BY MABI
Every time I think about menstruation, I can’t help but reflect on how I was raised to speak about it with hesitation like it was something shameful or secret. No one ever sat me down to tell me it’s normal, natural, and nothing to hide. Instead, silence surrounded it. And honestly, that silence shaped a lot of how I saw myself and my body.
Sometimes, I keep on wondering what the world would have been if men were the one who menstruate after-all, the word itself contains men, haha!
I still remember hearing old stories where people would joke that, long ago, men used to menstruate but couldn’t handle the menstruation. So, apparently, the gods passed it onto women. Wild. I even remember a casual conversation with my cousin, where we both agreed: life might have been easier if it were the other way around. Maybe there’d be less discomfort, or at least more understanding.
Fast forward to now – the 21st century and we’re still paying a luxury tax on menstrual
products. Products we literally need. Asking for paid menstrual leave feels like a battle, not a basic right. And let’s not even get started on the classic line: “Are you PMSing?” usually thrown at you the moment you disagree with a man.
But, let’s flip it. If men menstruated, would we even need to advocate for basic rights? In a world shaped by patriarchy, maybe menstrual products would be handed out for free.
Maybe paid leave would be a given. And no one would dare mock mood swings. Instead, it’d be “hormonal warrior breaks stigma” headlines.
Still, there’s a bit of hope. The Supreme Court’s decision to remove tax on menstrual
products gives us something to hold onto – a small, but meaningful, step toward
affordability and dignity.