#menarche

[fuzzytheduck]

If you are Jewish, and did/do menstruate, did your mother slap you when you got your first period?

[doctorrambles]

Menarche o Unang Regla [VIDEO]

[talkingaboutmens]

What do you remember about your menarche? What do you know about menstruation and menarche generally (without necessarily experiencing menstruation yourself)? How do you feel about menstruation and menarche?

With this video, I want to gather as many experiences, thoughts and feelings about menstruation and menarche as possible. This video is part of a research project of the Swiss Science and Youth foundation.

[drusilllas]

every time I'm on my period it's just like. I can't believe I've been doing this for twenty years now. That's 240 periods. 1200 days. I've been bleeding for three years straight. If I had actually stuck to one period product, that would accumulate to what? 6000 tampons? 7000 pads? I'm sick of this

[tsunael]

✨  — twinkle, twinkle, little star!

a headcanon from my muses’ childhood or and a nursery-rhyme they remember from that time.

Until the age of seven, Tsuna spent every waking moment with her mother, for her father was often on long sea voyages from Othard to Thavnair. When Orihime would catch wind of his ship's arrival, it would always mean a feast for the three of them to celebrate. Her mother's sekihan was a treat she always looked forward to-- and for more than just the taste. Her father was meant to reach shore once more on the week of Tsuna's coming-of-age (obitoki-no-gi), but with the invasion of the Garleans becoming an imminent threat, his voyage was delayed. Tsuna and her mother ate sekihan that day alone, unknowing that it would be the last. While not a nursery-rhyme per se, her favorite bedtime story of her mother's was the one of the Ruby Prince: a tale in which a Hyuran fisherman and an Auri princess were brought together by a Kojin and wed in a palace under the sea. Every time her mother told it, the tale would be embellished-- much to Tsuna's delight-- but what Tsuna found the most fascinating was that the son they bore was said to have had almost no scales at all.

[thescrumblingmidwife]

is it normal for your boobs to not be growing a lot or for me not to have my period…? i’m 13, and everyone else is ahead of me. :(

Hi Anon,

Here's the normal flow of puberty:

breast development (thelarche) -> the first step is the development of "breast buds," little pads of glandular tissue just behind the nipple

adrenal glands start working to make androgens, so you start getting pubic and armpit hair, developing BO, maybe acne

growth spurt

menses starts (menarche)

There's a pretty wide range of what's considered "normal" with the onset of puberty. Some girls/AFAB kids will notice the onset of breast development (thelarche) as early as 8, and others may not begin until some point after age 12. The "average" can vary based on geographic location, race and ethnicity, and nutritional status. In the USA, about 95% of AFAB kids have undergone thelarche by age 12.

Your ask says "not growing a lot," so I'm assuming you've had some breast development. Some breast development but no period by age 13 is totally normal. Once it's started, some people develop breasts quickly, some slowly, some get large breasts, some always remain small. Your period should follow within around 2 years of whenever your breast development started.

This is why your pediatrician asks to look at your chest and private parts, as embarrassing as that may seem. If you haven't had any nipple changes at all by age 13, your pediatrician refer you to an endocrinologist or will get some bloodwork done to make sure there isn't anything going on with your hormone levels. There are a lot of different reasons why the hormones may not be coming online properly.

So, no worries, Anon! Nothing good comes of comparing ourselves to others. For every kid out there despairing they didn't get their period by age 13, there's a 9-year-old being teased for developing breasts in the 4th grade.

FWIW - I didn't get my period until I was 14, and my boobs were pretty small until I was around 18.

[maybeasunflower]

Sixth grade is 11-12 year olds. According to this CDC report, 26% of first periods happen by the 11th birthday - that is, before sixth grade.

So a quarter of children would not be allowed to ask their teaching why they are bleeding.

Utterly shameful and ridiculous.

House Bill 1069, also known as the "Don't Say Period" bill, which passed in Florida's Republican-controlled House at the end of March, means what you think it means. 

The bill proposes banning any form of health education until sixth grade and would prohibit students from asking questions about menstruation, including about their own first periods, which frequently occur before the sixth grade. If passed by Florida's Senate and signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, the ban will be effective July 1.

[blankspace07]

Miracle of a body

It runs through my body. It is my power. It is my infirmity. It comes regularly. It deceives and doesn’t come out. Ending days. Bad blood. Last layer. I am finally clean.

[absolxguardian]

My official sex ed about periods happened in 4th grade, and it was two months too late. My precocious puberty would have been far more traumatic if I didn't know what periods were when I had my menarche (a paper actually did an article on precocious puberty in response to this, and menstrual stigma makes the social isolation so much worse).

The appropriate age to teach children about periods is when they're old enough to ask, and if the child isn't super clingy and following their mom into the bathroom, I imagine it's when they're aware enough of their surroundings to ask what the menstrual products they see in the store are for.

(Teaching kids what puberty is well before they should have it and being open about all aspects of anatomy also facilitates proper medical intervention for precocious puberty. If they're in a household where they'll tell their parents when they notice their first pubic hair, then an appointment with their pediatrician can be made and medical intervention discussed.)

“So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in 5th grade or 4th grade, will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?” asked state Rep. Ashley Gantt, a Democrat who taught in public schools and noted that girls as young as 10 can begin having periods.

“It would,” McClain responded.

Unbelievable. Link to article.

[sweetstarcollector]

So phrases like "people with uteruses" or "people who have periods" never really bothered me as much as more overtly dehumanizing phrases like "bleeders" or "birthing bodies", but I saw a post today talking about the abnormal symptoms women experienced after getting tear gassed protesting, that ended with something like "we don't know the full effects of tear gas on people with uteruses". And what struck me about that is that's not really correct, because female people without uteruses (either bc they were born without one or bc they had a hysterectomy) will still experience different symptoms after being tear gassed than male people. Women metabolize substances differently than men, our immune systems are different, our hormonal cycles are different, our skin has different thicknesses, etc. All of those things have potential effects on tear gas reactions, and are not dependent on whether or not we have a uterus. They're dependent on whether or not we're female. So saying "people with uteruses" when what is meant is "female people" is not really accurate. And I realized that a lot of times when people use those kinds of phrases, they aren't being accurate.

For example, I'm sure we've all seen people say things about how the repeal of Roe v Wade will harm people with uteruses/people who can get pregnant/etc. And while yes, it definitely harms those people, the full truth is that abortion bans harm *female* people, *regardless of if they can get pregnant or have a uterus.* Because female people who don't have uteruses can still get pregnant, and in those rare cases will 100% of the time need an abortion. Female people who deal with infertility and can't carry a fetus to term can still be jailed for miscarrying. Female people who are completely sterile (for whatever reason) can still be denied medications/medical treatment on the grounds that the treatment could theoretically harm a fetus. Female people who may currently have no uterus/no longer be able to get pregnant but who have had an abortion in the past will face increased stigma.

Here's another example:

It seems pretty straightforward- menstruation stigma is experienced by people who menstruate. But again, that's only half true. Period stigma is experienced by all female people, regardless of if they menstruate. Think about the fact that we are told female people should not hold political leadership because "what if a female president has PMS and starts a war", despite the fact that almost all female presidential candidates are old enough that they would have experienced menopause. Female people have their feelings dismissed because "it must be that time of the month", regardless of if they're too young to menstruate or too old or if they have a condition causing amenorrhea. Female children grow up seeing periods- a natural function of their bodies- portrayed as disgusting, dirty and gross, as making them unclean, as something to dread and fear. This affects them before they experience menarche, this affects them even if they never experience menarche. It affects all female people.

I could come up with more examples, but you get the idea. Reducing female people to singular body parts and organs inherently denies the reality of femaleness. All parts of us (both biological and social) interact with all other parts of us to form an experience that can't be understood by chopping us up and putting our individual functions under the microscope. In order to get an accurate picture you need to look at the whole (female) human.

[daenystheedreamer]

MYRISH LACE SWEEP!! you are all adorned in fabrics and threads woven by those whose labour is unrecognised, whose names are forgotten. your spinners, your weavers, your lacemakers, your pearl divers. their sons will die for your wars. their fingers bleed for your beauty, a beauty they could never afford. it's such a pretty prison, and did you ever have a choice?

[c-hrona]

Trigun body horror week

Day 2 - Skin

Menarche

Do you ever wonder if Knives was afraid, the first time he sprouted blades instead of feathers? Would have he been less terrified, if he wasn't alone?

Do you ever wonder if he begged for his brother to come and help him understand?

Do you think it hurt?

[tanuki-kimono]

Cw: We are going to talk here about periods, and sex education in the past. Read this note according to your own sensibilities :)

How women dealt with periods during Edo period, article by shunga enthousiast Shungirl who made a paper pad following instructions found in makura bunko 枕文庫 - ie ancient sex books illustrated with erotic ukiyoe.

One of such makura bunko is 渓斎英泉 Keisai Eisen's 閨中紀聞-枕文庫, first published in 1822. It details Chinese remedies recipes for menstrual pains and irregularities, give tips about sex, and information about menstruations and pregnancy. From a modern point of view, some beliefs are outdated, but it was then such a bestseller it went through several reeditions.

Several words were apparently in use during Edo era to designates menstrual period: keisui 経水, gekkei 月経, tsukiyaku 月水, etc.

When girls went throught their first period, their females relatives or nannies would taught them how to deal with them. One method was to use paper as sanitary products (please note people without easy access to paper probably dealt with periods differently).

__________ 御馬 paper pads

Sanitary pads, such as the one recreated above by Shungirl, were then called mima 御馬 (probably as a pun on true "mima" which were then fine horses own by noblemen, or attached to sanctuaries as mounts for gods etc) or simply ouma お馬 ("honorable" horse).

Ouma were made from inexpensive recycled paper called Asakusagami 浅草紙. Sheets were folded 8 times, tied with twisted paper strings (koyori 紙縒), and then wrapped with another layer of folded paper. It was secured once again with paper strings.

Part of the strings could be left long so to tie around the waist, or/and pad was hold into place by wearing fundoshi 褌 loincloth (which would also help prevent leaking on inner tights).

Asakusagami quality was low (it was also used as toilet paper) so paper pads had to be changed often, meaning you had to fold quite a lot of them to go through your period!

Shungirl folded the pad above following instructions found in the book 実娯教絵抄, which provided several other "models":

__________ 詰め紙 paper tampons

Another method for dealing with periods were tampon-like paper bundles which were inserted into the vagina, the 詰め紙 (tsumeshi? I am not sure of the reading).

This method may have first appeared in red-light districts (?). Beside its use for periods, prostitutes also used those tampons as method of contraception (OP has an interesting article on this subject).

By the end of Edo period and into Meiji, paper tampons were widely used even by women who were not prostitutes - despite voices branding this method as unsanitary.

__________ About girls' coming of age rites

Menarche (first period) was an important milestone for girls, and was celebrated as such via specific rites (shochō o iwau 初潮を祝). Those differed a lot from places to places, and also depended on social status.

Celebrations would concern close family, but often spread to wider community who could received for example a festive meal (sekihan 赤飯) for the occasion (some Edo era senryû poems stress how mortifying this publicity could be!).

Interestingly, some traditions were also pretty sweet: in some places, mothers would sew 3 stiches into their daughter's underskirt (koshimaki 腰巻き) as a good luck charm, hoping their periods would last only 3 days <3

Those rites were part of coming of age traditions (seijoshiki 成女式) which marked the start of a young woman adulthood. Another example is the blackening of teeth (ohaguro お歯黒) which usually started around 16-17 years old.

Celebrating menarche publicly was a way of advertising that the girl was no longer a child and would "soon" be a bride. Yet, if menarche often took place around 13-14 years old, in reality it was somehow unusual to have girls married so soon!

Before marriage, especially in non-noble/samurai families, young women often started their sexual life via flings or yobai 夜這い ("night crawling" ie pseudo-secret nighttime encounters) before any wedding actually took place.