patriarchal power structures put in place. Within her essay Ecofeminism: Historic and International Evolution Hobgood-Oster, defines Ecofeminism as challenging structures rather than individuals. These structures consist of classism, racism, sexism, heterosexism, naturism, and speciesism. Ecofeminism also addresses oppressive systems and their manifestation of abusive powers by reinforcing assumptions of categorical hierarchies, such as heaven/earth, male/female, white/non-white, human/animal. Therefore they believe all forms of opposition must be dismantled otherwise humanity will remain divided.
Ecofeminist scholar Karen J. Warren describes eight connections between women and nature. Out of those eight I found the first connection to be the most interesting. The alleged connection of woman and nature through history truly interested me after reading the novel The Red Tent which is classified as a historical fiction. The novel is loosely based on the Biblical story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah. While she is a minor character in the Bible, the author Anita Diamant broadens not only Dinah’s story but also the other female characters typically glanced over in the Bible. The book’s title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob’s tribe must take refuge while menstruating or giving birth. Within the tent the women are not only empowered but also find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters and aunts. They are able to practice old rituals no longer accepted by Jacob and his God. Rather the Women teach Dinah to worship their Goddess and give thanks for her menstruation seeing as it is a sign of her femininity and intern nature as her blood signifies fruitfulness and nourishment to Mother Earth.
Sources
https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2018/07/01/10/nc-infographic.jpg?w660
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/the-silence-around-menstruation-a7000051.html
Hi Angela!
I want to start by commenting on how you led into defining and discussing ecofeminism. As a woman, and one who experiences what you have mentioned, for whatever reason I never thought to make the connection you have made. It’s genius and really leads well into the topic of ecofeminism with the menstrual products being harmful to the environment and women experiencing this and risks with what we are given. Mentioning how and why menstruation is a problem for ecofeminist helped give me an idea of what ecofeminists stand for and what they want to work to fix. I found in reading your blog, I was almost mad at myself for using such products because they really are so bad for the environment and my eyes have been opened to this now. Onto your history of ecofeminism, I found that I followed your timeline well and it matched well with what the Hobgood Oster writings said. Before reading of ecofeminism, if I started with your history of ecofeminism, I might not fully understand because it is such a complex idea, but this is what makes your introduction so helpful. I like that you mentioned without change in oppression, we will remain divided and I agree. With lack of equality, lack of understanding, and those who just don’t care; it is hard to all come together as one and make a positive difference in the world. I think with ecofeminism, we might be able to make serious changes in the world, not only for women but also for the environment. Lastly, I wanted to say I liked that you went out of the box with choosing what connection made by Warren stood out to you the most. Not many would say the history behind ecofeminism, but your connection to text based on biblical story was super interesting. I was so happy to see you make the connection between this text, history, and what you started your blog talking about. I really enjoyed reading your blog!
How do you think people should feel about mensuration cycles? The western world tends to put a form of secrecy or discretion on the whole process. Many men know little to nothing about the female reproduction system and often think of it as a gross process, despite it being very natural. But in the same hand many female are often also very discrete, embarrassed, and tend not to want to talk or acknowledge anything about it. I think that in order for this to become something that is looked at in a more of positive manner it is open to both parties. Males must be educated, open minded, and positive about menstruation, but much of the education and openness of this also falls on females, mothers, sisters, friends, family, etc. Females should not be ashamed or whatever else of their menstruation cycles, and having a more open dialogue and support of on another can raise the awareness across the board.
Also when examining the environmental impacts of menstruation, do you have any suggestions of how menstruation can be looked at in more of a green light? I assume many females do not necessarily enjoy using these products, but they are used for a specific purpose. What are the ways we can either change female hygiene products or make them greener?
Hi Angela!! Thanks for this awesome post; not only was it fun to read, but it was also really informational. I especially enjoyed reading your example of one of the ways feminism and environmental issues are connected. The impact sanitary products have on the environment is something I never would have thought of to be an ecofeminist issue, but you laid it out perfectly for your readers. You went above and beyond the prompt of a simple class assignment, you put your own twist on things and contributed to the ecofeminism conversation in a really meaningful way, I give you big props for that.
Upon reading your explanation of how within our western culture, menstruation has always been swept under the rug and not discussed within our patriarchal system. I found myself wondering if, as you said, it was the men who had monthly periods, if the sanitary products would be overall eco-friendly. My own answer to this question is ‘yes’. I can also say with every bone in my body, with every ounce of confidence that I have, that if men needed sanitary products, they for sure would not be giving off toxic chemicals; that would have been eradicated a long time ago. I believe they also would have found a way to make affordable eco-friendly products, as they are healthier for our bodies and the environment, so it’s a win – win.
All the points you brought up throughout your post reminded me of Karen Warren’s discussion of conceptual connections between feminism and environmental issues. As she says, “Many authors have argued that, ultimately, historical and causal links between the dominations of women and nature are located in conceptual structures of domination that construct women and nature in male-biased ways.” Just as you have shown in your post, females are the ones using sanitary products, the same products that potentially have harmful chemicals, and the same products that are contributing to our waste disposal issue. The crazy thing is, that between the two of us and our ideas on this topic, we’ve barely scratched the surface for I think there are things in our society that we don’t even know are male-biased. This class will hopefully open our eyes to a lot of things. I look forward to reading another post of yours.
Hello, Angela!
I loved your blog post! The history of menstruation education is honestly too sad to talk about, however, the conversations need to be had! In fact, as your post brings out, these discussions are PAST DUE. We cannot neglect the fact that periods occur in women and women only. To neglect this is to oppress menstruation equality, as you mentioned. Women and their needs have no room within the concept of patriarchy which is exactly why its sole existence needs to be eradicated. Our capitalist society is profiting from our natural body processes and not to mention designing hygiene products that are not even safe for us or the environment. This is a serious issue and I am so glad you brought it up. Continue the fight for equality.