How did you learn about Menstruation?

[lee]

How did you learn about menstuation. Where did you first hear about it? Where did you learn all about it? Who explained it and what did they say? How old were you? What did you think when you first found out?

This is a question for everyone, men, women, and others!

[Brunetter]

She visited my grade seven classroom, banished the boys from the room, and filled us in on what we were about to experience. She made it sound so terrifying that for years I prayed night and day that it wouldn't happen to ME!

[SPOOFE]

I just kept picking up bits and pieces... stuff about the womb, stuff about "bleeding", stuff about "tampons/pads", stuff about fertility... dozens of different sources. Eventually, I just pieced all that together. If my brain was a computer, it would have all been compiled into a single .zip file and renamed "menstruation".

On a slightly related note, I take pride in being one of the few people on the planet to be able to withstand hearing women talk about their period. I think that comes from the theatre... :D

[divemaster]

Believe it or not, I think I learned about if from Judy Blume.

[PunditLisa]

I bled all over myself. It was just a little at first, then after a couple months, it started coming more often. I figured I was dying and finally got up enough nerve to tell my mother. I was in fifth grade, so I guess she thought she had some time before the "talk" was due. Believe it or not, she gave me one of those old sanitary napkins that resembles a small mattress and a BELT! This was 1976, btw, not 1876, so it was her thriftiness that prevented her from entering the 20th century. Anyway, realizing that necessity was the mother of invention, I "invented" beltless pads myself, using scotch tape.

When they gave us the school talk in 7th grade, I thought "Thanks for the info, but you're about 2 years too late."

Now, with all the "feminine protection" commercials I'm sure no girl today is an ignorant as I was then. But in 1976 we never mentioned the word "period" or "menstruation" or "tampon."

[Czarcasm]

Heard about it on the radio.

Alice Cooper-"Only Women Bleed"
:)

[madd1]

In Hawaii, we had sex education in the 3rd grade.
Which,IMHO, is something that still should be taught at that level? You never saw a class so quiet and interested in a subject. Children at that age are more likely to pay attention and learn, and less likely to spend the entire class giggling uncontrollably.

[SwimmingRiddles]

Judy Blume. But I was so terrified of telling my parents. I guess I was afraid of not being their little girl anymore. It was horrific. Not telling them, that was fine, but the anticipation. I have never had to do anything that hard since.

[brachyrhynchos]

Missed that day in school when the school nurse told us about it, but I guess I picked up enough from mom and my friends that it wasn't completely overwhelming. The most embarassing part, after getting my Mom to help me the first time, was her going into the kitchen to tell Dad that their youngest was "now a woman." An eleven-year old confused woman who just wanted to go play on the monkey bars instead of seesawing on those hideous things they passed off as sanitary napkins in the 60s.

And I'm still confused - who is Judy Blume?

[kiffa]

My mom. I wonder if Brachy remembers what Mom said [her posting on Mom's sex explanation including her accent was
right on the nose]......
I thought that those clunky pads were for peeing when Mom went shopping. Guys could pee standing up, but women could pee and, la-di-da, you won't even know about it! oh well, so much for convenience. Mom was also against using tampons [old fashioned I guess], but she was eventually convinced that it was ok. Same with pierced ears.

I have mixed feelings about the "curse"; when it comes it confirms my gender status [woman], fertility and childbearing possibilities [or not], my health and time passing. I hate it because I never know when it will arrive, its messy, ruins fancy underwear, clothes, sheets and forces me to adapt my schedule. I've tried cervical cups, diaphram, etcetcetc. I was happiest when pregnant because the curse was banished for a while. Needless to say I am looking forward to menopause.

[kiffa]

Argh, Brachy you bet me to the punch.

[Ellen Cherry]

Judy Blume writes books for teenage girls, and, less successfully, the grown-up women they eventually become ("Summer Sisters" -- bleh!!) One of her classics is "Are you There, God? It's Me, Margaret," notable for its discussion of Margaret getting her period.

I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I was fully informed about menstruation by the fifth grade, and waited until I was nearly a sophomore in high school to join the ranks of "women." It was so embarrassing. I carried tampons around in my purse for years so no nosy girls would think I hadn't "started" yet.

(Pssst .... I enjoyed an entire year period-free after the birth of my son because I nursed him. This doesn't happen with everyone, but coupled with the pregnancy, I had nearly two years curse-free! Whee! It was funny; when I 'returned' it seemed all the products had changed!)

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

I first heard about it when I was playing dolla with my neighbor and she wanted to use her mom's sanitary pads for diapers. I had no idea what they were and she said "They are for when my mom is vleeding." She was from Norway. I was like, "What, when she is what?" She had to say it ten times before I realized she meant bleeding, and then I thought it was some big bandaid and wondered why just her mom would need them. Men get cut too, I thought.

I also recall finding mom's tampons and looking at the package insert. They used a cutaway view to show you how to insert it and it looked all the world to me like there was supposed to be a slot in your OUTER thigh (didn't realize one leg was "cut away" for the diagram). Wondered what the hell that was and why I never new anyone with an outer thigh opening.

Really, I was considered a gifted child. Honestly.

[vandal]

I learned it like how SPOOFE did. Just bits and pieces were thrown around the playground. Then, in seventh grade, we watched a video that explained it in detail. It became clear at that point.

[Shirley Ujest]

My menopausal mom told me about "a friend" coming to visit every month and it would completely natural. It's a vague memory for me, to say the least, and it was done at the same time as the " Watch out for boys/men who can't keep them to themselves. I think she called them Friendly Fred's ( stop laughing) who have been up graded to Child Molesters now. I was either in the 5th or 6th grade. I am practically pissing my pants at the memory of it now at how comical it all was.

However, when my "friend" made it's appearance starting in eight grade,I naively thought that if I didn't drink red juice, like Hi-C, it would be clear, not red. I used toilet paper for the first couple of visitations and eventually got the courage up to ask my mom about pads.

She goes to the store and brings home belted pads. Punditlisa and I could have the same Mother, my mom didn't know anything about tampons. I got the courage up to do buy a box when I was in the 10th grade. The belted pads were even worse than imagined because my mother, who is still from another planet (planet polyester), would buy for me only polyester pants ( you know the kind, with the fake pleats down the front, and they clung because of soemthing called a growth spurt in 8th grade and my mom refused to buy me new pants. I walked around school with one book in front of me and one book behind my butt.

I have to remember this for my biography

[brachyrhynchos]

Ha! like a thigh pocket, Cranky! I don't think the topic of sex was anything near as confusing as menstruation. Misleading diagrams, uninformed school nurses, weird and uncomfortable sanitary products. *sigh*

I am grateful for the improvement for the latter - I remember Mom telling Kiffa and I that her mother MADE her sanitary stuff to take on her ocean voyage on the Queen Mary. Mom ended up tossing the used ones out the port hole instead of washing them and subsequently she had no napkins when she arrived. Her aunt took her to the store where she was able to buy them for the first time in her life. But the napkins were so lousy that they crumbled. Yuck.

Oh, and SPOOFE - thank you for being able to say the word "period" with out getting all oogified. That's an all too rarity in men.

[AHunter3]

Hmmm...I think I learned about it gradually, in stages.

1) Insinuation and implication. For instance, when I was perhaps 6 or 7, I didn't want to wear a belt and my Dad and Grandpa exchanged a series of comments about how if I'd been a girl I'd have to wear far worse things than a belt, like girdles and stuff, and there would be WORSE things, uh huh yes indeedy worse things for sure if I'd been a girl so I oughta put on the damn belt and be glad I was born a boy.

Or strange accoutrements and thingies in the bathrooms of female relatives. From little hints here and there, I got the notion that women did SOMETHING in the bathroom that men thought was a little weird and icky and made nervous nonexplicit jokes and comments about. I didn't know what was used for what, but by 3rd grade I'd seen a Massengill douche, a shower massage hose, a box of pads or tampons, a Water Pik, and various rinsed-out undies drying over the shower curtain rod and thought...well, I don't KNOW what I thought, not specifically.

2) "Health" class in 4th grade explained plumbing, sexual and reproductive. Although they left out how anything feels (and certainly didn't speak of appetites), they covered menstruation. I was left with the impression that it only affected MUCH older females, you know, fully adult grownups like the teachers. I had no idea that some of the girls in my class would soon be dealing with this.

[Edwardina]

I was lucky, my mom told me, up front, at a very early age. By the time it happened, I was so blase. I was like "oh, yeah, that, okay."

[D Marie]

We had the sex ed class (I think the euphemism was "Personal Development") in the fifth grade. I remember the boys being led out into the other classroom to watch a movie, and us thinking how lucky they were that they didn't have to go through such a thing. Most of us girls already knew about everything that was going to happen by then. I did, having read "Are you there God..." and other coming-of-age books already.

I didn't get my period until I was in the ninth grade. I was the youngest one in my class and I was sure I was the last one. It happened at home, and I was so mortified I didn't tell my mom until a day or two later. The first time was awful--I bled what seemed like quarts for ten days straight. We left on our vacation in the meantime, and I was using the hugest, most absorbent pads known to man, changing them twice a night, and I still managed to bleed all over my aunt and uncle's floor, where I was sleeping in a sleeping bag. :o

[Hello Again]

In about the 4th grade my parents got this book called 'What's Happening To My Body" all about puberty written by a health educator for her daughter. Kinda the "Our Bodies Ourselves" for the pre-pubescent set...

Anyway, they left it on the shelf in my room for whenever I should desire to examine it, which I did (privately of course) and a good thing too because I got my first period in the late 4th grade... But when it happened I felt totally like it was no big deal. I wouldn't have even told my mom except that she asked about it.

[SuaSponte]

Well, I knew SOMETHING was up when ma would always decide it was time for us kids to go to bed whenever those old CareFree maxipads commercials would come on (anyone remember who the gymnast in those commercials was? I had a bit of a crush on her - though by no means as big a crush as I later developed for Mary Lou Retton). This got me curious - don't parents realize that the best way to get kids to learn about something is to try to hide it from them? If she just let the commercials pass without comment, I'd doubt I would have even thought about them (except, of course, I still would have had the crush).

I picked up bits and pieces, but it really didn't come together until 7th grade in science class. I remember I was the only guy (in fact, as I recall, the only person) to ask questions. It made me a minor hero for a few days in the schoolyard.

V.

[cher3]

I just had a little conversation with my daughter about it. She came out of the bathroom waving a tampon: "What's this, Mommy?" I couldn't think of any reason for coming up with a creative lie, so my husband and I gave her the Mr. Rogers version. It was pretty funny--she has the general idea about babies coming out of Mommys' tummies and how boys and girls are different. I recall using some sort of diaper analogy. She's three. I sorta thought I'd have a little more time to get my story straight.

[Strainger]

"Mom, these 'tampons' and 'maxi-pads' I keep hearing about - exactly what the hell do they do??"

Later...

"Oh my God. That must really suck"

[Anti Pro]

I was nine years old and had to share a room with my sister who was two years older than I. She kept this purple box of 'sanitary napkins' on our upper closet shelf. I thought it was weird that we had stuff for the dining room in our closet! I said something like that to my mother who slapped me across the face and told me to go to my room. I was STILL rubbing my face when she came into the room and threw a little pink booklet at me and told me to read it, then I was to go outside.

Wellllll, going outside was what I wanted worse than reading this stupid little book! So I opened it to the middle where I saw a drawing that reminded me of an open parachute with a weird person in the middle of it dropping down to the ground (womb with fallopian tubes if you can't figure it by the description!) I put 2+2 together and got, 'hmmmm, NEVER ask about those napkins AGAIN!' and went outside to play.

My 'period' started when I was fourteen in 1967, and as Lisa mentioned, I was convinced I was shuffling off this mortal coil. I broke down with the news to my mother who FASTENED THE NAPKIN AND THE BELT ON ME (let's be humiliated to the Nth degree shall we???) and said, 'Now you're a woman' and stalked out of the room. She threw all of my horse figures and stuffed animals away, I guess since 'women' don't play anymore. :(

Hey, mom, you should see the toys I have NOW!! hehehehehe

[tygre]

(Pssst .... I enjoyed an entire year period-free after the birth of my son because I nursed him. This doesn't happen with everyone, but coupled with the pregnancy, I had nearly two years curse-free! Whee! It was funny; when I 'returned' it seemed all the products had changed!)


I also went a long time after my son's birth without a period - 15 months - that with the 9 months of pregnancy made it 2 years without a period - it was great :D

I also started late - was almost 15. We had one of those movies in 4th or 5th grade to explain the whole thing so I'd been well aware for quite a while, thanks...

--ty

[ricepad]

I think I was in the 6th grade when we had sex education. I'd had some idea before then, especially after the time my brother and I got into Mom's stash o' tampons. We discovered that if you dipped it in water, then used the cardboard tube as a kind of flinger/launcher, the tampons would fly across the room and hit the picture window with a totally satisfying *SPLAT!*. Then we got Dad's shaving cream and fashioned 'body parts' on them, and called them "window slugs". Needless to say, when Mom got home and saw what her two precious ones had gotten into while she was out, she was pretty horrified.

[nashiitashii]

Believe it or not, I think I learned about if from Judy Blume.


When I was about 5 or 6 I read "Dear God, It's Me Margaret" by Judy Blume. What a silly idea for a book. ["Dear God, it's me Margaret. Please let me have my period..." How many people actually wanted their period after they found out what it was? Not me!] That was the first information about menstruation that I received.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

a coworker told me her mom's explanation was:

Your body makes a bed for a future baby in your womb. Once a month, it's gotta change the sheets.

I'm remembering that one for my offspring.

[timmar68]

My best friend and I found a book and read it. I asked my mom about it and she swore up and down that she told me about it. I think I'd remember if she did. I remember we were like, "Ewww! That'll NEVER happen to me!".

It's funny how we think about our periods as time goes by. The first reaction: "Ewww!"
Then: you see who among your friends gets it first and can't wait until you do (I was in 10th grade). Then you realize what a pain it is and hate it and wish you didn't have to have it. Then you start having sex and pray that you get it. Then, some women try to have kids so they start wanting to not have it. It's a vicious cycle (bad pun, sorry!)

[CLedet]

In the 5th grade our teacher separated the boys and the girls. We (the boys) went out in the school yard and played kick ball. The girls had to stay inside. Ha! We had so much fun and could not wait to tease the girls. When the next period came the girls told us (I'm sure this is what the teacher told them to tell us) that they got to watch "Star Wars". Damn! That pissed us off so much. I think the resentment lasted for years. It turned into a major issue for us. The 5th grade boys bitched for quite some time about not getting to see "Star Wars". Can you imagine the laughs the faculity had over this?

[Scotticher]

My knowledge was gained in the "Disney" movie they showed (only to the girls) in grade school. Mom filled me in on the true facts shortly thereafter.

However-

the BEST thing about it I ever saw was the Mary Tyler Moore show episode where Mary and Rhoda were visiting Rhoda's mom and she sat Valerie Harper down to read a letter she had written after Rhoda's birth. Eventually, she got to the point where she talked about this wonderful thing that was going to happen someday, blah blah blah, that would make it possible for her (Rhoda) to have her own little one. And, best of all, it would happen EVERY MONTH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE-or some such thing.

I laughed until I cried when I saw that episode!

I loved that show-

Scotti

[flodnak]

"On Wednesday, the fifth grade girls will be seeing a movie in the library with the school nurse. The fifth grade boys will be going to the gym to play basketball. Girls, here are your permission slips..."

Permission slips to see a film. Heavy stuff! Actually, since my sister was only one grade ahead of me, I already had some idea what was in the film, but that was when I really learned the details. My mother desperately wanted us to know, since she about died the first time she got her period - she knew nothing about it and thought she had contracted some horrid disease - but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it to us until we were pretty well adults. So she was grateful for the school nurse and her movie, and the "Growing Up and Liking It" booklets that were sent home with us. She did however manage to let us know where she kept the maxipads. (Beltless, thank goodness.)

Good thing I knew what I was happening. When my first period showed up, I was alone in the house with my teenage brother. I don't know who would have been more embarrassed if I would have called to him for help.

[Commander Fortune]

Edwardina said:
I was lucky, my mom told me, up front, at a very early age. By the time it happened, I was so blase. I was like "oh, yeah, that, okay."

Exactly the same. My mom had me totally prepared. When I told her it happened, she started crying like a baby... "My little...sob... giiiiiirrrrrlllll's growwwwnnnn uuuupppp...sob sob.

[Shirley Ujest]

In the 5th grade our teacher separated the boys and the girls. We (the boys) went out in the school yard and played kick ball. The girls had to stay inside. Ha! We had so much fun and could not wait to tease the girls. When the next period came the girls told us (I'm sure this is what the teacher told them to tell us) that they got to watch "Star Wars". Damn! That pissed us off so much. I think the resentment lasted for years. It turned into a major issue for us. The 5th grade boys bitched for quite some time about not getting to see "Star Wars". Can you imagine the laughs the faculity had over this?


This is pure brilliance!