‘It's just the monthlies, she'll get over it’: Menstrual problems and men's attitudes

Abstract

This article attempts a sociological analysis of social understandings of menstrual pain and ‘premenstrual tension’ within white British culture. Drawing on interviews with men and an examination of medical textbooks, it focuses on men's views of menstrual problems, setting individual men's accounts alongside some medical views. The concept of a menstrual etiquette is proposed as an appropriate term for mainstream British culture's treatment of menstruation. A distinction between the public and the private sphere is found within men's talk, and this is used to structure the material presented here. A feminist perspective informs this research, and the way in which menstrual problems are dealt with is seen as closely linked with the way in which men's domination over women is maintained.