Ophelia de Vere

  Menstruation was long considered embarrassing, painful, and best kept invisible. Now, cycle syncing promises greater well-being. To some, that sounds like bodily literacy; to others, like yet another cleverly marketed optimization program. So it is high time to look behind the hormone curve and the wellness hype. But be warned: there will be blood. Blood, Sweat, and Tears? Winston Churchill may have endured quite a lot in his life, but a period was certainly not among those things. Still, it is hard to imagine a more fitting description of the menstrual phase. Detached from all political rhetoric and its original context, Winston’s words sound like a surprisingly accurate description of bodies that, statistically speaking, perform something from the age of twelve that society long kept silent about, dressed up in metaphor, or illustrated with blue liquid. The fact that menstruation can now be openly addressed in this article is due, not least, to period activism, which uses medic...