Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Menarche
I can not remember the actual day my period began. I think I wrote about it in my old diary... and, from what I can remember, it was not a joyous moment for me. My mom and my sister were very detailed (in my mind "gruesome") about menstruation. So, I thought it was disgusting. I also was in ballet, and I danced multiple times a week. I thought that if I was menstruating, I would not be able to dance for fear of everyone knowing. I was so embarrassed by this change from girlhood to womanhood that I kept it a secret from my mom for months. I think I was 12 or 13, but she was beginning to worry that something was wrong. I finally broke down and told her. I refused to buy any feminine products (I could not dare be seen with them in my possession) until I was 16. Now, it is no big deal. I am glad that I do have a period--it is a sign to me of being a woman and a mom.
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5 comments:
Oh I can totally relate to you with the whole buying feminine products thing. When I was younger I'd make my mom do it because I was embarrassed. I was scared to even use tampons until I was 13 or 14. Now, like you said, it's no big deal. One day we'll have daughters that'll be the same way and we'll have to buy the products for them! :)
I was never embarassed to buy tampons or other feminine products. One of my good friends, a guy named Cory, worked at the grocery store. When i went to buy tampons, he would pick up a box and tell me i definately needed this kind because...blah blah blah. he had no idea what he was saying, he was just being funny. This got to be a running joke and he earned the name "Dr. Cory." He made me realize that my period was nothing to be embarassed about and hleped me to loosen up with the whole experience, as strange as that sounds...
I totally “get” what you mean when you said you were embarrassed the very first time you had your menarche. I think a huge percent of young women go through an embarrassment phase with the onset of menarche regardless of whether they were prepared or not for it. I was one of those young girls that thought even though the period comes in 28 days it could be an exception for me and I would “mess” myself up and be embarrassed. We all agree that as significant as menarche is to a young woman, the onset is difficult for many young girls and us as women, adults and mothers need to adequately prepare young girls to feel comfortable and celebrate this vital rite of passage.
I too would feel a little conscious about buying them. But now after many years of buying products, I could care less. :)
I was kind of afraid to tell my mom also. When I told her, she was totally supportive.
I did not think about the side of embarrassment of having to buy the products or anything like that till I read your blog, but I attribute that to my dad, brother and guy friends all being pretty cool. My dad was so use to buying stuff at the store if he went for my sister and mom that when I started it was even less of a big deal for him to buy it. And it never bothered my older brother to do it either if he was going to the store for something, but he was always pretty cool and calm about girlie things. He still goes for his wife of a year and half to buy stuff for her if it’s his turn to do their grocery shopping, because she’s working that weekend.
By the time I had gotten my period I was playing on an all guys soccer team in an all guys league with the exception of me. I was so busy trying to prove myself that I did not even have time to worry about embarrassment of having it, or if I should or should not be using tampons; I just did it. When the team had to travel out of town for tournaments, none of the guys ever seemed embarrassed or be freaked out if I said “hey we need to stop at the store, I got the curse as they called it”. They thought it was kind of cool, well they acted like it, because they were all a year or two older in age than me and like to tell me “oh our little girl is growing up to be a women”. I use to just giggle, but now I look back and think I was really lucky, because I knew a great group of well raised guys who did not act like kids about a natural occurrence.
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