Blood Valentine’s Day

News 13 February, 2018
  • Illustration Philippe Melbourne Dufour

    Marjorie Champagne

    Tuesday, 13 February 2018 17:00

    UPDATE
    Tuesday, 13 February 2018 17:00

    Look at this article

    What is the measure 10cm by 10cm and is hidden in the bottom of his jeans pocket back in order to be certain that nobody sees it?

    What is it that brings shame, discomfort, and according to the legend, prevents it from making the bread to rise?

    What is it that prevents us, perhaps, to make love to the Valentine’s day?

    For a sanitary napkin. Menstruation. The blood.

    I menstruated the first time at the age of 14 years. Remember how abominable! I was not at home, but camping with my two cousins younger than me. So I flew to my aunt’s towel night ultra jumbo (one layer, my friend.e.s!), I bled in it all day, and I threw it in the toilet of the trailer…

    Scandal! I plugged the hose.

    Thanks to the incident, everyone knew my menstru, even my cousin adoptive René! René was a year older than me and I “tripais” it not bad, so the fact that he knows that I’m “patched” filled me with shame.

    But why?

    I know I’m not the only one to have experienced my first period with this feeling. This shame of menstruation, it is among other things related to our heritage and catholic faith. In the book of Leviticus in the Bible, some passages are pretty clear:

    The woman who has a flow, a stream of blood in its flesh, will remain seven days in her impurity. Whosoever toucheth them shall be unclean until the evening.

    And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

    If a man lies with her, and that the impurity of this woman come on to him, he shall be unclean seven days; and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.

    Impurity. And the shame.

    I think it describes quite well the feeling that consumed me when this was bloody. I also remember that I have forbidden my mother to reveal my secret to my father. Shame, always shame.

    When you think about it, it is quite serious. I was ashamed of becoming a woman!

    I remember that in the new school year in September, I had received one of the first comment that objectivait my body. A boy I had watched from head to toe telling me this: “it looks like you have forms…you’ve developed this summer Marjo!”. I was disgusted. I was becoming a woman to bleed once a month and to receive this kind of comment platform that some refer to as compliments?

    In a survey conducted by Thinx with 1500 women and 500 men, half of these latter deem it inappropriate for women to talk about their rules at the office and 44% of them laugh out of the bad mood of women, attributing it to their “week”.

    How many times have you heard this: “Well, are you menstruating?”.

    Several men do more this kind of jokes flat to our subject, but for others, it would be necessary for it to stop. It is not normal that the first feeling that a teenager feels when its first rules to be negative.

    On the contrary, we should glorify menstruation, or at least feel that we can speak freely, aloud. If men were menstrués, an international day of menstru would be included in the calendar, tampons and towels would be free of charge and a sacred ritual would be celebrated when the teenagers would go through there.

    We should not feel obliged to hide our protections in the bottom of our jeans pocket. You should not hesitate to talk about diva cup, tampons, pads, and bobettes absorbent. Yes, yes, bobettes absorbent!

    This is the latest novelty in terms of absorption of menstrual blood. I’ve just ordered a pair to try it!

    In addition to being environmentally friendly, it is sure that it will not clog hose!

    I wish you a good Blood-Valentine’s day! And don’t forget that same period, we can do the amourrrrrrrr!