Maya+H’s+2017+OpEd+Article

Stop pretending like you //know// what it is like to experience this. Stop believing you know every little detail about it because you merely watched a five-minute video and read an article or two. Stop trying to help because you can “imagine” how annoying this thing is to endure. Stop being ignorant. Open your eyes and appreciate that you don’t need to experience this thing 12 times out of the year.

That’s right. I’m talking about periods. They suck. However luckily for you boys out there, you have nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about except mood swings and girls getting fat because of how much chocolate they consume. Right?

It’s super fun bleeding for 5 days straight! It’s a blast! I wish my period would come more often, to be honest. The constraints that a period put on a girl’s life is marvelous. Our body image is ruined. The once hard earned so-called “fit” body that we once possessed, is gone. That body where we feel like our best versions of ourselves has disappeared. With our body image, confidence takes a toll. Nobody on the planet strives to feel or look bloated. We want to look appealing to the eye, sexy, cool, cute, whatever. When we feel like shit, we tend to believe that we look like shit. For those who do not experience this wonder-filled week-long occasion every month, it is the same feeling as when you are sick. When you don’t look your best, and certainly don’t feel your best, it is likely that you will not dress your best. Our style is compromised. Thus, most likely, baggy clothes are the first and only option (*disclaimer* no that does not mean that I am on my period whenever I wear my overalls). Baggy clothes, if you didn’t already know, is due to the ugly underwear we wear. With these obnoxious ideals of modern day society, women are expected to form to anything that is labeled as “appealing” or “socially accepted”. This one thing that becomes a struggle when on your period? Underwear lines. Lucky men, you don’t wear uncomfortable underwear every day to appear as though you are going commando. Instead, everything you wear is accepted. Lucky you. Thus, when it is “that time of the month”, it becomes clear that, yes, we wear underwear too. Just like you!

Did you know that’s it is quite an enjoyment to be bleeding from your vagina?! It’s not like a scrape or a light cut where you can put a band-aid on it and call it a day. YOU DON’T CONTROL IT! I particularly like it when I sneeze, cough, or laugh and it feels as though I have peed myself, but no that’s not body waste! It’s blood! Hooray!



Anxiety takes over my emotions, other than sensitivity, when it comes to my period. You don’t want to leak and get blood on your pants. You don’t want to have blood running down your leg when kicking your leg up to the side at ballet. But shit happens. Fears fill your head. Is it time to go to the bathroom? Should I check again? Is there any leakage? Not to mention, but cramps also suck. Something else that sucks? Shocking! Lower back and abdominal pain fill my days. Here, Advil is a savior, therefore I take about eight a day (not in one sitting). Also, heating pads are your best friend.

So, I gave you the rundown on how periods are for me at least. If you are a guy reading this, lucky you, don’t be ignorant and believe you know how it truly is because you watched Glamour Magazine’s “This is Your Period in two Minutes”. Long story short, periods suck and men are lucky that they don’t bleed from their penises.

media type="youtube" key="WOi2Bwvp6hw" width="560" height="315" Above is the idealistic experience, that almost no one gets to have