Why Was I Teaching Menstruation Cycle To A 32-Year-Old Man?

“The cab driver of my Uber asked me if she can turn on AC in a chilly winter environment outside.” He said.

“Why?” I asked.

“I am going through menopause and I get sweat attacks and hot flashes. It will take two minutes only,” He parroted his cab driver’s words.

“Do you get all this too? The flash thing too?” Asked a 32-year-old male friend working in a reputed company in Chicago.

I was a bit shocked but before judging I preferred to ask, “Why would I get it, I am not having menopause not near to that age. Ya, but I get cramps during menstruation.”

What is menopause, then?

He sound a bit confused and then said, “Wait, what is menopause then? I thought it is some phase-around period, let me google it!”

I was like, why did you not Google it to date? Furthermore, I told him, It is the time when menstruation does not happen in women in their late 50s.

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His dumb self asked, “Is it so?”

I was about to bury myself in anger, but then I dared to ask only to cause more pain to myself, “Do you even know that after some aged woman stops ovulating?”

The first time made sense to me when he said, “Hey, why don’t you tell me everything in detail from start to end, as I know very little.”

I was in deep disappointment, but I really felt it was my responsibility to educate this man (32 years old again) about menstruation.

That was thought-provoking.

Men should be glad, it’s only women suffering and not them!

Men should be even more grateful for women having a menstruation cycle and keep suffering.

Wonder how many men and young boys do not know about menstruation in detail. Maybe from then, that’s where we have to start if we want men to understand how troublesome and challenging those days are.

Maybe they need to do more than knowing that “Women bleed for a few days of every month” to really respect the whole process.

The process that is one day will give you the most admired happiness of having your child. To make them understand that even if it’s women’s bodies that go through some process every month that builds the opportunity to create a new life, but it’s an opportunity for both men and women. Hence, men not only should know everything about it but respect it more than women.

The roots should be seeded from the age of puberty.

The schools should have taken responsibility to educate menstruation at length to both men and women. Along with that, sex education, respect for consent, and respect for menstruating and pregnant women should be taught to their teenage.

Not only what happens, but why happens too.

Menstruation is not a problem but a celebration

Men are told from childhood that periods/menstruation are girls’ thing.

It is not something one should discuss. They have seen women in the family not allowed to live normally during those days. That really creates the perception that this is something “bad” or something “shameful.”

When the truth is, it is the reason to celebrate.

Changing the narrative about menstruation and the problems that women faced during that time is highly important. This can be possible only through educating men everything about menstruation. Let the word spread amongst the boys, true genuine words that will, hopefully, ignite genuine care in them.

It’s high time, not girls but boys should be introduced to menstruation education!

Image source: zstockphotos, free and edited on CanvaPro

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