<\/a>I\u2019m way past the age when worrying about menstruation is a big part of life. But I\u2019ll never be too old to be outraged by the way men have\u2014for millennia\u2014cursed, shunned, denigrated and mocked women regarding the female, monthly reproductive cycle. So, while Donald Trump\u2019s attack on Megyn Kelly is despicable, it\u2019s not that unexpected or uncommon.<\/p>\n

And, though I have aged out of the tampon era, I still vividly recall the anxiety that my period sparked every month: Did I have a tampon in my purse, just in case? Would I have an unusually heavy flow that might leak out and stain my clothes? At the time, I didn\u2019t understand that those fears were part of the societal shame attached to menstruation. But they were.<\/p>\n

Years after I reached puberty and was already fully immersed in my monthly, shame-tinged routine, I learned about the Orthodox Jewish practice of \u201cfamily purity,\u201d which dictated that a married Orthodox couple could not have sexual relations during the woman\u2019s menstrual period. Among religious Jews, that dictum was taken as a matter of course, and because it was so far removed from my way of life, I didn\u2019t think much about its implications. Even later, I learned about the many other religions and societies that had similar practices\u2014all of which characterized women, because they bled monthly, as \u201cunclean.\u201d<\/p>\n

I heard the \u201criding the rag\u201d jokes. I joined in with the other girls who used code terms, like \u201cthe curse,\u201d and \u201cmy little red friend\u201d rather than call menstruation by its real name. I worried, like others back in the day when we wore \u201csanitary belts\u201d and pads, that someone might notice the extra bulge created by a Kotex pad and figure out my embarrassing personal secret\u2014that I was having my period.<\/p>\n

It was only in the consciousness-raising 1970s that it began to dawn on me that it was absurd to allow myself to feel embarrassed by the natural rhythm of my reproductive cycle. And since then, my outrage has only grown.<\/p>\n

Today, I can\u2019t help but wonder how so-called \u201cpro-life\u201d Republicans can claim to value the lives of fetuses, while mocking the reproductive cycle itself. How can you be \u201cpro-life\u201d but anti-uterus and vagina?<\/p>\n

So, I take great pleasure when I read that, in the aftermath of Donald Trump\u2019s disgusting remarks, women have been live-tweeting their periods<\/a> to him using the hashtag #periodsarenotaninsult.<\/p>\n

@realDonaldTrump \u2014 on the third day of my period AND still a functioning member of society! Who knew?!\u201d<\/p>\n

@realDonaldTrump Just finished menstruating. I still don’t like you. Guess it had nothing to do w\/ my period,\u201d<\/p>\n

@realDonaldTrump I’m getting my period this week. I’ll make sure to keep you updated,<\/p>\n

@realDonaldTrump Its called a vagina and you came out of one, thanks to her period! #periodsarenotaninsult oops!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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