History of menstruation book

Laras book contains information around our beliefs and attitudes around menstruation, the archetypes associated to menstruation, societal attitudes, and reclaiming our cycle. Some of the earliest human societies were matriarchies, with lady leaders who created the menstrual blood taboo as a means of commanding fear and respect from their male counterparts. The history of periods is a subject exclusively about womens experience, and i am a man. Subtitled a cultural history of menstruation, the book provided the first comprehensive analysis of the experience and meaning of menstruation across history, with examples from fiction, art, and advertising. The cultural story of menstruation by elissa stein and susan kim. I am glad the book explained not just what the thoughts and views were, but also how these ideas formed. Flow spans its fascinating, occasionally wacky and. It takes you through the history of menstruation from culture to culture, detailing the superstitions, myths and eventual understanding of all phases of menstruation. I started writing this book because i was so fascinated by how we got to this negative mindset about menstruation, says elissa stein, author of. Finding the right books about menstruation can be challenging. But what i will say is that im a historian interested in the lives of all 108 billion people who have ever lived, and half of those people were female.

From aristotle to twentiethcentury gynaecological texts, the chapters analyse the ways in which menstruation has been. Weisswolfs book quickly recaps the history of menstruationfrom disparaging biblical references and the writings of aristotle to the creation of the kotex pad during world war iall the way. Ancient people from mesopotamia to rome seem to have had a similar approach in describing womens periods. Women have always had periods, but how they went through menstruation varied across history. Nadya opens with her own story of her first period, because the goal of the book is to dispel all discomfort surrounding menstruation, and she. When digging through the archives of menstruation, one thing is very clear. Flow spans its fascinating, occasionally wacky and sometimes downright scary story. Sara read, whose book, menstruation and the female body in seventeenthcentury england is out today. Learn 11 strange ways women used to deal with periods. The comic book has been developed over a period of 18 months starting march 20. In ancient japan, women turned to paper to absorb blood, while the native americans made pads out of moss and buffalo skin. These books will change the way you feel about menstruation. The authors apparently wrote this as a reaction to continuous hormonal birth control use to eliminate ones amazingly wonderful period.

Check out the online museum of menstruation for more images and info. Literally, that is the first recorded thing that anybody ever wrote about us people with periods. A cultural history 9781403939357 and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. The cultural story of menstruation by elissa stein goodreads.

This book has a lot of information about the views people had on menstruation in various cultures and political and social situations, it also included the way in which has been understood in medicine and various religions. Culture and menstruation is about cultural aspects surrounding how society views menstruation. The cultural story of menstruation by elissa stein, the curse. Here, we catalogue the important milestones that were achieved in completing the making of this book. In the book, authors elissa stein and susan kim also recount how women wrapped lint around wood to create tampons in ancient greece and rome. The curse a cultural history of menstruation in its hard headed, richly documented concreteness, it is worth a thousand polemics. This issue was brought into relief in january, when a youtuber won a brief moment of fame by repeatedly referring to menstrual pads as tampons back in 1976, scholar fred e. Three lionsgetty images theres a theory about early human societies that im particularly fond of, proposed by the feminist author elizabeth gould davis. The story of menstruation a walt disney production through the courtesy of kotex products through animated drawings and diagrams explains the physiology of menstruation, suggests methods of care. The cultural story of menstruation stein, elissa, kim, susan on amazon. At the back of the book, the authors included a menstrual hall of fame listing admirable, or at least notable, menstruators from. How women dealt with their cycles throughout the ages may 23, 2016 09.

In some societies it involves menstruation being perceived as unclean or embarrassing, inhibiting even the mention of menstruation whether in public in the media and advertising or in private among friends, in the household, or with. The cultural story of menstruation stein, elissa, kim, susan on. In this hip, hilarious and truly eyeopening cultural history, menstruation is talked about as never before. Menstruation menstruation, or having a monthly period, is a normal and natural function of most womens bodies. A story in the new york times from 1998 called the museums website an odd, funny and wellresearched site created by a man on the history of menstruation as. Throughout history, there have been many bizarre myths surrounding periods. Schroeder surveyed the history of public conversation about menstruation or, more to the point, the lack of such conversation.

Simply put, the curse provides information ive found nowhere else. This is another book you can flip through without having to read it cover to cover if thats not your jam. So, please give a warm welcome to sara, and enjoy the fascinating topic she brings to the seventeenth century lady. The sabarimala confusion menstruation across cultures. However, periods may occasionally start as young as eight years old and still be considered normal. The pages are glossy and bright and almost every page had an image of some sort to break up the text on the page.

The latter part of the book dwells on our current perceptions, as seen not only socially and. In 2015, it was selected for preservation in the national film registry. Menstruation often commences between the ages of 12 and, although it can commence at any time between 9 and 17 years of age. Sharon golub, editor of lifting the curse of menstruation a stimulating and useful book, both for the scholarly and the general reader. The result is the first comprehensive historical study of how menstruation has been understood within various cultural traditions, with reference to political and social institutions, and medical and religious practices. In this hip, hilarious and truly eyeopening cultural history, menstruation is talked. It was commissioned by the international cellocotton company now kimberlyclark and was shown in a nontheatrical release to approximately 105 million american students in health education classes.

A hardcover sturdy book with a pinup image on the cover appealed to the femme in me. Its referenced in history as both a cure and a curse. Menstrual periods are both a mundane fact of life and an oddly underdiscussed subject. It includes the history of how society has dealt with menstruation, which includes advertisements for feminine care from days of yore. Getting your period is still oppressive in the united states. In this hip, hilarious and truly eyeopening cultural history, menstruati. Authors, janice delaney, mary jane lupton, emily toth. Although this book is specifically for girls of age 914 years, younger or older girls and even boys would find it an interesting and informative read. Joann owusu is a recent history graduate from the university of warwick. The history of menstruation is a subject exclusively about womens experience, and i am a man.

A brief history of menstruating in space popular science. And a huge part of puberty for many is getting their first period. A friend gave it to me as a birthday gift, saying its the kind of unique thing id like. This site was created by awardwinning author holly tucker, who also served as editorinchief, and ran for over 9 years 20082017. Includes a guide for scholars on bibliographical and archival sources for the study of menstruation. The first period usually begins between twelve and fifteen years of age, a point in time known as menarche. A brief history of menstrual blood myths pacific standard. And giving your daughter and even your son some books about menstruation is a wonderful way to start talking. This book is an irreverent look at menstruation and the history of femcare.

Ui press janice delaney, mary jane lupton, and emily. A menstrual taboo is any social taboo concerned with menstruation. Menstruation, also known as a period or monthly, is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue known as menses from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. Girls love to read stories in the book and learn about menstruation on their own. Ranging from aristotle to twentiethcentury gynaecology, contributions to this volume trace the semiotics of menstruation from magical act to evolutionary deficiency. This collection brings menstruation into the new feminist history of the body. Over the years, menstrual blood and menstruation have had many labels. Following the recent turns to cultural history, the history of the senses and the history of the body, we also need to recognise menstruation as valid and as defining victims experiences during the holocaust. We invite you to join us on our nonfiction facebook group. Across 4,000 years of recorded history and among half a dozen diverse cultures, almost none of the people who left written records talked about the subject. This issue was brought into relief in january, when a. In its hard headed, richly documented concreteness, it is worth a thousand polemics.