# Moon cycle and menstruation and... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2010, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900 "2010-10-03T08:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/41 "2010-10-04T21:07:47Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > > [@jackdavinci](#): > > > > It’s more appropriately paired with the elbow pit (what’s that called?). I guess the arm pits don’t really have a match since there’s only one taint. Except for the extremely well endowed I guess. > > The elbow pit is the cubital fossa. 🙂 (Fossa just means “surface”, so it’s the surface of the cubital region.) I feel like I’m getting a little pedantic in this thread but, ["fossa"](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fossa)actually means the opposite of “surface.” It’s a depression or hollow. The cubital and popliteal fossas generally refer not just to surface anatomy, but internal (subdermal) structures, which are many and significant in those areas. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/42 "2010-10-04T21:28:54Z")
Only in the same sense that Hillary was the first one at the top of Everest: It didn’t count as a discovery unless a white male did it. I’ll bet you that when, say, [Renaldus Columbus discovered the clitoris](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/912/did-renaldus-columbus-discover-the-clitoris-in-1559), every literate woman in Europe sighed and rolled her eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/43 "2010-10-04T21:45:16Z")
Okay, maybe some obvious part of female anatomy like that . . . but how about c-sections? Were native midwives doing those as long and as successfully as white males? What about oral contraceptives? All I’m saying is that men are certainly capable of understanding female physiology. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/44 "2010-10-04T21:51:57Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > > [@Malacandra](#): > > > > 'Cos, of course, men can know all about any amount of biology and medicine and so on, except for stuff about women’s bodies - knowledge about the female reproductive system is located directly in the ovaries! > > Yeah, cause the early half of this thread had so much biological and medical information in them. But that doesn’t have anything to do with them being male. It just has to do with them being ignorant of biology. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/45 "2010-10-04T22:03:08Z")
> [@Gestalt](#): > > Okay, maybe some obvious part of female anatomy like that . . . but how about c-sections? Were native midwives doing those as long and as successfully as white males? What about oral contraceptives? > > All I’m saying is that men are certainly capable of understanding female physiology. I didn’t say they weren’t. I just find it hilarious that certain guys just wander into a thread like this and spot off at great length about something they have neither experience nor knowledge of. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/46 "2010-10-04T22:03:09Z")
When I was in college, the cycles of the denizens of the dorm did pretty much tend to be around the same time, during which we got the monthly bulletin about why the plumbing was all bollixed up and what not to flush. BUT…most of the women in my dorm were on The Pill, and for a lot of them it was convenient to get the prescription on the first of the month and start it them, so… I must say I never had any idea whether my roommates were menstruating or not, and at that point in my life I didn’t have any mood- or weight-changing issues with my cycle, so I tended not to pay too much attention. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/47 "2010-10-04T22:24:59Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I didn’t say they weren’t. I just find it hilarious that certain guys just wander into a thread like this and spot off at great length about something they have neither experience nor knowledge of. Except that in the scant 7 posts that proceded your driveby only anecdotes and speculation had ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/48 "2010-10-04T22:41:12Z")
In all fairness, this thread is about menstrual cycles and the moon, and men, as a gender, are a lot more familiar with moon, having actually been there. Either that, or you don’t need direct experience of something in order to be able to understand it, I can’t remember which. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/49 "2010-10-04T23:54:39Z")
> [@](#): > > that would be different from women’s knowledge of men’s minds and bodies how exactly, then? The male mind is quite frequently a mystery to women. We are often puzzled about why y’all do what you do. Happy now? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/50 "2010-10-05T00:41:35Z")
I just don’t understand why spouting off misinformation is worse if you’re a man doing it about “women’s issues” than if it’s another woman doing it or about any other topic. But a lot of people seemed to get really up in arms about men daring to think they knew more about flushing tampons, for example. I don’t really get why the gender of the person makes any kind of difference. Ignorance is ignorance no matter who you are. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/51 "2010-10-05T01:29:04Z")
Part of the reason is that some men will say shit like “Women don’t know what they really want” and similar things. And male ignorance of women’s issues can be painful and even downright dangerous to women…for instance, I don’t know how many times I complained about painful periods to male doctors, only to be (figuratively) patted on the hand or head, and told that it was all in my head, and that if I’d just change my ATTITUDE, the pain would go away. And let’s look at Freud, who taught that women who had “clitoral” orgasms were emotionally immature. Male ignorance has been ingrained in our medical knowledge, and it’s only recently that some of this ignorance has been weeded out. Female ignorance is more along the lines of believing that anybody can knee a male in the crotch, and it will instantly stop him. This ignorance is also dangerous to women, who will try this stunt with no training, and then be surprised that just about every male has developed protective reflexes when something comes at their family jewels. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/52 "2010-10-05T02:15:42Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The male mind is quite frequently a mystery to women. We are often puzzled about why y’all do what you do. Happy now? You didn’t offer my chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/53 "2010-10-05T03:36:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Part of the reason is that some men will say shit like “Women don’t know what they really want” and similar things. And male ignorance of women’s issues can be painful and even downright dangerous to women…for instance, I don’t know how many times I complained about painful periods to male doctors, only to be (figuratively) patted on the hand or head, and told that it was all in my head, and that if I’d just change my ATTITUDE, the pain would go away… Actually, I had a female supervisor who felt the same way. She really hated it when one of her teenage staff would call in with menstrual cramps. After all, \*she \*never suffered from endometriosis, so the person calling in had to be faking the pain. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/54 "2010-10-05T04:02:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > There are quite a few cultures where the moon god was/is male. > > Really? Which ones? The only mythology I’ve ever seen with a male moon-god was Tolkien’s, and who knows what elf cycles are like. Fictional literature is not a “culture” so obviously (even if it occured to me to think of it), that’s not what I was talking about. Real cultures that have male moon deities are Sumerian/Babylonian (Nanna/Sin), Shinto (Tsukuyomi), etc. I just looked at the wikipedia article after I typed the above, and it lists many more. The two above were just those I knew of off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![some\_bloke\_somewhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@some\_bloke\_somewhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_bloke_somewhere)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/55 "2010-10-05T14:54:08Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > > [@some\_bloke\_somewhere](#): > > > > …before artificial light became available to the masses, female humans tended to menstruate around the full moon > > We’re gonna need a cite for that, or are you just speculating? That is pretty much how it was explained to me in a biology lesson at an English comprehensive school in 1981. Mind you, the teacher was a man with a beard. 😉 Zsofia made a point “…It’s so cute when men tell us all about how our bodies work!” And that is an interesting point. I’ve realized i’ve never had a conversation about the menstrual cycle with anyone except for my wife. (Some Sheila? hmm i don’t think she’s gonna like that, should have thought harder about the name) Not really sure if the lunch room at work will be the best place to change that statistic. I hasten to add, the biology lesson was otherwise very good, we’ve all been to it, the one with the big drawing drawing of the uterus on the blackboard. We were a mixed class of 13-14 years olds, this was a very interesting subject to everybody in the class. I’m sure most men can remember at least roughly how it works. The lunar cycle thing was just sort of tacked on i guess, i had no reason not to believe it. Turns out your man already covered it [What’s the link between the moon and menstruation? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1348/whats-the-link-between-the-moon-and-menstruation) So i’m glad to see my theory shot full of holes, ignorance fought Also, some of us chaps do realize when that packet appears next to the toilet rolls, the chocolate in the fridge is NOT for us. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/56 "2010-10-05T16:42:08Z")
**Malacandra** said: > [@](#): > > > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > > > You have a point. Many men, for instance, seem convinced that they are gonna DIE if they don’t have sex. > > Ha ha, whee. Anyone else, I guess I’d draw an Admin’s attention to this… :dubious: Why? Do you think they don’t know that? Seriously, why do you think that deserves mod attention? It’s a pretty mild piece of cultural hyperbole. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/57 "2010-10-05T17:31:28Z")
> [@](#): > > And let’s look at Freud, who taught that women who had “clitoral” orgasms were emotionally immature. Male ignorance has been ingrained in our medical knowledge, and it’s only recently that some of this ignorance has been weeded out. I don’t think anyone in the medical community takes anything Freud said seriously any more, on any topic. > [@](#): > > Female ignorance is more along the lines of believing that anybody can knee a male in the crotch, and it will instantly stop him. This ignorance is also dangerous to women, who will try this stunt with no training, and then be surprised that just about every male has developed protective reflexes when something comes at their family jewels. On the other hand, it can make an extremely effective feint, to follow up with something like an attack to the eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/58 "2010-10-05T17:39:49Z")
My cycle is 23 days. May I ask, specifically, to _which_ moon are you referring? Earth’s moon? Or some other? You do realize there is more than one, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/59 "2010-10-05T17:55:29Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > My cycle is 23 days. May I ask, specifically, to _which_ moon are you referring? Earth’s moon? Or some other? You do realize there is more than one, don’t you? Apparently, your menstrual cycle is based on the course correction cycle of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. > [@](#): > > Any system with two large bodies and a smaller third body will have five Lagrangian Points. So, there are five different Lagrangian Points in the Sun-Earth system. In this system NASA has a spacecraft called SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, sitting at L1, the point between the two larger bodies. Apparently it can orbit there for 23 days before needing a course correction. If it fails to make a course correction it will either fall toward the Earth of the Sun depending on which direction it happened to drift away from the L1 point. [http://dolio.lh.net/~apw/astro/orbit.html](http://dolio.lh.net/~apw/astro/orbit.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900/60 "2010-10-05T18:22:21Z")
And those of us with irregular periods (for years mine was 28 days on the dot, but for years it was “wow! today! What a surprise!” too) wish it were as simple as moving in with our girlfriends and hitting the “sync” button. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moon-cycle-and-menstruation-and/555900.md?page=4)