A Period Should not Stop You

As a teenager, I would hear stories from my aunts in their youth whenever they got their period in the Dominican Republic. In the United States, it’s fairly simple to walk to a pharmacy or convenient store and purchase pads or tampons. They may be overpriced and expensive, but they’re available and accessible. That was not the case for the older women in my family. In the rural Dominican Republic, my mother and her sisters would tell me stories about the beginning of their menstruation cycle, and how much of an inconvenience it was for them. My mother’s family lived more in the “campo” of the D.R. where it was filled with lots of open greenery, animals, and land. To get to the closest town where you did not need a horse, motorbike, or vehicle to get around, was hours away. This meant that getting everyday house supplies and necessities would be purchased once a week by whichever man from the family was going into the town that day. This was rural Caribbean in the mid 1950s, so times were much more old-fashioned then. Getting your period meant that you stayed home from school, because period products were far too expensive, and not sold everywhere. Tampons were totally out of the question.

When the older women in my family would tell me these stories, it made me realize how much of their education they missed out on. Not to mention the fact that during the 1950s, it was very normal for women and young girls to have children and start a family in their early/late teen years. Considering all these factors, it further clarified how there’s a lack of resources for women across the globe whenever they go through their menstrual cycles once a month. This is not an issue solely in the Dominican Republic– because unfortunately, every 1 out of 5 of girls globally miss countless days of school due to their period. Whenever I reflect on how times have changed since my mother and aunts were in their teenage years, cultural taboos and misinformation regarding periods have not changed as much. The secrecy, embarrassment, and shame has not progressed as far as we think it has.

I remember being 15/16 years old and missing multiple days of school out of the month whenever I got my period. My period was so painful, with cramps so excruciating, that I simply could not make the commute to school. My older sister, and even my fellow girl friends, also had the same experience whenever they got their periods. So for a while I was under the assumption that this was completely normal. It was until my guidance counselor pulled me into an empty classroom, sat me down at a table, and asked me why I was missing so many days throughout the trimester. She started explaining to me that I am missing a significant amount of lessons throughout the school year, and that the 1-2 days a month adds up along the duration of the entire school year. That was my first time talking about periods with a teacher. I was so uncomfortable speaking about menstruation with her, because I was taught not to speak about it. That should have not been the case in the year of 2014, where one would think that periods would be openly acceptable and normalized. There I was, with almost a 40/50-year age gap between my mother and aunts, but still going through similar experiences regarding our periods.

A period should not stop women and young girls from doing everyday responsibilities. We need to have more resources available for girls and women who experience such period pain to the point where they cannot proceed to complete simple tasks, and those who do not receive the proper education surrounding their bodies. This common bodily function is so highly shared yet kept as a secret within our community, that there are thousands of women who are unaware of the effects of extreme period pain. PCOS, fibroids, and endometriosis are only to name a few of the reasons why a woman would endure such discomfort once a month. This is why I believe a company like Casa de la Luna is needed. Women need to have better access to education, resources, and a space where we can share our experiences when it comes to feminine hygiene. I hope that the next generation no longer feels the isolation and embarrassment when we bleed once a month. It's time that Feminine Technology coincides with those who need it the most, and Casa de la Luna is a company that is working to meet those needs.