1.Only women get period and they happen for all women
Menstruation is not “only a women’s issue”, it is a human issue. Many non-binary persons, transgender men and inter-sex persons can experience menstruation. Conversely transgender women and many women do not experience menstruation for a variety of different reasons.
2.If I use a tampon, I will lose my virginity.
The hymen does not completely cover the opening of the vagina, it comes with a hole big enough to allow the period blood to come through. Therefore, a tampon will not ‘break’ your hymen. It’s also important to remember that virginity is not something natural (plenty of people are born without or with a small hymen), it is a (very problematic) social construct, something that neither you, your partner or family should care about!
3.You shouldn’t bathe on your period.
There is nothing to worry about, a bath on your period will be like any other. In fact, a hot bath or shower could bring you ease from the pain by relaxing your muscles.
4.It’s okay to dismiss people’s feelings because “it’s just the hormones”.
Periods can cause people to feel more anxious, depressed, irritable, etc. but that does not mean that these feelings aren’t real and serious and that there aren’t other factors impacting someone’s mood or behaviour. Instead of dismissing These feelings support people based on what they need.
5.You shouldn’t have sex on your period, it could be unhealthy.
That is untrue, sex on your period won’t create any risks to you or your partner. You might feel uncomfortable because of the bleeding so it is understandable if you or your partner do not want to engage in any sexual activities but the fact is- you can, and it might even help relieve the period pain.
6.You can’t get pregnant when you are on your period.
It is possible to get pregnant on period. Ovulation usually happens after the period but, especially if your cycle is irregular, the timing is too close to be able to say with enough confidence that you cannot get pregnant. It is best to use the same protection as usual.
7.Prolonging your period with contraceptive pills is unsafe and will have negative future consequences.
Stopping your menstruation is considered as safe as not doing it. The amount of time you choose to do it for does not increase any risks. Many contraceptive medications contain oestrogen that can increase risk of blood clots but that is a risk for all people on the medication, and there is no difference between those who choose to skip their periods and those who don’t.
8.You can’t exercise and swim during your period.
That is untrue, many menstruating persons continue exercising as usual at every stage of their cycle. In fact some exercises like yoga have been proved to help with the pain of cramps.
9.Period pain is ‘just like’/ cramps hurt only as much as anything you can think of.
If you have not gone through something don’t try guessing what it feels like, you could downgrade someone’s real experiences. Period experiences also vary widely and your experience may not match the experience of others.
10.Period blood is dirty
Blood is just blood, there is no distinctions between where it comes out of. It is a bit thicker but it is not the body getting rid of toxins or anything unclean.
11.Period is your personal issue
It is a world-wide health issue that affects huge part of the population. It shouldn’t be secretive and it should be something that governments and societies care and think about.
12.Menstruating people are dirty/impure
There are many religious and cultural beliefs that say shame women on their periods and limit what they can do e.g. not allowed cook, touch other people or enter temples/holy grounds. This isn’t true and is based on historical misunderstandings of what happens during a period and is often rooted in sexism and misogyny.