Comments on: Why are we celebrating menstruation? http://news.haverford.edu/blogs/womenscenter/2009/02/26/why-are-we-celebrating-menstruation/ Haverford College - Women's Center Mon, 25 May 2009 06:28:47 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5.2 hourly 1 By: Helynna Brooke http://news.haverford.edu/blogs/womenscenter/2009/02/26/why-are-we-celebrating-menstruation/comment-page-1/#comment-55 Helynna Brooke Mon, 25 May 2009 06:28:47 +0000 http://news.haverford.edu/blogs/womenscenter/?p=61#comment-55 My mother and I created a kit to help families organize a celebration of their daughter's first period after celebrating with my daughter and her cousins as they started their periods. All of the girls are now adult women and they share that the celebration at the time of their first periods and realizing they now had something in common with their adult female relatives that they could share made them feel more accepted and comfortable asking questions as they went through their teens. My mother and I created a kit to help families organize a celebration of their daughter’s first period after celebrating with my daughter and her cousins as they started their periods. All of the girls are now adult women and they share that the celebration at the time of their first periods and realizing they now had something in common with their adult female relatives that they could share made them feel more accepted and comfortable asking questions as they went through their teens.

]]> By: Bikash http://news.haverford.edu/blogs/womenscenter/2009/02/26/why-are-we-celebrating-menstruation/comment-page-1/#comment-49 Bikash Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:43:45 +0000 http://news.haverford.edu/blogs/womenscenter/?p=61#comment-49 Dear Jessie, What you have raised is an issue that deserves attention both for individuals(men and women) and the society.Menstruation and ejaculation can't be equated on the same standard, for a woman essentially bears(consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly) the burden of menstruation for the sake of mankind which is not always the case with ejaculation(I feel myself inferior to even refer to the term ejaculation here because it has no relevance here though its has its own importance). And, menstruation is like irrigation that nurtures the feminine body and psychology. In India, and more particularly in South India the Hindu tradition did celebrate menstruation. When a girl reached puberty and experienced her first period, the family(dominantly women) celebrated the event with rituals and greetings to the girl. As they used to say, the girl was now regarded to have 'gained knowledge' (i.e., getting conscious of her identity as a woman, and moreover overcoming childishness). This helped the girl psychologically atleast as she now could feel that it was a good sign. However, the celebration usually stops there, and it does have its relevance because grown up girls would not like to get attention of the world around them just for their periods. Although it is also true that religious traditions in India, like in other countries, did recommend a number of restrictions vis-a-vis menstruation, it is also true that in their best forms these restrictions did favour the concerned woman. Like, she was not supposed to cook, but to take rest. On the other hand, Tantric tradition took it otherwise. It saw menstrution as a rejuvenating experience for the woman, and hence believed that this could be the best time for her to get spiritually charged. Dear Jessie,
What you have raised is an issue that deserves attention both for individuals(men and women) and the society.Menstruation and ejaculation can’t be equated on the same standard, for a woman essentially bears(consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly) the burden of menstruation for the sake of mankind which is not always the case with ejaculation(I feel myself inferior to even refer to the term ejaculation here because it has no relevance here though its has its own importance). And, menstruation is like irrigation that nurtures the feminine body and psychology.

In India, and more particularly in South India the Hindu tradition did celebrate menstruation. When a girl reached puberty and experienced her first period, the family(dominantly women) celebrated the event with rituals and greetings to the girl. As they used to say, the girl was now regarded to have ‘gained knowledge’ (i.e., getting conscious of her identity as a woman, and moreover overcoming childishness). This helped the girl psychologically atleast as she now could feel that it was a good sign. However, the celebration usually stops there, and it does have its relevance because grown up girls would not like to get attention of the world around them just for their periods.

Although it is also true that religious traditions in India, like in other countries, did recommend a number of restrictions vis-a-vis menstruation, it is also true that in their best forms these restrictions did favour the concerned woman. Like, she was not supposed to cook, but to take rest.

On the other hand, Tantric tradition took it otherwise. It saw menstrution as a rejuvenating experience for the woman, and hence believed that this could be the best time for her to get spiritually charged.

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