You bleed for days each month and don't die? You must be some sort of devil-worshipping witch.

           Simply saying the word ‘menstruation’ often evokes reactions of disgust and feelings of discomfort for many, even some women. We have been cultured to be uncomfortable without realizing it and tend to forget just how long this stigma has surrounded such a normal and natural occurrence in women.

Making a deal with the devil each month.

            A basic state of mind all through history before doctors discovered that periods were linked to ovulation was that women needed to bleed to release their emotional, hysterical, and half-formed natures. Men were seen as being formed in a warm and dry womb while women suffered a cold and wet womb and didn’t develop fully. A nun by the name of Hildegard von Bingen published medical texts saying that period blood cured leprosy, but many also thought that drinking period blood gave one leprosy, so by their beliefs, one had a 50/50 chance of being cured or condemned, which doesn’t seem to be the best healing method. Many also believed the event to have supernatural powers or that could be used to cure sickness or that intercourse during menstruation would result in a monster being born. This specific superstition around women is part of the story of how Merlin is born in HKB when the act of being a woman immediately means that there is something monstrous or demonic about them. Around the middle ages, stories and tales about the superstition surrounding menstruation began accumulate and the ‘insult’ of calling a man a woman or to accuse him of menstruation and being weak became more well-known and accepted as an insult as stories were written down. These instances of insult can be found often throughout the text and since the text is so popular and read by many, being called a woman has remained a demeaning phrase throughout the years and still exists today in many forms.

         

Period blood? Must be witchcraft.

   I suppose to a mind from the distant past, menstruation being a bad thing sounds somewhat logical only due to the fact that losing any amount of blood was seen as dangerous. Women losing blood every month must have really freaked the men out when they had no understanding of the processes of a woman’s body. The need to attribute it to some kind of mysterious cause is understandable, as they had no way to have any more information. Yes, these ideas grew into a hatred for women and all that they are, but the initial and simple concerns were valid.