–  BY SARAH SAHAGIAN –

Some people refer to their periods as ‘the curse,’ but not me! Not anymore. I love getting my period.

When I was young, I used to dread visits from Aunt Flow. I hated the cramps and the cravings. I seriously lamented the fact I had to refrain from wearing cute underwear for a week, lest I mar my favourite pair with a stain. I focused on the negatives, like bloating and the high cost of sanitary napkins. I was a menstrual misanthrope.

Being pessimistic about periods came naturally to me, because that’s how the world trained me to be. The fact that people ask, ‘Is it that time of the month?’ any time a woman looks tired or unhappy, demonstrates the extent to which we as a society assume menstrual is always a bummer. We see menstruation as a weakness rather than a strength. But why is that?

Now that I’ve been menstruating for almost two decades, I’ve learned to embrace my moon blood time by seeing it as a kind of superpower. Today, when I get my period, it’s a powerful little secret that makes me feel awesome.

‘I totally rock! I’m sitting here bleeding blood from my nether regions and pitching story ideas like a boss!’

Many of us have heard the feminist rallying cry, ‘Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.’ Well, I’ve adapted this mantra to apply to my monthly visitor. My version goes, ‘I can do anything my cisgender male colleagues can do, but while bleeding from my vagina!’

Whenever I get my period at work, whether I’m photocopying documents or sitting in a meeting, I giggle contentedly to myself, thinking, ‘I am awesome! I totally rock! I’m sitting here bleeding blood from my nether regions and pitching story ideas like a boss!’

‘So, who cares if you need a chocolate bar or two?’

Just imagine, do you think the cis guys you know would be able to get any work done if they were bleeding from their penises for five days straight? Definitely not! They would freak out at the sight of the first red spot! But not you, you are an intrepid traveler surfing the crimson wave. You can shop for groceries, finish a memo and balance your cheque book, all while your menstrual pad piles up with blood.

So, who cares if you need a chocolate bar or two to get you through the day when your vagina does its monthly impression of The Red Wedding? You’ve earned it, my dear!

About the author
This guest blog is written by the Canadian full-time feminist Sarah Sahagian. Her writing has been featured in The Huffington Post, XOJane, the satirical newspaper The Beaverton, She Does The City and on Period! Magazine (among others). Her first novel, Good Girls (fiction about teens at an all-girls school who do debating as an extra-curricular activity) is out now. Order a copy? Visit Amazon.com. You can follow Sarah on Twitter via @sarahsahagian.

 More?  
Dear Period, by Yayeri van Baarsen
The not so divine secrets of the Bullwinkle Sisterhood, by Mary Novaria
Period changes and chemotherapy, by Cruz Santana
A time for celebration, by Robyn Jones

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