Do you think menstruation is a completely natural function of female life? Well, even if you do, many women are embarrassed about their periods, which is why they feel the need to hide or disguise them through the use of code words and euphemisms like the crimson wave, Aunt Flo, or the dreaded Bloody Mary. There are many hilarious code words for the period that are both sad as well as staggering.
Did you know in Japan one euphemism for menstruation is “The arrival of Matthew Perry”? Astounding, isn’t it? Forget about ordering a menstrual cup, women don’t even know what an organic menstrual cup is or how to practice healthy menstruating habits because they are still hiding behind the obscure veil of period idioms, metaphors, and euphemistic terms. So, let’s reveal them now one by one, shall we?
#1 Japanese: “Anne No Hi”
Anne here denotes Anne Frank; whose diary is wildly popular in Japan. Anne Frank’s diary is incredibly hyped in Japan for its discovery of periods and hence the name.
#2 Danish: (Communists in the Gazebo) “Kommunister i lysthuset”
Do you have any idea that communism was symbolized by the red color and gazebo is a fun house? So, the reference is to a mean red force that invades a fun house, obscuring its pleasurable and normal pursuits.
#3 Finnish: “Kukintapäivä” (“The Day of Pushing Flowers”)
Considering periods, a blooming phase is not new. It is prevalent since time immemorial and in the Middle Age Finnish texts, periods were referred to as “bringing on the flowers as back then doctors had little or no idea of what is going on during the menses.
#4 American: Flying Baker
This term became popular after World War II by the guys. Here baker doesn’t have to do with actual baking; it refers to the naval semaphore alphabet, where B denoted by baker uses a red flag.
#6 India: The crow touched me
This phrase derives its roots from menstrual seclusion that keeps women separate from holy places, cooking areas, and different areas of contamination during their menses.
Why avoid euphemisms?
Undoubtedly, euphemisms evoke linguistic fun, but most women use period euphemisms because it is about societal afflictions. Many individuals still don’t view periods as a perfectly normal physical process that occurs to half of the planet at one point or the other. People view periods as something distasteful and disgusting that cannot be talked about politely.
Women are still unfamiliar with safe period hygiene and the use of products like organic menstrual cups because they cannot even talk about menstruation normally. In India, sanitary pads and pretty much every sanitary product is sold like it’s being smuggled because periods are still considered impure.
Women don’t order a menstrual cup because they think their hymen is some embodiment of sanctity or their pride is hidden in their hymen. So, let us ask a question here: who put your integrity, your pride, and your positive self-perception in your hymen? Why should you be manipulated by the societal rumors that label your period as unhealthy when you can make your period comfortable and sustainable with the use of reusable period cups.
Think again and act accordingly.
