Men-struation

[SpeakNow]

http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p ... ruate.html

The truth is that, if men could menstruate, the power justifications would go on and on.

[doggie]

most likely.

[Hane]

Also: "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."--Flo Kennedy

[Gil]

I got an anthology of Steinem's writing from a teacher when I graduated and I have a massive lady-crush on her. :oops:

[alba]

TV shows would treat the subject openly. (Happy Days: Richie and Potsie try to convince Fonzie that he is still "The Fonz," though he has missed two periods in a row. Hill Street Blues: The whole precinct hits the same cycle.) So would newspapers. (Summer Shark Scare Threatens Menstruating Men. Judge Cites Monthlies In Pardoning Rapist.) And so would movies. (Newman and Redford in Blood Brothers!)

This bit really spoke to me because I mentioned menstruation in a novel I'm writing and was told that it would turn male readers off of it. Of course, the fact that my protagonist is female is already enough to turn a lot of male readers off of it ... :roll:

In short, we would discover, as we should already, that logic is in the eye of the logician. (For instance, here's an idea for theorists and logicians: if women are supposed to be less rational and more emotional at the beginning of our menstrual cycle when the female hormone is at its lowest level, then why isn't it logical to say that, in those few days, women behave the most like the way men behave all month long? I leave further improvisation up to you.)

:clap:

[BravaAmica]

This bit really spoke to me because I mentioned menstruation in a novel I'm writing and was told that it would turn male readers off of it. Of course, the fact that my protagonist is female is already enough to turn a lot of male readers off of it ... :roll:

Women buy and read more books than men. What's the highest selling genre (including sub-genres) in publishing? That would be Romance [sub-genres include romantic suspense; paranormal; mystery; historical; sci-fi; fantasy; chick lit...].

[Visionoyahweh]

Also: "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."--Flo Kennedy

Yup. Always true.

[Glass Cowcatcher]

Yup. Always true.

I've always wondered about it. There seem to be just as many pro-life women as men.

[Minerva]

That is quite a good read. I like the "women would faint at the sight of blood!" line. Pretty sure this one used to be used all the time despite the fact that most women see more blood than most men in their lifetimes.

[fluttershies]

Transmen often menstruate and famously can get pregnant - you don't have to have a penis to be a man.

[thoughtful]

That is quite a good read. I like the "women would faint at the sight of blood!" line. Pretty sure this one used to be used all the time despite the fact that most women see more blood than most men in their lifetimes.

This reminded me of what may have been Jerry Seinfeld's stupidest moment:

NQbYzBnrmrQ

[Minerva]

Transmen often menstruate and famously can get pregnant - you don't have to have a penis to be a man.

Yeah, Gloria Steinem didn't exactly get that.

[fluttershies]

Yeah, Gloria Steinem didn't exactly get that.

Yeah, it's why I'm not the biggest fan of hers, as well as the fact that the men who DO menstruate (often against their will, because they cannot afford or get hold of hormone therapy etc) are really not in a position of power.

[alba]

Women buy and read more books than men. What's the highest selling genre (including sub-genres) in publishing? That would be Romance [sub-genres include romantic suspense; paranormal; mystery; historical; sci-fi; fantasy; chick lit...].

Yeah, but I'm writing a non-romance fantasy, a genre which has significant popularity amongst men (though supposedly only with male protags). Anyway, who buys or reads more books isn't really relevant to the point I was making, which is that women are still treated as a deviation from the male norm in modern media. Male protagonists are considered the default, and female protagonists are considered to be for women. I've been told things like "men can't relate to female protagonists", though no one thinks women can't relate to male protagonists. "Female issues" like menstruation and motherhood are for specifically female audiences, though the reverse doesn't hold true to the same extent. Chick lit and other genres geared at women are considered to be inferior literature than those geared at a gender-neutral audience.

All of this is just a manifestation of the way in which the patriarchal default permeates popular culture. Have you ever heard of the Bechdel test? To pass it a work must have two named female characters who have a conversation about something that isn't a man. Why? Because in many works of fiction that are for a general (read: not strictly female) audience, the presumed-male audience won't be interested in "women's topics", so unless the women are talking about a man the audience will get bored. Women, as a deviation from the male, can relate to the male but men, as the norm from which women deviate, cannot relate to the deviation.

My comment about male readers being turned off my female protagonist menstruating wasn't about which gender reads more, but about the fact that in a non-female-specific genre like the one in which I am writing the audience is presumed to be male because women are the Other.

Edited because I accidentally hit submit well before I was finished.