Women have been menstruating since the beginning of time, yet we rarely take the time to realize how women in the Neolithic Period or the Industrial Revolution fared with Mother Nature. Even while suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton were battling in the Women’s Rights Movement, they were fighting an internal battle with menstrual cramps blasting blows at their stomachs; however, this long, enduring battle still remains prevalent for women and will never end.
In just this past month, two of my friends–who wish to stay anonymous–ranted to me about how distraught they were at how badly their menstrual cramps were interfering with their daily activities. One didn’t even come to school yesterday and woke up crying from how painful her cramps were, and the other couldn’t even walk through the halls without limping but was still expected to go to a swim meet after school, automatically assuming that her coach would not take period cramps as an excuse for missing practice.
Ultimately, the lack of understanding from authoritative figures in school systems and workplaces is disappointing, especially after first-handedly witnessing teachers not permitting girls to go to the bathroom. However, a survey from Wellbeing of Women, a women’s health charity in London, shows that 55% of women feel uncomfortable talking about their period with their bosses, and 50% of women on their periods didn’t take time off work because it might hurt their careers. As a majority of women testified to feeling this way, it would seem that schools and workplaces are guilty of not stopping the flow of the stigma surrounding menstruation.
Nonetheless, social media has helped spread more awareness and education on menstruation. For example, there was a trend with men trying out a period cramp simulator that was based on a number scale, in which the highest number amounts to the greatest amount of pain. In majority of videos under this trend, women easily succeeded by making it to either ten or twenty (maximum levels of pain) while some men had a difficult time even making it to the halfway mark. Still, like all other trends that vanish in the blink of an eye, this trend isn’t a viable way to open up people’s minds on a large scale to how badly period cramps could interfere with a woman’s responsibilities.
Even in the 19th century, men in the medical field were prejudiced against menstrual pain because it wasn’t visible. Yet, American physician John Harvey Kellogg was ahead of his time in his book titled Ladies’ Guide to Health and Disease (1883) where he wrote that teen girls on their periods “should be relieved of taxing duties of every description, and should be allowed to yield herself to the feeling of malaise…” Unfortunately, Kellogg’s forward thinking did not carry over into many 21st century workplaces.
As of the start of 2025, 20 states and the District of Columbia require free menstrual products from grades 6-12 in schools. This is only one example of the “period progress” workplaces are making, but there are numerous others on a more international scale. For one, South Korea has one day of unpaid menstrual leave, Japan has as many days of unpaid menstrual leave that a woman needs, and Spain has 3-5 menstrual leave days funded by the government.
Controversy lies around the issue of women exploiting this “privilege” of menstrual leave. In actuality, fewer than 20% of women in South Korea and fewer than 1% of women in Japan actually take menstrual leave, largely out of concern that they will fall behind in their jobs. Furthermore, Spain’s menstrual leave actually requires a doctor’s note to show proof of painful menstruation; however, requiring a doctor’s note has caused some controversy because not all women can access a doctor to receive a note, and it’s up to the doctor to determine the extent of “extreme menstrual pain.”
The issue should be less focused on the exploitation of work leave and more on changing the stigma around menstrual leave so that more women could feel comfortable taking advantage of it when they really need it so that they would be able to work comfortably to the best of their ability.
Another potential policy that should be underscored is whether or not menstrual leave should apply not only to adult workplaces but also to schools. In South Korea, there is actually a menstrual leave policy that lets girls miss school for painful period cramps without having their attendance affected. However, there’s controversy around this policy because some parents testified to their daughters taking “collective leave” to go on trips or taking a day off to study or focus on extracurriculars. These testimonies should undoubtedly be taken into account if this policy should be considered, yet the testimonies of parents whose daughters benefited from this policy should also be taken into account. Just because a group of individuals decide to exploit a law doesn’t mean that people who need the law should be penalized for it.
Primarily, period progress requires a dissolution of menstrual stigma in that women shouldn’t be penalized or be viewed as “weak” or “lazy” for having abdominal pain. It’s always the uncomfortable conversations that lead to change, such as in the divided arguments in the Constitutional Convention or even on a smaller scale, communication and understanding in a relationship can be all the difference in keeping the peace between those close to us.
Especially since Mother Nature is not backing down any time soon, it’s up to us to initiate the initial uncomfortable conversations to achieve period peace in the workplace; then, these conversations will no longer have to be uncomfortable. Period.
