Chella thinks menstruation is funny.
This is why she writes about it, talk about it and makes up silly jokes about it.
Then she laughs.
A lot.
How can menstruation be funny?
The same way other stuff is funny.
It's a taboo subject - the shock of it all always gets a giggle right away and, immature or not, the gross-out factor can be fun.
Laughter is therapeutic - sometimes periods are a pain in the uterus, and that moment of recognition feels good. Shared experience rocks!
Comedy as subversion is addictive - once you start undermining those stereotypes and analysing the euphemisms, you just can't stop.
Menstruation has historically, socially and culturally been cloaked in fear and shame. Deconstructing menstrual stigmas, with brute force when necessary, is empowering.
Oh yeah - all her stuff is for menstruators and non-menstruators of all genders
Interesting interpretations, and admirable.
I remember asking my grandmother about her periods. She was born in 1920, before the mass production of period protection thingies. She was born in Oklahoma, and during the dust bowl her family migrated to California. Back then the “Okies” were considered the trash of American society.
She said they had to sew their pads on their own. After using them they would wash them by hand and hang them in the trees to dry. Sometimes the boys would discover them and tease the girls about this.
So I guess the point is that the shame has always been there. Perhaps it refers back to the idea that all fertile women need to conceive babies NOW. If you aren’t pregnant, than you should be, and if you have a period, that means you aren’t pregnant. So therefore, lack of pregnancy equals failure, period equals failure. If you have your period, then therefore, you are a failure.
My first period adventures were at the complete disgust of my father. (I was born in ’88.) He considered it the utmost of ill-hygiene and thought the weakness and emotional struggles were merely an excuse to be lazy. To me a period wasn’t a justified thing, it was something silly little women made up in order to sabotage to glory of masculine power. It wasn’t until later that I realized periods are just A PART of my life – menstrual cycles are just a part.
Love the accent btw!