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If We Let Them

If We Let Them Why do we as a society and a gender feel such a need to study, in attempt to improve, the role of women in society? Why are there not "Men's Studies" courses offered at major universities? In an excerpt from Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, "If Men Could Menstruate," the difference in respect of women and men in our country is presented from the feminist point of view. Using the menstrual cycle, something only women are blessed with, the author compares society's viewpoints on the opposing genders. By asking, what if "suddenly, magically, men could menstruate and women could not?" the article poses some questions and all-too-possible answers. What if men really did menstruate and women did not? How would what is now an undiscussed part of a woman's life change? Men now do not understand, outside of the health class explanation, the monthly process that women face for a large portion of their life. How many things are simply dismissed by men, and even other women, as being 'just part of PMS?' Cramps, mood-swings, changes in sexual desire, food cravings, physical changes are all things that women expect to deal with for a few days a month, in addition to so many other annoyances. The menstrual cycle is an amazing and essential part of the reproductive system; without it, women would not be blessed with the capability to bear children. If you didn't know this however, you would never guess it from the attitude that much of society has regarding menstruation. Clichés that refer to the monthly cycle, such as 'on the rag' and 'that time of month', have such negative connotations and are rarely used in a positive sense. The author shows that oppression of this type is not necessarily logical by using a story about a little boy asked if he wanted to become a lawyer who responds by saying, "Oh no, that's women's work," because that is what his mother does. "If Men Could Menstruate" attempts to predict how things might be different if menstruation was a part of being a man rather than a woman. It is very possible, as the article points out that, "menstruation would become an enviable, boast-worthy, masculine event." The author may be correct in assuming that the menstrual cycle would be treated differently, from the amount of medical research done to the social status created by having your period, if it affected the currently more respected, powerful gender. It is easy to imagine menstruation becoming something to brag about, and a huge advertising industry. "If Men Could Menstruate" creates an imaginary situation where men bragged about being, "a three-pad man," and wore "Paula Newman Tampons, Muhammad Ali's Rope-a-Dope Pads, John Wayne Maxi Pads, and Joe Namath Jock Shields-'For Those Light Bachelor Days.'" It creates a question of whether there would be more research done about cramps. The author imagines that, "men would convince women that sex was more pleasurable at 'that time of the month.'" The article may slightly exaggerate what things would be like if men experienced the menstrual cycle, but it definitely makes a very valid point about the lack of logic, and reason behind the inequality of genders. The article takes the menstrual cycle, a now commonly seen as negative aspect of being a woman, and turns it around to be a part of being a man, and therefor a positive thing. By doing this the author shows one example of how the justifications for men being more powerful are not based on anything logical, but rather just accepted, because they always have been. The author concludes by very effectively showing that much of what society currently believes is not based on logical thinking, but rather stereotypes that have been passed down from generation to generation. "If women are supposed to be less rational and more emotional at the beginning of our menstrual cycle when the female hormone is at its lowest level, then why isn't it logical to say that, in those few days, women behave most like the way men behave all month long?" The stereotypes and justifications for men being the superior sex, regardless of how illogical they may be, will continue, if we let them. Bibliography:

Word Count: 702