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Our human environment – Papaya Store
Our human environment

Our human environment

by Shagun Maheshwari in Periods and Society

And speaking of the expectation that women suffer quietly through the menstruation cycles…

How many of you are still being told they cannot enter the kitchen during “those times of the month”?

Are these “The Days Who Must not be Named”? Is menstruation so evil that even mentioning it might cause unholiness to happen?

Some of us can laugh at such attitudes, but many others are not so fortunate. Menstrual shaming and taboos cause many young women to miss school days and fall behind. It serves as women’s first marker on the road to making them a second-class citizens, and we have made it our corporate mission to banish these taboos.

Tags: all society

Related Posts

Sports and Periods (Part 1)

Sports and Periods (Part 1)

Debunking the myths about period and sport Many of us have experienced this strange feeling: one day you’re playing football in the school courtyard with your male friends in a perfectly normal way, and the next one people start frowning at you: adults saying that maybe you should spend less time with boys, boys saying that they don’t want to play with girls anymore… yes friends, puberty it is. So, with mixed feelings of incomprehension and frustration, head down, you look at yourself and realise that, even though you’re still the same, people are now seeing you differently. From now on, you’re a girl or a “young woman” as they say, and you belong to this world. Forget about football and all the other boyish stuff you used to enjoy: it’s not for you anymore. This might sound caricatural, but at this age (around 12 years old) my sister was convened by the school director because she was “spending too much time with her (male) best friend”; and I was called a “whore” because I was playing football with boys - which was interpreted as flirtatious back in these days. And I am sure so many of you can relate to these stories. The gender gap in sports is still a reality “Traditionally, the sport has been dominated by men, both in terms of participation and governance. Women were excluded from the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896, and were only allowed to gradually start joining four years later. Even though women's presence and involvement in the Olympic Movement have progressively evolved, girls and women across the world still get fewer opportunities and less investment, training and corporate attention when they play sport.” This statement, extracted from a report from the European Parliament on gender equality in sports, highlights the fact that - despite significant progress - a considerable gender gap remains in sports worldwide, visible in participation, governance, media representation or in the persistent gender pay gap. Zoom in on India A recent BBC research revealed a significant gender gap in sports in India: only 29% of women participate in sports, against 42% of men. Interestingly, the data suggest that participation in sports drops significantly as one move from childhood to adulthood. Indeed, many adolescent girls experience restrictions to going out and playing sports as they enter puberty, mainly due to increasing safety concerns and social stigma. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, by age 14, many girls are dropping out of sports at two times the rate of boys! “Gender equality in sport:Getting closer every day”. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service (2019) “Attitudes towards women’s sports, sportswomen and women in India” BBC (2020) This is a problem because sport plays a key role in physical and mental health. It is also an important empowerment factor and can help girls take control of their bodies. Regarding attitudes towards women in sports, strong prejudices remain: A third of the Indians surveyed believed that sportswomen are not as good as sportsmen. 37% of respondents said female athletes are not feminine enough. 38% said sports featuring women are not as entertaining as sports featuring men. For respondents who believed that some sports are not suitable for women, the top reasons were: It’s not safe for women to play Women are not strong enough to play the sport Women are not able to play sports during all times of the month (i.e. you can't play sports during your period) The gender pay gap in sport Research shows that the gender pay gap in sports is more important than in any other sector! Indeed: “Even though the gender pay gap in sport has been narrowing over the years, it still very much exists. A total of 83 % of sports now award men and women equal prize money, with cricket, golf and football displaying the greatest pay gaps.” In the 2022 Forbes list of the world's highest-paid athletes, there were only 2 women out of 50 athletes: Naomi Osaka And Serena Williams. This is critical because, the lack of proper remuneration for female athletes is a key barrier to narrowing the gender gap in the sport since it obliges many professional female athletes to have a second job on the side, giving them less time to train and develop their skills, leading to fewer opportunities to grow their athlete career. Imagine if Messi needed to teach Spanish or babysit kids after training. He would probably not be 7 times Ballon d'Or today. An example of a professional female football player is Natasha Thomas, 26, who has scored 114 goals for Ipswich, and she also works "30-40 hours a week" as a personal trainer. "It is hard because I am a contracted player but unfortunately it doesn't pay out as much for me not to have a second job," she said. “Even in cricket-loving India, the top female cricketers command a fraction of the endorsement fees that top male cricketers do. At the very least, the finding from this study that as many as 85% of respondents believe men and women sportspersons should have equal prize money is surely one reason for Indian sports organisers to close the sports gender pay gap where it exists.” Check out the Part 2.... Bibliography: Bruinvels, G., et al. Sport, Exercise and the Menstrual Cycle: Where Is the Research? 2016. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1502923/ “Attitudes towards women’s sports, sportswomen and women in India” BBC (2020) https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/attitudes-towards-womens-sports-sportswomen-and-women-in-india.pdf “Gender equality in sport: Getting closer every day”. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service (2019) https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/635560/EPRS_BRI(2019)635560_EN.pdf “Exercising During Your Period: Benefits and Things to Avoid” Flo, https://flo.health/menstrual-cycle/lifestyle/fitness-and-exercise/exercising-during-period “2022 highest paid athletes”, Forbes https://www.forbes.com/athletes/ “Women's football: 'I'm a pro footballer but I have a second job'”, BBC article https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-62386612

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Period Parties!

Period Parties!

Period Parties! How the World Celebrates Menstruation Across the world, there are many examples of cultures celebrating a girl's first period. Despite these rituals and traditions and the fact that menstruation is a natural bodily function, this has become a taboo topic of discussion. Our mission at Papaya is to uplift and empower women about their menstrual cycles. Looking into how different cultures/traditions around the world honour and celebrate menstruation, especially the first period, would be an excellent way to get this blog started. The word menarche derives from Ancient Greek and it means “beginning.” It is a word used to describe the first menstrual cycle. Around the world, a girl’s first period is recognised as her entry into adulthood, and this is a thing to be celebrated. There are many different ways that cultures celebrate or honour the arrival of the first period. In South India for example, the “half sari” party (or Ritu Kala Samskara) is thrown for the girl by her female relatives and friends. As the name suggests, the girl wears a half sari to indicate that she’s now beginning her rite of passage into womanhood. Other places in Latin America, East Asia, Africa, and so on also have ways of recognising this time in a girl’s life. Many of these rituals involve spiritually significant bathing and isolation, praying, gift-giving, and even preparation of special dishes. In Japan, for example, a dish called Sekihan (red rice) is often cooked for the whole family when a girl first menstruates. The Hupa tribe in California have coming-of-age rituals for girls when they get their first period, which lasts a few days. They include a Flower dance, running, and being taught prayers and songs by older women. Many other native tribes all around the world have similar rituals. Aside from older cultural traditions that often carry deep spiritual/religious meanings, there are a lot of families that try to celebrate their daughter’s periods to make them feel excited and comforted by this new chapter in their lives rather than afraid or ashamed. People are baking cakes, throwing parties…etc to congratulate their daughters on their period. The company HelloFlo had an ad campaign go viral on YouTube back in 2014 called “First Moon Party”. It followed a young girl who lied about getting her first period and so her mom threw her an over-the-top party with a vagina-shaped cake and other bodily-related paraphernalia to get her daughter to admit that she lied about getting her first period. In addition to being funny, it was heartwarming to see periods talked about in such a light-hearted way. Far from being a short-term fun trend, a lot of people worldwide are trying to combat the taboo of discussing periods by throwing parties or doing small honorary activities to celebrate the menarche. This is extremely powerful because the first period can set the tone for how a person views their periods for the rest of their teenage or even adult lives. If the period is received warmly and honoured in any special way, it can help girls to shift their perception of periods. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritu_Kala_Samskaram https://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/thefowerdancers/Content?oid=10229320 https://www.youtube.com/resultssearch_query=hellofo+frst+moon+party

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Sports and Periods (Part 2)

Sports and Periods (Part 2)

“Women should not play sport during that time of the month” and other myths   As mentioned above, one of the reasons why the gender gap in sports increases at puberty is because it is widely believed that girls and women should avoid practising physical activity while they menstruate. Interestingly, there is no scientific evidence about the negative impact of sports on menstruating women. However, there is evidence of the benefits.   Indeed, exercising increases the production of endorphins (the famous “feel-good hormones'') and helps reduce anxiety, depression, and pain. Physical activity during your period can therefore help with fatigue, pain, cramps, mood swings, bloating, and all the nice “period package”.   So, what are the best exercises to do during your period? Are there any to avoid? Here are a few suggestions:   Examples of exercises that are particularly beneficial during your period:     On the other side, our body is going through a lot during our period, so it is important to avoid overstressing it with intense exercises.   Of course, we do not all experience periods the same way, and this article is in no way attempting to dictate to menstruators what to do or not to do. We are just trying to raise awareness and debunk taboos, to help us improve our menstrual experience. The key message here is: listen to your body, and if you feel like playing sports during your period: go ahead!   Stay tuned! In the next blog article, we’d like to pursue the conversation about periods and sports, focusing on the following topic: the impact of the menstrual cycle on female athletes' performance, the last taboo in sports.   Bibliography:   Bruinvels, G., et al. Sport, Exercise and the Menstrual Cycle: Where Is the Research? 2016. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1502923/ “Attitudes towards women’s sports, sportswomen and women in India” BBC (2020) https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/attitudes-towards-womens-sports-sportswomen-and-women-in-india.pdf “Gender equality in sport: Getting closer every day”. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service (2019) https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2019/635560/EPRS_BRI(2019)635560_EN.pdf “Exercising During Your Period: Benefits and Things to Avoid” Flo, https://flo.health/menstrual-cycle/lifestyle/fitness-and-exercise/exercising-during-period “2022 highest paid athletes”, Forbes https://www.forbes.com/athletes/ “Women's football: 'I'm a pro footballer but I have a second job'”, BBC article https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-62386612

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