Negative Attitudes Toward Menstruation

Abstract

In this article, we draw from a body of research in the last 20 years, our own included, to suggest a framework for thinking about how attitudes toward and experience with menstruation contribute to girls' and women's notions of whatitmeans to be female, to be awoman. Building on the current relational framing of psychotherapy, that a client's conception of herself is tied to her efforts to connect with others, we argue that negative attitudes toward menstruation can cause females to be “disconnected” from one another. Taking a life span perspective, we discuss how adolescent girls receive mixed messages about menstruation, how college women reflect negative attitudes about menstruation, and how adult women's differing experiences with menstruation can lead to disconnection between women. Specifically, we find that negative attitudes toward menstruation can result in mother-daughter disconnection and put women at odds with one another with regard to how to manage menstrual distress, PMS, and menopause. We suggest that a biopsychosocial exploration of menstruation in feminist therapy is warranted and that mental health professionals can benefit from using such a framework as they seek to understand the presenting difficulties of female clients.

Key Words:

• Menstruation
• premenstrual syndrome
• mother-daughter relationships
• disconnections between women