In choosing to free-bleed during the London Marathon, musician Kiran Gandhi has opened up a divisive but necessary dialogue around period shaming.
Image courtesy: Buzzfeed
When Gandhi found she'd started her period the day before the marathon, she was at a loss of what to do, since she hadn't trained while on it, and this would be her first-ever marathon.
"I thought through my options. Running 26.2 miles with a wad of cotton material wedged between my legs just seemed so absurd," she wrote in an essay for Absurdist. "But then I thought … if there’s one person society can’t eff with, it’s a marathon runner. You can’t tell a marathoner to clean themselves up, or to prioritise the comfort of others. On the marathon course, I could choose whether or not I wanted to participate in this norm of shaming. … I decided to just take some Midol, hope I wouldn’t cramp, bleed freely and just run.”
Gandhi decided that free-bleeding would be crucial in drawing visible attention to her cause, which was to highlight how absurd it is to shame or hide the fact that women menstruate and go through unbelievable pain every month. The larger issue was the fact that many women across the world aren't able to access sanitary pads and tampons.
By bringing this topic to the foreground, Gandhi aimed to destigmatize menstruation. "Because it is all kept quiet, women are socialised not to complain or talk about their own bodily functions, since no one can see it happening. And if you can’t see it, it’s probably ‘not a big deal.’ Why is this an important issue? Because THIS is happening, right now.”
As expected, Gandhi's photos — which quickly went viral — met with mixed opinions on Twitter and from commenters who were in the "ewww" category, which is fine too. However, the viral attention and backlash haven't fazed Gandhi, who said that her act was effective in making people uncomfortable and confronting their biases.
"I addressed the issue from someone living with a position of privilege,” she said to Buzzfeed News. “I want to help focus the attention in the right way. I think being aware, and doing something that you think can create a conversation, being brave enough to do something that may make people pissed at you — that’s where I want to be and what I want to be doing.”
Of course, free-bleeding is not for every woman, but the fact that Gandhi did this is very courageous because it confronts our immediate taboo reactions to menstruation and trying to reset how we think about it. Clearly, this issue affects 50 per cent of the population. While we may groan at the images, they challenge us not to be as callous as Donald Trump, who recently implied that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly was on her period during the Republican debate.
Whether it's free-bleeding during a marathon or creating artwork around menstruation like artist and poet Rupi Kaur, women are challenging that immediate grossed-out reaction that shows our socialized period-shaming. This challenge is so sorely needed in breaking down our aversion to something that's as painful as it is natural!
Rumnique Nannar
Author
Rumnique Nannar is a new journalist with a passion for all things pop culture, film, and art. Rumnique was born in London, with a predilection for devouring English chocolate with her Vogue, ANOKHI, and Glamour magazines in tow. She is currently in her Journalism Masters at UBC. Connect ...
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