世界的經期禁忌：你能想像在某些地方，女孩月經來不准上學嗎？

女性平權運動源起的西方國家裡，禁忌的種類比較少，也比較不明顯，但徇著衛生產品的發展歷史，如衛生棉、棉條、月經杯等，就能發現不是西方人天生尊重女性，而是幾百年來許多運動家努力對抗保守觀念，才讓今日女性的經期更衛生更舒服。

透過<Google新聞> 追蹤風傳媒

但是再進步的國家，也還無法根除鄙視月經的觀念，美國正在角逐共和黨總統參選人的地產大亨唐納・川普（Donald Trump），日前就譏諷女主播月經來才會一直刁難他，引起撻伐聲浪。

先前，加拿大藝術家Rapi Kaur也和社群軟體instagram開戰，她上傳一系列名為《月經》（Period）的生活藝術照，對女性來說再平常不過的生活景象，卻被instagram以不雅的理由直接刪除，幸好在大批網友的聲援下，最終instagram道歉表示「是不小心刪除的」。

 

thank you @instagram for providing me with the exact response my work was created to critique. you deleted a photo of a woman who is fully covered and menstruating stating that it goes against community guidelines when your guidelines outline that it is nothing but acceptable. the girl is fully clothed. the photo is mine. it is not attacking a certain group. nor is it spam. and because it does not break those guidelines i will repost it again. i will not apologize for not feeding the ego and pride of misogynist society that will have my body in an underwear but not be okay with a small leak. when your pages are filled with countless photos/accounts where women (so many who are underage) are objectified. pornified. and treated less than human. thank you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ this image is a part of my photoseries project for my visual rhetoric course. you can view the full series at rupikaur.com the photos were shot by myself and @prabhkaur1 (and no. the blood. is not real.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ i bleed each month to help make humankind a possibility. my womb is home to the divine. a source of life for our species. whether i choose to create or not. but very few times it is seen that way. in older civilizations this blood was considered holy. in some it still is. but a majority of people. societies. and communities shun this natural process. some are more comfortable with the pornification of women. the sexualization of women. the violence and degradation of women than this. they cannot be bothered to express their disgust about all that. but will be angered and bothered by this. we menstruate and they see it as dirty. attention seeking. sick. a burden. as if this process is less natural than breathing. as if it is not a bridge between this universe and the last. as if this process is not love. labour. life. selfless and strikingly beautiful.

Rupi Kaur（@rupikaur_）張貼的相片 於 2015 年 3月 月 24 9:02下午 PDT 張貼

難道，沒有人不討厭月經的嗎？

無論東西文化都厭惡月經，幾乎算是「普世價值」，但凡事總有些例外，世界上竟然有不討厭月經的地方！人類學家曾經網羅世界上不討厭月經的文化，例如住在美國西北部海岸的優洛克部落（Yurok），這裡的人認為月經是淨化身體的機制，經期來的時候會舉行淨化身心靈的儀式。斯里蘭卡的女孩，初經來了之後親戚朋友則會幫他們舉行盛大的派對，贈送禮物與祝福，以慶賀成為成熟女人的日子。

廣大的太平洋島國中，密克羅尼西亞聯邦的烏利西環礁（Ulithi）居民，經期中和哺乳中的女性會待在共同的小屋裡，但和尼泊爾不一樣的是，烏利西的小屋充滿歡樂，女人們在裏面舉辦各式各樣的活動。而婆羅洲的朗古斯（Rungus）女性，則對月經沒有特別的評價，認為那就只是自然的生理機能。

This month's images are stunning, if I do say so myself. Go check 'em out! http://t.co/fQtVCoEFIA #art #feminist pic.twitter.com/d97KYVKyy3

— Beauty in Blood (@BeautyinBloodUS) April 16, 2013

這是美國藝術家Jen Lewis的攝影作品，不說你看得出來那是經血嗎？

「如果男人有月經」

不排斥月經的文化，只占世界上極為少數，《內在革命》的作者葛羅莉亞・史坦能（Gloria Steinem）曾寫下一篇文章，假想「如果男人突然有了月經，而女人沒有」那會是怎樣的光景？

月經會立刻變成值得羨慕、吹捧的事。男孩們會吹噓他們的月經有多長、多大的量。

科學家會投入更多心力在防止經痛上，國家會成立專門的研究機構，衛生棉相關產品會由聯邦政府支出。

軍隊拒絕女人的理由會是「不曾流血的人怎能殺敵」，
醫學院拒絕女性的理由則是「女生會因為怕血而昏厥」⋯⋯

當然，這是誇飾法，但史坦能的文章也暗示，人們討厭月經究竟因為它是身體的廢棄物，還是因為它來自女人的私處？若我們能換個角度看待，把月經視為淨化身體的機制，將月經帶來的不方便視作挑戰，把擁有月經當成勇敢的象徵，其實月經，根本沒有佛地魔可怕。