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“Respect & Celebrate Everything That Got Yo A$$ Here.” Janelle Monae Wants To Normalize Menstruation

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Janelle Monáe

Y’all know March is the month designated for celebrating the glory and splendor of women. And in doing so, artist and actress Janelle Monae decided to honor women’s strength and ability to create life with a tweet that took a more biological approach to the subject.

Those words in seclusion might not have sent the clearest message, so Monae expounded.

When people started expressing their dissension, as is customary when any type of discussion of periods arises, Janelle Monae engaged with the people for a minute.

 

Tiara did have a response by the way.

I can see where both women are coming from. Bodily fluids are generally gross, let’s just be honest. But the conversation around periods and menstruation needs to change. As a culture, we don’t whisper about having to urinate. And while I’m sure no one wants to play in urine, it’s normalized. How many fart or poop jokes do we encounter in entertainment every single year? It’s normalized. Hell, we can even laugh about the way men streak their draws. (Talk about uncleanliness!) But any mention of menstrual blood and people’s lips immediately curl in disgust.

There is an unspeakable shame when it comes to menstruation. I can’t tell you the number of women who’ve told me that their mothers never even mentioned periods to them until they had already arrived. I’ve been menstruating for over 20 years, and I’m just now trying to rid myself of the shame of visible sanitary napkins. Little girls need to know that what their bodies do naturally, the mechanisms that allow us to nourish and produce life, are a part of the process and not a source of embarrassment.

There is all this talk in this country and others about what women can and can’t do during their cycles, simply because men don’t understand what it means to even have one. I’m not one of those people who believes normalizing menstruation means placing used tampons and sanitary napkins in places for public viewing and discussion. But more conversation among women and men would do us all quite a bit of good.

What do you make of Janelle Monae’s tweets and more importantly the larger culture of shame around menstruation?

Veronica Wells is the culture editor at MadameNoire.com. She is also the author of “Bettah Days.” You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @VDubShrug.

The post “Respect & Celebrate Everything That Got Yo A$$ Here.” Janelle Monae Wants To Normalize Menstruation appeared first on MadameNoire.


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