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Zwischen Normalität, Scham und Tabu. Qualitative Interviews zur Bedeutung von Menstruation im Alltag.

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2020-01-16

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„Periods are normal, showing them should be too“ is a slogan and also a demand made by 'Blood normal' (2017, 2:23min), a promotional film from Libresse, a company for period products. The ad shows red 'blood' instead of blue liquid, which is usually shown in television, and was diversely discussed. Therefore, the topic of menstruation finds slowly more approval in social media and popular science literature. However, speaking about your own menstruation still is a known taboo. Concepts and ideas of normality are important while dealing with menstruation. Normality is a social construct in which menstruation represents something 'natural' and therefore 'normal', but also major ambivalences in dealing with menstruation appear. On the one hand, menstruation is considered a sign of female reproduction and health, on the other hand, menstruation is linked with negative attributions such as disgust, shame and pain, which are culturally and historically produced. These ambivalences were also found in the qualitative research of this master thesis "Between normality, shame and taboo. Qualitative interviews on the importance of menstruation in everyday life." A total of thirteen persons - four interviews with women, three with men and three with couples (two hetero couples and two siblings) – was interviewed. In many of the interviewee’s narrations implicit – or unconscious - taboos were found. These taboos were expressed dealing with menstruation in everyday life in speaking or rather notspeaking about menstruation. Only in a private and familiar environment - with close friends or family - an exchange seems possible.The dynamic of this taboo was also shown in mechanisms of not remembering, not dealing with and not knowing about menstruation, keeping it a secret or avoiding the topic. The interviewees also told stories about feeling ashamed while buying tampons or about the possibility that menstruation could be seen, for example by blood stains on clothes. Therefore, embarrassing moments were all about menstruation becoming visible. Contexts of this taboo in interviewee’s narrations especially were school or swimming lesson experiences, sex education and mother-child interactions. As well as in the current everyday life of every interviewee, these mechanisms were also found in the concrete interview situation, for example by nervousness or frequent laughter. A key finding of the analysis is that menstruation can only be normalized through years of "practice" and is also associated with negative and sometimes even discriminatory and sexist reactions.

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Qualitative Interviews, Normalitätskonzepte, Hygieneartikel, Normvorstellungen

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https://open.uni-marburg.de/handle/10.17192/es.2020.0003

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Online-Schriften aus der Marburger kulturwissenschaftlichen Forschung und Europäischen Ethnologie

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