# Resolved:menstruation is a sin **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 30, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563 "2010-07-30T10:52:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/1 "2010-07-30T10:52:04Z")
If spilling your seed is a sin (euhm…. Masturbation) why is a woman having a menstruation not a crime in the eye of GOD? She could have had a child if she had let someone impregnate her, but she choose to waste her egg, thus breaking Genesis 1:28 : be fruitful and increase in number/ go forth and multiply/fuck off ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/2 "2010-07-30T11:01:33Z")
Wrong forum, maybe? Anyhow - that’s absurd, regardless. Even if our hypothetical mensturator has sex with 17 guys between day 11 and day 14 of her cycle there’s no guarantee that one of them will actually manage to get the job done. Secondly, even if they do manage to get a swimmer to where it’s needed, there’s no guarantee that the resulting embryo will be viable. On the off chance that IMHO _IS_ where you intended this silly OP to be…uh, OK, yah, mensturation is a sin - the cramping, the leaking, the need for every manner of pad and plug and cup, the cramping, the headache, the backache - ugh, it’s a sin. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/3 "2010-07-30T11:20:39Z")
Wasn’t a real question or debate of course, I have been taking anti-depressives and haven’t been able to spill my seed for almost six months now, feeling a bit frustrated about it ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/4 "2010-07-30T11:24:56Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > If spilling your seed is a sin (euhm…. Masturbation) why is a woman having a menstruation not a crime in the eye of GOD? > > She could have had a child if she had let someone impregnate her, but she choose to waste her egg, thus breaking Genesis 1:28 : be fruitful and increase in number/ go forth and multiply/fuck off Because God doesn’t give women a choice in whether or not they menstruate, but men don’t _have to_ spill their seed - they could have sexual intercourse and leave their penis inside a vagina until ejaculation. They can resist the temptation to masturbate (sometimes easier said than done, I am told, but still possible). Women, however, menstruate when their bodies decide to do so. Even if she had sex every day there’s no guarantee that a woman will conceive. There have even been cases of women menstruating while pregnant (rare, but it happens). Apparently, God feels free to waste lots of eggs, despite their relatively small supply, but wants to save all the millions of sperm in each ejaculate. More proof, in my mind, that the God of Abraham is a sadistic asshole but that’s strictly my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/5 "2010-07-30T11:29:44Z")
> [@](#): > > More proof, in my mind, that the God of Abraham is a sadistic asshole but that’s strictly my opinion. Indeed, just check out Jewish Niddah laws. > **[Niddah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niddah)** > > A niddah (alternative forms: nidda, nida, or nidah; Hebrew: נִדָּה nidá), in traditional Judaism, is a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh (ritual bath). > In the Book of Leviticus, the Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a niddah. The prohibition has been maintained in traditional Jewish law and by the Samaritans. It has largely bee... ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/6 "2010-07-30T11:44:29Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > If spilling your seed is a sin (euhm…. Masturbation) That’s the big if. If it’s Onan we’re talking about, he appears to have been guilty of sneakily depriving a widow of her estate by refusing to ejaculate inside her while appearing publicly to fulfil the custom of [levirate marriage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levirate_marriage). Otherwise, what Biblical reference did you have in mind? …Alternatively, carry on with the religion-bashing, and I’ll just go forth and multiply. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/7 "2010-07-30T11:47:50Z")
Yes, it’s pretty clear from the rest of the story that Onan’s “sin” was real estate fraud, not wanking. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/8 "2010-07-30T12:23:43Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > If spilling your seed is a sin (euhm…. Masturbation) why is a woman having a menstruation not a crime in the eye of GOD? Because it’s not fun? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/9 "2010-07-30T12:43:10Z")
[quote=“Broomstick, post:4, topic:548563”] > [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > Apparently, God feels free to waste lots of eggs, despite their relatively small supply, but wants to save all the millions of sperm in each ejaculate. More proof, in my mind, that the God of Abraham is a sadistic asshole but that’s strictly my opinion. The best part, in my mind is the fact that sperm only last in the system for a few days and then the body starts breaking them down to reuse the nutrients for new sperm. So the sperm get wasted either way. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/10 "2010-07-30T12:46:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Because God doesn’t give women a choice in whether or not they menstruate, but men don’t _have to_ spill their seed - they could have sexual intercourse and leave their penis inside a vagina until ejaculation. Only if they have access to a woman, or else they’ll just have night emissions. As for why menstruation isn’t a crime in the eyes of God; it’s probably because the sort of people who think “spilling your seed” is a sin are also the ones who think women are sinful just for being female. The “Daughters of Eve”, temptresses and minions of Satan and all that. They don’t label menstruation a sin because they don’t think femininity ever stops being a sin. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/11 "2010-07-30T12:46:12Z")
[quote=“Inner\_Stickler, post:9, topic:548563”] > [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > > > Apparently, God feels free to waste lots of eggs, despite their relatively small supply, but wants to save all the millions of sperm in each ejaculate. More proof, in my mind, that the God of Abraham is a sadistic asshole but that’s strictly my opinion. > > The best part, in my mind is the fact that sperm only last in the system for a few days and then the body starts breaking them down to reuse the nutrients for new sperm. So the sperm get wasted either way. So, what you are saying is men are going to Hell whether or not they masturbate. Well guys, might as well rub one out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/12 "2010-07-30T14:20:27Z")
Resolved: you do not understand the concept of sin. A sin is something committed intentionally. Even in a male, spilling his seed by accident (e.g., a nocturnal emission) is not considered sinful. Certainly not mentsruation. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/13 "2010-07-30T14:32:18Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > I have been taking anti-depressives and haven’t been able to spill my seed for almost six months now, feeling a bit frustrated about it Well at least this means the kitten _will_ survive! ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/14 "2010-07-30T14:36:27Z")
My understanding was that having sex for any reason was a sin, but it’s a necessary evil in order to procreate. However, having sex with someone you’re not married to or rubbing one out is supposed to be high up on the list of No-nos. As for menstruation, like everyone else has said, it’s something you can’t control. But it has historically made women unclean and inferior in the eyes of the Church. Tangentially, I’ve never understood why, if women were so inferior, we should be trusted to raise a man’s sons. After all, we’re so dumb, how do our husbands know we won’t set them on fire on accident or fill their heads with drivel? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/15 "2010-07-30T20:10:51Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to Great Debates. **Ellen Cherry IMHO Moderator** ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/16 "2010-07-30T20:20:22Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > My understanding was that having sex for any reason was a sin, but it’s a necessary evil in order to procreate. However, having sex with someone you’re not married to or rubbing one out is supposed to be high up on the list of No-nos. > > As for menstruation, like everyone else has said, it’s something you can’t control. But it has historically made women unclean and inferior in the eyes of the Church. > > Tangentially, I’ve never understood why, if women were so inferior, we should be trusted to raise a man’s sons. After all, we’re so dumb, how do our husbands know we won’t set them on fire on accident or fill their heads with drivel? 🙂 Women are also a necessary evil. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/17 "2010-07-30T20:26:59Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Resolved: you do not understand the concept of sin. > > A sin is something committed intentionally. Even in a male, spilling his seed by accident (e.g., a nocturnal emission) is not considered sinful. Certainly not mentsruation. You do not understand the concept of original sin. And the fact that all women have been cursed by it. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/18 "2010-07-30T20:31:14Z")
Despite the fact that I am Jewish, I understand the concept well enough to know that men are considered to be cursed by it as well as women. And “Original Sin” still does not refer to an accidental occurrence. Granted, it was not the descendant in question who perpetrated it, but it was still an intentional act of defiance of G-d’s law that produced the effect. There is no definition of “sin” that does not somehow stem from intentional, not accidental, activity. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/19 "2010-07-30T20:39:27Z")
> [@](#): > > My understanding was that having sex for any reason was a sin, but it’s a necessary evil in order to procreate. I know of no living religion that believes that all sex is inherently sinful, certainly none which considers the Bible to be a holy book. I know this is a common caricature, but there’s almost no truth behind it. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563/20 "2010-07-30T23:22:50Z")
> [@willthekittensurvive](#): > > Wasn’t a real question or debate of course, I have been taking anti-depressives and haven’t been able to spill my seed for almost six months now, feeling a bit frustrated about it I know what you mean. In case you’ve been tempted, **wait until the SSRI’s are well clear of your system before attempting to achieve orgasm by any means.** I still regret ejaculating while coming down off Paxil. I think I tore something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-menstruation-is-a-sin/548563.md?page=2)