# Periods - Men just don't get it. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188 "2014-07-15T17:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/101 "2014-07-16T20:01:24Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Ya know, in a discussion I titled [“Olympic Menstruation,”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=660168) I got chastised by someone for assuming that menstruation was an unpleasant thing that compromised physical performance. And now you’re telling my my assumption was correct? > > 😕😕😕 > > I wish all you women would get together and decide what periods do to you, then you could explain it to all of us men - and maybe all of us men might finally get it. IT VARIES FROM WOMAN TO WOMAN Why is that so hard for some people to accept? ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/102 "2014-07-16T20:04:27Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > IT VARIES FROM WOMAN TO WOMAN yes dear ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/103 "2014-07-16T20:05:46Z")
Besides, being an Olympian, I would expect their training would prepare them for being able to perform under a host of feeling-like-shit scenarios. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/104 "2014-07-16T20:11:17Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Besides, being an Olympian, I would expect their training would prepare them for being able to perform under a host of feeling-like-shit scenarios. How many Olympians are amenorrheic, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/105 "2014-07-16T20:11:50Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Guy here. Ive never once, in all my life, been familiar with any of my girlfriends period schedules. No idea. Well, Real Dolls are pretty low-maintenance in that regard (but the cleaning!!!). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/106 "2014-07-16T20:19:53Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > yes dear 😃 But yeah, **Green Bean** nailed it. I have periods from hell that can be both physically and psychologically debilitating. I know women who barely notice anything different at all. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/107 "2014-07-16T20:41:21Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > 😃 > > But yeah, **Green Bean** nailed it. I have periods from hell that can be both physically and psychologically debilitating. I know women who barely notice anything different at all. But heaven help you if you haven’t gotten every last detail of your new girlfriend’s body’s quirks committed to memory within three months, you insensitive jerk! ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/108 "2014-07-16T20:42:45Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > IT VARIES FROM WOMAN TO WOMAN > > Why is that so hard for some people to accept? Is that what we’re supposed to “get”? That’s not the impression I got from the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/109 "2014-07-16T21:01:09Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > But heaven help you if you haven’t gotten every last detail of your new girlfriend’s body’s quirks committed to memory within three months, you insensitive jerk! I have to imagine the OP was PMSing when she wrote this. I don’t mean that as a slight, it’s just sometimes, with your hormones, very tiny things can seem like a great big deal. And I am definitely +1 on the notion that guys don’t notice when a woman is bloated. Yes, technically I’m fatter when I’m bloated, but it’s way more about how I feel than how I look. No way another person is going to pick up on that. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/110 "2014-07-16T22:40:10Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > IT VARIES FROM WOMAN TO WOMAN > > Why is that so hard for some people to accept? No need to shout. But try to look at this from a man’s point of view. Menstruation is something we don’t experience, we’ve never experienced, and we never will experience. Maybe a woman can guide us through the process. But some women tell us their periods are rough on them, some tell us they barely notice, some tell us they don’t even want to think about sex, some tell us sex makes them feel better, and some tell us it varies so much they never know how their period will hit them. And then some come along and criticize us men for “not getting it.” Now it’s my turn to shout. STOP TELLING US WE DON’T GET IT! THERE’S NOT AN “IT” TO GET. THERE ARE A LOT OF “THEM’S” WE’RE SUPPOSED TO GET AND NOT EVEN OUR PARTNERS CAN TELL US WITH ANY ASSURANCE WHICH OF THEM IS GOING TO SHOW UP! Honestly, just tell us what you need. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/111 "2014-07-16T22:47:38Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Honestly, just tell us what you need. lF YOU LOVED ME AND WE WERE REALLY MEANT FOR EACH OTHER LIKE IN ROMEO & JULIET AND ROMANTIC COMEDIES AND ROMANCE NOVELS YOU WOULD KNOW WHAT’S IN MY HEART ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/112 "2014-07-17T09:01:45Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Been married 13 years, am very, very regular, and my husband still has no idea when I am due for my period. Of course, there can be a box of pads on the back of the toilet, and several used ones in the trash, and he still may not have a clue. > > I don’t care that he needs to be told, though, because if I go to the medicine cabinet and discover we’re out of Tylenol, and I’m cramping, he’s happy to run out and get some, and he’ll usually bring back chocolate, too, without being asked. And if I ask him to buy pads, I have to be very specific about what I need, and usually get a phone call asking me to clarify something, but he does it, without complaining, and it’s the right thing. That’s really all he needs to get, as far as I’m concerned. Mine is disappointed, I think, that he hasn’t been asked to buy me supplies when he’s out and about, but considering some of the thoughtful substitutions he’s made when I send him out for other stuff (‘I know you wanted X, but this was on offer, 3 for 2!’) I’m not running that risk. But like many of the other guys in the thread, he doesn’t really pay attention to when and what products make a two-day appearance in the bathroom or any of that. As with a usual guy, he doesn’t read minds and appreciates having things stated simply. In return he also doesn’t play tedious mind-games or passive-aggressive BS either. On the other hand, he does have some amusing euphemisms for body parts and their various functions. Win-win really. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/113 "2014-07-17T09:06:21Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > My wife is at the stage where periods are no longer an issue, but I can share my 30+ years of experience to offer the OP a little insight. > > 1. Men have only three health settings: feeling good, pretending to feel good, and oh-my-god-I’m-dying-come-take-care-of-me. Apologies for the double post – just agreeing here with this one, although in my experience ‘pretending to feel good’ usuall means there is something catastrophically wrong (eg: my dad staggering around for three days with what turned out to be a broken leg, not the result of ‘musta bumped into something!’ or when my mom discovered he was taking up to six bottles, not tablets, but full 100 ct bottles, of aspirin every couple of days because of a ‘slight twinge behind his ear’ that turned out to require surgery and resulted in the loss of hearing in that ear. No idea why his liver/stomach didn’t look like a coral reef after downing so much aspirin like that for weeks). As for ‘oh-my-god-I’m-dying-come-take-care-of-me’ – ah hahaha, manflu. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/114 "2014-07-17T09:25:28Z")
My ex’s ex, on the other hand, was incredibly offended that my ex didn’t know her period schedule and tried to keep a period diary for her. I can’t imagine this went well. I’m pretty sure my ex wins the international medal for most irregular period of all time. The sheer degree of irregularity was outright anxiety inducing. It swung between “well the test and OB/GYN SAY she’s not pregnant, but she hasn’t had her period for three months…” and “how did you just have two giant gushing periods a week and a half apart with no warning?” ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/115 "2014-07-17T09:34:59Z")
> [@Ms\_Boods](#): > > As for ‘oh-my-god-I’m-dying-come-take-care-of-me’ – ah hahaha, manflu. Funny that. The last time I thought I had manflu it turned out what I really had was an infection I’d never heard of that was much more severe than I had any idea it could be, and I found out differently only after passing out in the doctor’s waiting room and coming round to find an ambulance on the way. But a few days on some absurdly strong antibiotics sorted everything out. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/116 "2014-07-17T10:12:30Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > My ex’s ex, on the other hand, was incredibly offended that my ex didn’t know her period schedule and tried to keep a period diary for her. > > I can’t imagine this went well. I’m pretty sure my ex wins the international medal for most irregular period of all time. The sheer degree of irregularity was outright anxiety inducing. It swung between “well the test and OB/GYN SAY she’s not pregnant, but she hasn’t had her period for three months…” and “how did you just have two giant gushing periods a week and a half apart with no warning?” Easy. PCOS. Been there, done that. Had ruined underwear, pants, bedsheets, couch covers … blood is a bitch to get out. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/117 "2014-07-17T10:15:44Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Easy. PCOS. Been there, done that. Had ruined underwear, pants, bedsheets, couch covers … blood is a bitch to get out. Yup, that’s what it turned out to be (after nagging her to go to a doctor for like, a year and a half). You DO tend to notice your girlfriend’s period when you wake up in enough blood to wonder if she sacrificed a goat in bed though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![missyevelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5ac83/32.png) [@missyevelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missyevelyn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/118 "2014-07-17T11:52:23Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Maybe it’s just me, but if you can’t be a little bloated and fit into your clothes, maybe your clothes are too small. I get bloated during my period, and also when I’m having an IBS attack, but my clothes still fit. Wow…really? Umm, have you ever seen a Midol commercial? Perhaps not for you, but for most women, it’s really hard to fit into their regular jeans (or any clothing) during PMS. That’s why there’s such things as “monthly fat pants”. Again, not judging you, but most women will tell you that clothes NEVER fit the same during that time of the month… ---
**Author:** ![missyevelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5ac83/32.png) [@missyevelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missyevelyn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/119 "2014-07-17T11:58:55Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I can gain 10 pounds and my spouse won’t notice - did you TELL him you were bloated, or just assumed he noticed? I told him on the phone not to come over; I told him that I was bloated and crabby, but he still insisted on coming over. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188/120 "2014-07-17T12:29:57Z")
Guys think bloated is an adjective for _feeling_ bloated, not physically _being_ bloated. We’re that clueless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/periods-men-just-dont-get-it/693188.md?page=7)