Our Period Stories.

Part of our mission is to spread love and honor periods, so we were so excited to open up a storytelling unit on our Instagram. Over the course of 2-3 weeks we allowed our Instagram followers to send in stories about their experiences with the menstrual cycle such as a typical day on a period or common side effects. We encouraged not only women and lgbtq women to add on but men as well. They talked about their knowledge of periods and what they know about feminine products. We have gotten amazing submissions! We thank all who participated and helped us with period stigma.

Period Stigma: The belief that menstruation is bad, dirty, or something that needs to be stopped; levels of stigma and types of stigma depends on country and religion.

Here are some of our submissions that we've received throughout these couple of weeks!

Senior, He/His

"At first, I didn't pay too much attention to periods, obviously it wasn't something I could understand. But I do have a lot of friends and family that have gone through different experiences with their cycles, sometimes painfully. A few friends of mine need special medication to alleviate the pain leading to some nasty side effects. It's awful that some women don't have the basic resources needed to go through even a single cycle when things are out of their control."

Junior, She/Her

"My experience with my period has been generally normal throughout my years, but I'll never forget my first period. I was in gym class in 6th grade, first week of school actually. I knew next to nothing about periods (partly why I wish menstruation was taught better in schools) and I was rolling around on the floor with my knees to my chest because of the new pain I felt in my lower stomach. I was sitting down close to tears just wondering what could be happening to me. When I got home I went to the bathroom and noticed everything. Definitely not the way I would picture starting my period, at school free bleeding."

Senior, She/Her

"My typical day on my period starts with some small stretching and exercise, sometimes my cramps can be just awful and light movement always helps. Although part of me wants to just curl up on my bed in the dark and sleep all day, I know I can't do that every month for 2-3 days. I go downstairs and eat something light or something packed with protein and I get on with my day. Every few hours I will take an Advil and use my heat pad while doing work. Once I get tired though, I will definitely hit the sack hard."

Sophomore (College), They/Them

"I don't get periods, which sometimes when I watch my friends I am thankful for. I remember how inaccurate I was about my knowledge of period products. I had no idea that a tampon was so small, although it makes a lot more sense that it opens up after, not before. Don't get me started on pads, I couldn't wrap my head around it until I saw how it actually works. I just recently learned about what a menstrual cup is, apparently it works wonders, at least that's what my boss said. I think that everyone should learn how these products work for menstruators because then some people wouldn't find it weird to hold in stores or in carts even if it's completely packaged."

These are just four stories from a whole world of periods. We hope these stories continued to be shared as the more that is heard the more that this natural process will be understood.