Menstrual hygiene day

We're all about pussy here on SW Twitter; let's talk about it!

Today is #MenstrualHygieneDay, and in an effort to destigmatize menstruation and continue bringing vulnerability, I'm inviting pussy-havers to talk about your relationship to having a period.

I'll go first!

Growing up, periods were a matter-of-fact part of life. I remember picking up tampons for my mom at the pharmacy, bringing her a hot water bottle when she got cramps. She even put in her tampon in front of me a couple times. 

I got my period for the first time when I was 11. It wasn't scary, because my mom had destigmatized menstruation so much in my household. I felt comfortable asking her for advice and going to her with my emotional needs around it. 

But as sexuality became an increasingly bigger part of my life, I started feeling more shame around it. I wanted boys to find me sexy- I didn't want to have any strange smells or discharge! 

As I got older, I found men who didn't balk at the idea of me having a period. I even found some who were comfortable having sex while I was on my period. That helped a lot. 

In my early 20's, my period transitioned from a shameful part of my life to a mere inconvenience. I related to it with a sigh and a shrug- and an occasional groan of pain from cramps. ;) 

As I grow and change in my understanding of the universe, however, it's becoming more than that. I now realize that bleeding is a shared experience that has been passed down from my ancestors. 

It's a sign of my health and my fertility. It's an indicator that I can _grow life_ inside of me. It's an opportunity to notice my divinity.