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... validity of Soucasauxs statement. We can say that the reason why men cannot stand the sight of womens menstrual blood is not that they loathe it, in esthetic sense of this word, but that they feel that it contains a some kind of an unexplained force. It is not a secret that macho men despise domesticated hubbies more then anybody else, because in their eyes, feminized men became subjected to female existential power in other words, they committed a gender suicide. If we rid the popular stereotypes, in regards to female menstruation, of their artificial pretentiousness, it will appear that these stereotypes simply reflect mens fear of the essence of femininity.
This is because mens physiological functions do not quite correlate with physiological functions of women. Men can be alcoholics and drug addicts, who cherish their motorcycles or guns more then anything in this world. Yet, the evolutionary law will still keep them in high regard, for as long as they succeed in spreading the seed. This is why women are so much attracted to men that are bad to the bone. In its turn, the existential value of women corresponds to their ability to raise a healthy offspring and not to whether they were able to attain a social prominence, as hawks of political correctness would like us to believe. After child is being born in the family, husbands social status gets to be automatically lowered from a lifetime partner to a money making machine, who gets a divorce if he fails to provide family with substantial and steady income.
This is why, before the actual wedding; groom invites his friends to participate in bachelor party. Such parties are nothing but funerals, during the course of which men bury their former selves. On subconscious level, men sense that their prolonged association with women of their hearts, will result in them loosing their existential vitality. Just as female spiders consume male spiders, after the act of intercourse, wives eat their husbands, in metaphorical context of this word. Thus, there is good reason for men to be afraid of female menstruation, because it does posses a power that is destructive to males psyche. In the next part of this paper, we will provide readers with a survey of culturally defined customs, in regards to the issue of female menstruation. (3) In her article The First Taboo: How Menstrual Taboos Reflect and Sustain Women's Internalized Oppression, Jenn Frederick explains the mechanics of mens attitude towards menstruation: The concept of menstrual blood as evil is strongly associated with patriarchal cultures.
Men fear and are in awe of this cyclic bleeding, recognizing that it is associated with cosmic, and specifically lunar rhythms As a response to this experience, which is entirely alien to men, they suppress, isolate, control and even kill the women who bleed (Frederick). We can only agree with the author there are numerous examples of women being put to death, simply because they happened to be in wrong place at the wrong time, when they were having monthly period. In 1998, the aboriginal woman in Australia was killed by her husband, because he found a few drops of menstrual blood on his blanket. The following day this man had also died, as if physical contact with his wifes blood did cause him a great deal of harm. The native people in America have a tradition of secluding menstruating women in so-called menstrual huts, where they are supposed to remain for the duration of their sickness.
The male members of South-African tribe Zulu require their women to loudly announce whether they have menstruation or not, when they approach mens company. Their failure to do this, often results in them being beat up to death, as if Black men really considered maintaining hygienic standards as their foremost priority. The North-African tribe of Berbers has a practice of chasing away menstruating women from their nomadic villages without food and water. Such women are forbidden from returning to the village, until the time when they are clean. The tribe Bri-Bri in Costa Rica practices dropping off menstruating women in the midst of jungles, where they are supposed to spend time in contemplating their own wickedness. After menstruation is over, these women are being brought back to celebrate their return to civilization.
It is needless to say, that such practice is being repeated on monthly basis. In Papua New Guinea, by the time girls reach the age of 8 - 10 years old, they are being locked up in secluded huts, where they are supposed to remain for 6 - 7 years. When these girls become sexually mature, they are being allowed to come out and to participate in the first cannibalistic feast in their lives. White people did not progress much further in their attitudes towards menstruation, in comparison to savages from Africa, Australia and Latin America.
As Jenn Frederick rightly points out in the article that we have already quoted from: Western societies often claim that, unlike traditional societies, they do not hold primitive notions of taboos surrounding menstruation. However, the stigma and shame surrounding menstruation and the practices Western women undertake to hide their menstruation point to a great number of implicit taboos that do in fact exist in these societies (Frederick). For example, Russian women strongly believe that, during the course of their period, they cannot engage in following activities: doing laundry, visiting dentist, going to the bank, washing and dying hair, cooking fish, picking mushrooms, attending wedding and funerals, etc. These prejudices are being officially promoted by Russian Orthodox Church, as such that correspond to the proper lifestyle of righteous women.
In Western countries, the socially imposed prejudices, in regards to menstruating women, often assume covert forms, but it does not make them less real. For example, despite the fact that the notion of gender egalitarianism became the essential component of socio-political policies in these countries, which resulted in situation when women are now being allowed to serve in the army, alongside with men, no women are permitted to even set their foot aboard submarines. Apparently, this has nothing to do with the lack of tolerance, on the part of military figures in Western countries, because this unofficial rule does not apply to homosexuals. Navy generals simply believe that women, during the course of their monthly cycles, bring bad luck. It appears that even the most ardent feminists are emotionally comfortable with the idea that the ideals of womens social equality only have a limited use, just as women in Third World countries, who do not think that there is anything wrong with their husbands becoming increasingly hostile towards them, when they menstruate. In her article Could Women Sink U.
S. Submarines? , Tracy Moran comes up with arguments that are meant to justify the institutionalized discrimination against women on U. S. submarines: I know it doesnt seem fair, and women should be able to pursue any job they desire - now. But this isnt just any job.
All-male submarine crews have been protecting this nation for a century, and until we can find a way to create a coed Silent Service without affecting its ability to protect the United States, equality will just have to wait (Moran). Apparently, many women in Western countries had embraced gender stereotypes that were created by men, as their own. For example, it is a commonly accepted notion that, during the course of PMS, women become emotionally unstable, which is why they should not be allowed to pursue careers that are being traditionally referred to as male jobs. Those who oppose women serving on submarines resort to this argument as such that cannot be challenged in principle; despite the fact that 46 % of judges in America are women and that, their monthly periods do not seem to affect their professional adequacy.
Therefore, it will not be an exaggeration to suggest that we are still a long way off from achieving true gender equality in this country. Womens menstruation will continue to represent a mystical danger to the majority of men, regardless of their national affiliation. (4) Before we conclude this essay, we need to come up with a brief survey of practical implications, in regards to the ideas contained in the paper: 1) The issue of womens menstruation has always been surrounded with the wall of silence in patriarchic societies, because menstruation reminds men that women, unlike themselves, experience physical discomfort and suffering, while contributing to the survival of species, as much as men do, which is utterly unfair. 2) Feminists strive to achieve equality by playing in mens games, which is why they always fail, while ridiculing the whole idea of womens liberation. They do not understand that womens power is enclosed in physiological domain. When this power is being unleashed, on monthly basis, men do their best to plug up the leak. 3) The moral prejudices that oppose the laws of nature are counter-productive in their essence. Whatever is natural cannot be evil by definition. 4) Whereas religiously righteous men are often able to gain social prominence (George Bush for example), religiously righteous women always end up finding themselves in even more disadvantaged position, because the purpose of monotheistic religions is to insure continuing dominance of men in all spheres of public life. 5) The suggestion that menstrual blood has mystical power has very practical applications. Many Russian women insure the unshakable loyalty of their husbands with the mean of adding a few drops of menstrual blood to their mens drinks. 6) Since mens semen is not associated with mystical power, unlike menstrual blood, men subconsciously feel that their dominance is based on shaky foundation.
Therefore, the political concept of matriarchate is better discussed not as historical oddity but as natural and therefore effective form of social governing. 8) The reason why male politicians often appear to be more logical and intelligent than their female counterparts, is because they know how to exploit womens existential weaknesses, like pointing out to the hole on womans stockings, in the midst of heated political debate. However, since men fear menstrual blood more then they fear devil, spraying them with such blood would represent the most effective method of wining a political debate, on the part of female politicians. Bibliography: Frederick, Jenn The First Taboo: How Menstrual Taboos Reflect and Sustain Women's Internalized Oppression. 2003. Comcast Interactive Media. 14 May 2008. web Henry, Robin Dispelling Menstrual Myths. 7 Mar. 1982. The New York Times. 14 May 2008.
web Pliny the Elder Natural History. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. MacDonald, Shauna Leaky Performances: The Transformative Potential of Menstrual Leaks. Womens Studies in Communication. 2007. V. 30, No. 3, p. 340 - 345. Moran, Tracy Could Women Sink U.
S. Submarines? . 2002. USA Today. 14 May 2008. web Kabilsingh, Chatsumarn Women in Buddhism: Questions and Answers. 1998. Buddha Dharma Education Association. 14 May 2008. web Scofield Study Bible: New King James Version.
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982. Spriggs, William Menstrual Odors, Dirty Diapers, and the Male Dominated Religious Quest For Purity. 20 Jun. 2007. Evolutions Voyage. 14 May 2008. web Soucasaux, Nelson The Symbolism of Menstruation, 2002. Museum of Menstruation and Womens Health. 14 May 2008. web Islam and Menses. 2005.
Islam-the Modern Religion. 14 May 2008. web
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Research essay sample on Western Countries Social Prominence
