The latest news that’s
been doing the rounds in the women’s world, feminism, women’s issues etc, is
Kiran Gandhi running the London marathon for breast cancer awareness, during
her periods, free bleeding, i.e. not using tampons or sanitary napkins during
menstruation. The story behind this ‘stunt’, as per blog*, is that, Ms. Gandhi got
her periods the night before she was supposed to run the marathon, and while
she had been practising and training hard for the past one year for this
marathon, she never actually ran/trained during her periods, and hence she was
worried and confused about what to do. She didn’t want to run with cotton
stuffed up her vagina and be uncomfortable and worried about it while running
for 26.2 miles. Gandhi writes, ‘I
ran with blood dripping down my legs for sisters who don’t have access to
tampons and sisters who, despite cramping and pain, hide it away and pretend
like it doesn’t exist.’ It’s no surprise that she calls this ‘FEMINISM’ in her
blog. In big capital letters the sub head states, ‘FEMINISM: I RAN THE WHOLE
MARATHON WITH MY PERIOD BLOOD RUNNING DOWN MY LEGS.’
Yes, you did, and we all saw it, and I am sorry but this isn’t feminism
or women’s empowerment. I understand, from your blog, that you wanted to draw
attention to the taboo around periods and the fact that many women don’t have
access to sanitary napkins and tampons, in the world. But why resort to such an
unhygienic, disgusting manner?
There are better, dignified and sophisticated ways of raising awareness
about an issue, say for example, like the breast cancer care marathon that you
ran for? As per your means and logic, should we women go around getting breast
cancer, and then after getting a mastectomy, roam around with the removed mass
from our chests, like a brain in a jar, claiming to spread awareness about
breast cancer? My goodness! Just writing this is making me want to throw up a
bit! I personally request all my friends to keep their cigarette packets upside
down, because just the sight of the cancer infected lung is enough to make me
barf!
And okay, let’s get to the entire ‘period taboo and feminism’ part of
it! Are you trying to tell me that you’re the first woman to run while on your
periods? Well, I am hoping this isn’t news to you because you were a student of
women’s studies, that there are numerous, I repeat, numerous women who have
succeeded in physically challenging fields like the defence forces, athletics
etc, all over the world without ‘free bleeding’. Walking shoulder to shoulder
with men, women all over the world are doing everything that men can do, with
their periods and tampons, because that’s what’s healthy and hygienic, I wonder
how many men or rather women for that matter would like to stand or be around a
free bleeding woman, with blood running down her thighs, staining her boss’
expensive furniture in the office or the couch at a friends’ party?
And now to the part where this ‘stunt’ of yours was to spread awareness
about your sisters in many parts of the world not having sanitary products for
their periods, well, why don’t you pee and poop in your pants too while just
walking around because a lot of people don’t have proper sanitation or even
worse, no access to toilets? Or something closer to womanhood, why didn’t you
run with your armpit and body hair? I doubt a lot of your ‘sisters’ have access
to fancy beauty salons for expensive chocolate waxes, or even a razor. Or why
not stay hungry, thirsty and naked because the poorest countries in Africa,
especially in the sub-Saharan Africa are dying of hunger, thirst and children
and women don’t have clothes to wear. Because lady, menstruation is just
something that happens once a month to women, but there are 1 million people,
mostly children under the age of 5, who die every year, in Sub-Saharan Africa
due to hunger.
I’m sure my arguments sound completely bizarre and stupid to the reader,
and that is exactly my point. It’s stupid to walk around with hairy arms, or
hungry, or thirsty or poop in your pants while moving around, and similarly
it’s completely stupid to run a marathon free bleeding, saying that this is for
your sisters who don’t have access to sanitary products. You really want do
something for them? How about a marathon on how periods don’t stop a woman from
being their best and a donation camp of sanitary products that could be donated
to the women who need them. That’s actually doing some work, rather than run in
blood. Ew!
And about the taboo, I agree that menstruation and especially women
during menstruation are looked at as something that’s dirty and gross, but
depicting an even grosser image of menstruation and giving wings to
imagination, you really think you’re going to succeed in removing this taboo?
Even in the 21st century, as an educated woman, you have
resorted to a rather cavemen times’ method. We humans progressed and developed
so that we could take better care of ourselves, not go back in time, because as
per that, women shouldn’t be allowed to step out of the house, let alone run
free bleeding.
It’s sad that we are claiming such terrible stunts of fifteen minutes of
publicity as feminism. Wasn’t feminism all about moving ahead of our times and
be women who do everything and anything, but I see we are moving backwards in
time, to the cave times rather, where we would be nothing less than animals.
The only difference between animals and humans, is imagination, and it is
because of this imagination that we invented tampons and sanitary napkins, so
why do we want to run around showing the gross and unhygienic sight of
menstrual blood, which is actually rejected fluid from the body? Why do we run
around naked trying to make a point? And what point exactly? That you haven’t
progressed, that you wish to go back to the Stone Age, with naked people all
around?
Any sight of blood makes us want to stop it, whether it’s menstrual
blood from the vagina or from the nose due to extreme heat. The first most
natural attempt is to stop the blood from its source but while the menstruation
doesn’t work that way, we try and control it that is why we have tampons and sanitary
napkins, hope you’ve heard of them.
And you keep making a big deal
about running, finishing and also being the runner up, WHILE ON YOUR PERIODS,
and to me it almost sounds like you’re trying to attract some sympathy, pity,
and awws and ooohs! But I’m sorry, to me
the message seems like, ‘I am a woman, I get periods, it’s a big deal and I
still ran and I won, it’s tough for a woman, it’s a big deal, men please
notice!’
I am a feminist, I get periods
and still, I am no less than you.
It’s almost like you want the people to know that because we get our
periods life is tough for us than it is for others so cut us some slack! I’m
sorry but the reason why we use tampons and sanitary napkins, and get on with
our lives is because this is not a big deal, and we don’t want to be showing it
around, making an announcement of some sort about ‘that time of the month’, and
make ourselves less competent and give others a reason to bash us down. It’s
not something that stops us from doing things, and I am sure that there must’ve
been more than one woman who was running in her periods at that marathon.
So while congratulations on being the runner up of the marathon which
was for a greater cause than ‘free bleeding’, I’m sorry you haven’t done any
favours to your readers or your ‘sisters’ by showing them your blood stained
spandex, rather you’ve just grossed them out, and given the male species a
rather disgusting image of menstruation.
Lastly, I want to point out that it’s extremely shocking and upsetting
that real feminism has completely lost its meaning and significance and stooped
to a level that ‘free bleeding’ is considered feminism, and is being further
elevated by the media. How many of us became aware about breast cancer after
that marathon? But the wide coverage of the free bleeding marathon runner sure
made the headlines, without a single coverage of the woman who actually won the
marathon, because for all you know, she might have run on her periods too, but
as a more progressive and confident woman.
To you Ms. Gandhi, all I have to say is, if you would’ve run the
marathon free bleeding, because you found that easier and more comfortable, I
think you would have won me and million others over, but claiming it to be
feminism and a move for your ‘sisters’, I’m sorry, you’re going to really have
to think over your idea of ‘feminism’, next time you plan on pulling a stunt
like that again.
