Destigmatizing Periods: An Intergenerational Conversation
Asha K.| Cycle Alliance Intern
When my aunt, Desiree, was 11 years old when she first got her cycle. At that time, she thought menstrual cycles were disgusting. Seeing her older sister get her period was also uncomfortable to her, because she did not want to experience the same cramps, pain, blood, and messiness that she saw her sister going through. My aunt’s mother told her that menstruation was part of becoming a woman, and that she would eventually get it some time in her life. She never received a full conversation about menstrual cycles from her mom, and was left to figure it out on her own. Desiree wishes she…