The Period Piece

1477 Words6 Pages
The Period Piece is a documentary that discusses girls and their first periods, otherwise known as menarche, by interviewing both men and women and by showing clips from older films on the same subject. They cover many different topics associated with menstruation such as different euphemisms used for the word period, to myths and insecurities, and even has a section to encourage viewers to think of how they will prepare their future daughter for her first period. There are many euphemisms used in the place of words such as period and menstruation that are often embarrassing or uncomfortable to say. Here are a few euphemisms that I am familiar with, along with what I believe to be their origins: “On the rag” comes from a time when women had to use actual rags or cloths to absorb the blood before we had tampons or kotex. “Aunt Flow” is one that I often use myself by saying “My Aunt Flow has decided to come for a visit.” This is a great one to use because it allows you to tell someone that it is that time of the month without everyone else knowing what you are saying, and of course it makes sense because what does your period do? It flows. Another one that I find humorous is “surfing the crimson wave” which is obviously named after the crimson colored blood. I have always felt that having these kinds of euphemisms was a good and positive thing. Being able to replace an embarrassing and uncomfortable word with a more comfortable one always seemed to make the situation more bearable. It is relieving to be able to make light of an otherwise grim subject. Have you ever been told that you cannot swim while on your period? Well I have, and I didn’t swim. When I was fourteen I got my first period the day before the junior varsity cheerleading pool party. I was the last girl in my grade to get my period so it was very easy for me to tell my girlfriends, and of course they

More about The Period Piece

Open Document