M. Clara Whitaker: comments about menstrual suppression, at the Museum of Menstruation and Women's Health

Read your letters responding to Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Press release from the menstrual suppression panel of The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research 15th Biennial conference, June 5-7, 2002, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Article ("Foes raise red flag against suppression of menstruation," by Karen Hoffmann, Post-Gazette Staff Writer, on Tuesday, June 24, 2003) about the The Society of Menstrual Cycle Research conference in Pittsburgh in the local Post-Gazette newspaper
Leslie Botha-William's response to Post-Gazette article

Comments of M. Clara Whitaker about the Post-Gazette article that
reported on the conference of The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research,
June 2003, in Pittsburgh

I was happy to see that the Post Gazette addressed the issue of menstrual suppression from several angles, for it is a topic that deserves adequate attention. I would like to say, however, that one big aspect of menstrual cycle suppression was left out in the article: the fact that it was born not so much out of ethically gathered solid data as it was on menstrual taboos. These aspects have been overlooked in favor of hailing menstrual suppression as a cure to women's suffering, perpetuating the belief that menstruation is a dirty, condemnable process.

The point that many women miss is that menstruation, much like hysteria in the late 19th century, is now in vogue as a way to "prove women's inferiority to men." Suddenly, being cyclical means being ill. But, lo and behold, there are some handy new drugs on the market targeting ovulation and menstruation, whose disease-causing talents are established mostly through empirically inconsistent arguments that cycling is not what nature meant for women. In fact, Chris Knight, an anthropologist and lecturer at the University of East London, states that menstruation IS natural and beneficial for women and their communities because if women were desirable and attractive to males all month long, instead of having their periods regularly, males would spend much of their time copulating instead of hunting and protecting the tribe.

It appears to me that Ms. Hoffmann [the writer of the Post-Gazette article] may have bought into the idea of menstrual suppression as a good thing for women, because of the way she assembled the article, in that it seemed dismissive of the red flag The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research has been raising. This is analogous to having a relaxing smoke while reading an article on the cancer-causing effects of cigarettes. I believe the author would have seemed less biased if she hadn't simply used a negative view of menstruation from Harry Finley's mum.org site as a snappy, witty punch line at the end of her text, but had been careful enough to also include one of the many positive statements about menstruation found in the same site [here], such as:

"I like to be able to see that my body is still working,

"I enjoy being a woman and want to feel it 100 percent.,

"I need to listen to my body and take a break every now and then. I LOVE ovulating (for me, my boobs get bigger, I sometimes get bloated, but when I realize why, I just put on a bigger pair of pants and relax. I am not a boy, who can vacuum and stand and be patient every day of the month like a robot. The modern pace of life just isn't natural, and my body knows better than I do,

"I feel that if I tried actively to stop having a period, I would be contributing to that sense of dirt and shame and secrecy that menstruation carries in our culture,

"My period shows me what I am!

"When I'm unhappy [my period] really makes things worse. But I've been so happy recently that I've simply passed through my period without noticing it."

Perhaps what women should be asking themselves (and effectively tackling) is what is irritating to them: their periods or whatever triggered their irritation during their periods?

M. Clara Whitaker is a clinical and research psychologist from the PUC-SP University in Brazil. She has been studying cultural aspects of PMS and menstruation in Brazil, as well as menstrual cycle psychology, for a number of years. Ms. Whitaker is a member of the SMCR, and was a keynote speaker at the June 5-7 conference in Pittsburgh, with the talk on "Political and Cultural Issues Regarding Menstrual Cycle Suppression in Brazil."

Press release from the menstrual suppression panel of The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research 15th Biennial conference, June 2002, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Article ("Foes raise red flag against suppression of menstruation," by Karen Hoffmann, Post-Gazette Staff Writer, on Tuesday, June 24, 2003) about the The Society of Menstrual Cycle Research conference in Pittsburgh in the local Post-Gazette newspaper
Leslie Botha-William's response to Post-Gazette article
Read your letters responding to Would you stop menstruating if you could?

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Comments of M. Clara Whitaker about the Post-Gazette article that reported on the conference of The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, June 2003, in Pittsburgh

"I like to be able to see that my body is still working,

"I enjoy being a woman and want to feel it 100 percent.,

"I feel that if I tried actively to stop having a period, I would be contributing to that sense of dirt and shame and secrecy that menstruation carries in our culture,

"My period shows me what I am!

"When I'm unhappy [my period] really makes things worse. But I've been so happy recently that I've simply passed through my period without noticing it."

Perhaps what women should be asking themselves (and effectively tackling) is what is irritating to them: their periods or whatever triggered their irritation during their periods?

Comments of M. Clara Whitaker about the Post-Gazette article that
reported on the conference of The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research,
June 2003, in Pittsburgh