The #TweetYourPeriod hashtag is kicking period-shaming to the curb

In recent years, women have been fighting period shame and promoting menstruation awareness through creative ways. There was the woman who ran the London marathon tampon-free, Rupi Kaur, the artist who battled with Instagram over a photo she posted of a woman bleeding through her sweatpants, and even an entire account dedicated to the beauty of menstrual blood.

Most recently, a series of tweets with the hashtag #TweetYourPeriod has been encouraging women to publicly discuss their periods. It all began with a blog post by Risa Pappas. “It has always bothered me that the period is so taboo when it’s not a proclivity, a defect, a perversion or even a problem,” Risa wrote. “It’s a normal, biological process. I’d like to live in the kind of world where we can speak openly and frankly about our periods, not be shamed for having them.” The filmmaker and writer then began live-tweeting about her period, asking others to do the same. false false false

Risa also pointed out the double standard that men can “go beyond” and openly talk about bodily functions, but women are expected to keep quiet and hold themselves up to some archaic “ladylike” standard. “It’s about the whole culture of shame,” she told Bustle. “Why should be we be forced to accommodate the disgust and fear of men? Why are we not being accommodated? The shame and silence of the period is just one pillar in the foundation of oppression women are trapped under.” false

“We fart. And urinate and defecate and bleed,” Risa added. Others have joined in, sharing their own experiences through #TweetYourPeriod and #RedSummer. Check out more of the tweets below and feel free to tweet about your own menses-related cramps and cravings. false false false