Looks like there’s another round of chatter in the media about menstruation suppression. You can read my (somewhat old) thoughts on the subject over here.

In reading this article from CNN, the comment that caught my eye the most was this:

Girls learn early on that menstruation is a sign of fertility and femininity, making its onset an eagerly awaited rite of passage.

The period is “way over-romanticized,” says Linda Gordon, a New York University professor specializing in women’s history and the history of sexuality.

I’m sorry, what?! What world is Linda Gordon living in? Where are women romanticizing their periods? I wish that there were more women romanticizing menstruation! It might be a step in the right direction. Most women feel a sad sort of resentment/embarrassment about the whole thing.

And only in my mother’s wildest feminist fantasies are girls “eagerly awaiting” their “rites of passage.” Would that this were actually how it were. As someone who actually had a menarche rite of passage (and attended several of my friends’ rites), I can say that we were in the vast, vast minority, and even we were mostly just playing along with our mothers.

Have these people looked at menstrual product advertising targeted at teens? There’s no “eagerly awaited” anything going on there. The focus seems mostly to be on convenience and discretion. Tampons are made to be tiny enough that you can sneak them to the bathroom without anyone knowing. Pads are made to be thin so that you can wear them without anyone knowing. If menstruation were romanticized, tampons would be accessories like cell phone charms.

It’s weird — it’s like in an effort to make an argument for menstrual suppression, the article creates a fantasy world where girls are actually body-positive and ok with their periods. (Thanks to Marisa Karplus for bringing the CNN article to my attention!)