A Dissection of Menstrual Cycles in History and Tradition
Why are periods so taboo? I mean, they happen to over 50% of the world’s population for roughly seven years of their lives. While this question has only been a topic of popular discussion in the past few decades, periods have always been a natural part of the female reproductive system. While they’re annoying (as anyone who menstruates will tell you), they are necessary for most, and although they have been present since the dawn of time, every culture in every period in history has viewed periods differently. Some believed it was disgusting and unclean, while others believed it held mystic powers. Its mysterious origins often left scholars stunned and mesmerized by the changes it brought to women’s daily lives. So how was this reflected in the way it was studied and dealt with?
I’m Nat, your friendly neighborhood history nerd, and we’ll be discussing how the cultures of the past viewed menstrual cycles, and how that has affected how we view them today.
DISCLAIMER: Although this article will mostly discuss how cisgender women were affected by their periods in the past, people from all different backgrounds and sexualities experience period symptoms. If you want to learn more about how periods and period language affect the LGBTQIA+ community, you can click here.
Ancient Egypt
Periods were called “hsmn” (possibly pronounced “hesmen”), and were seen as something only for women. Although periods were acknowledged, they were never discussed publicly. Menstrual blood was seen as unclean, and therefore women would have to separate themselves from the men around them. They would go to “the women’s place” for the duration of their bleeding, and men could not go near them. If a man touched a woman while she was menstruating, they would not be able to go back to work until they performed a 2-day cleansing ritual. (Delfin) Men also had to take over all chores and at-home duties while women were in “the women’s place,” allowing women to relax during their periods.
In addition, periods were also seen to have healing properties. Menstrual blood was used in healing practices and the making of drugs. These medicines were only used for women’s health, but were prominent in gynecological practices and midwifery. (Frandsen) Women also typically used papyrus or other grasses to create make-shift pads and tampons. While there was a level of cultural disgust relating to menstruation, there was also a certain beauty to the sisterhood that came from these beliefs. This just goes to show how contradictory the views that Egyptian people held about periods.
Ancient Rome
The Romans are well known for loving to put women down in many capacities, and periods were no different. Like the Egyptians, periods were seen as a marker of power and danger, but the Romans took this to a greater extreme. The Romans saw men and women as fundamentally different creatures, and therefore, many Roman scholars saw periods as something to be feared and loved at the same time. To them, periods were a marker of fertility, something both a life-giving blessing and an ominous threat.
One major proponent of these ideas was Pliny the Elder, a famous Roman scholar, author, and naturalist. He believed that menstrual cycles were beacons of power. He claimed to have witnessed menstruating women push away natural disasters, sour fields of crops, and drive dogs crazy. At the same time, however, he also claimed that menstrual blood was an excellent salve against gout and a cure for headaches. (Chavarria) Another writer, Columella, claimed that he had witnessed a menstruating woman kill a plant just by looking at it.
Since these facts were listed by famous scholarly minds, many people saw it as fact, and it therefore affected cultural views and expectations of women and their bodies. A deep lack of understanding (or a want to understand) the female reproductive system was rooted in Roman culture. Pliny himself believed that menstruation was “quando haec est generando homini materia”, or “material out of which a human is created,” as well as the female equivalent of male semen. (Chavarria) To the Romans, the practice of losing blood in any capacity contained magical properties, and menstrual blood was no different. Blood was a symbol of death, so the shedding of blood from women every year made Romans nervous. They tended to walk a very fine line between being grateful for periods and being afraid of them. Even still, menstruating women were not considered a threat like they were in many other cultures, and they were not barred from religious ceremonies while on their periods.
Cherokee Nation
A contrast to the other cultures that we have explored, the traditional beliefs of the Cherokee Nation on menstruation are surprisingly positive. Unlike many other cultures, the Cherokee see blood as a representation of life, not death. Menstrual blood was also seen to have magical properties, and it would be used in ball game rituals, sorcery, and as a symbol of power in battle. Before men went to battle, they would be repeatedly scratched up across their arms and bodies, which was meant to mimic menstruating women. This was a symbolic ritual that displayed power and fearsomeness. (Delfin) Due to this association of blood with power, many Cherokee people believed that a baby’s flesh and blood came from the mother, and the skeleton came from the father. Although women would still go away from their communities in isolated huts when they were bleeding, it was not seen as a sign of shame, but as a recognition of the power behind menstruation.
One story related to women’s periods in Cherokee beliefs is that of Nun’yunu’wi (or Stonclad), a cannibalistic monster who could never be defeated by any warrior. He was a tracker and hunter who stalked, killed and ate the Cherokee people. The one weakness to his power was seeing a menstruating woman. It took seven menstruating virgins to defeat him. They all stood in front of him and sapped his power from him. This story is seen as a reckoning of the power of menstruating women, creating an extremely loving and respectful view of women overall.
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Works Cited
Ahpma. “Menstruation Facts and Figures.” AHPMA, 2024, http://www.ahpma.co.uk/menstruation_facts_and_figures/. Accessed 5 May 2025.
Chavarria, Sophie. “Menstrual Blood: Uses, Values, and Controls in Ancient Rome.” Cahiers “Mondes Anciens,” no. 16, Apr. 2022, https://doi.org/10.4000/mondesanciens.4113.
Frandsen, Paul John. “The Menstrual ‘Taboo’ in Ancient Egypt.” Journal of near Eastern Studies, vol. 66, no. 2, Apr. 2007, pp. 81–106, https://doi.org/10.1086/519030.
Tan, Delfin A., et al. “Cultural Aspects and Mythologies Surrounding Menstruation and Abnormal Uterine Bleeding.” Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, vol. 40, no. 40, Apr. 2017, pp. 121–33, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2016.09.015. Accessed 5 May 2025.
Your Period. “Menstruation around the World – Your Period.” Yourperiod.ca, 2019, http://www.yourperiod.ca/normal-periods/menstruation-around-the-world/. Accessed 5 May 2025.
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