The Sexualization of Menstruation: On Rape, Tampons, and ‘Prostitutes’

Abstract

Abstract This study contradicts extant research asserting that girls rarely connect menstruation with sexuality. Through interviews with post-menarcheal girls, Bobier demonstrates that they relate sexuality with menses, fluidly transitioning between subjects of menstruation and sex. Girls talk about tampons and Trojans in the same breath, discuss “waiting until you’re ready” to describe tampon usage, express a fear of “down there,” and consider “provocative girls” as their opposites. They associate birth control pills with “prostitutes” and express broad apprehension about sexual activity. These attitudes, coupled with their rejection of the pill and tampons, reveal girls’ sensitivity to the taboo surrounding female sexuality and demonstrate their desire to be “good girls.” At the same time, they are aware that they exist within a set of gender and power relations that limit their ability to define their bodies and their sexuality. This is underscored by concerns about rape and resulting pregnancy as an implication of menarche.