While standing in a Walmart checkout line I watched a woman in front of me discreetly place a box of tampons onto the belt and proceed to disguise the box among her other items, even placing a t-shirt on top of the “Tampax” label. Satisfied with the job she then looked up from the belt and peaked around to see if anyone saw her…saw her what? Purchase a box of tampons? Is that so bad? I’ve become increasingly aware of the “menstruation taboo” in our culture. This isn’t something we talk about openly, we even have numerous “nicknames” to disguise what we ladies are talking about so secretly: demon, monster, angry beavers, monthly gift, monthly visitor, shark week, on-the-rag, that time of the month and my favorite, Aunt Flow. One thing for certain is that the classic title “period” is not the most preferred, either. So, the question remains: Why must we disguise a box of tampons like we hide a conversation between women regarding a healthy, natural bodily function?

I would like to state that I’m not suggesting we make women’s reproductive system a “hot debate” or even a light dinner topic. I’m merely suggesting we women take action and remove the stigma, or dare I say the shame we feel while we endure the shedding of our uterine lining. That’s what it is, in case you didn’t know what was happening: we literally shed our uterine lining that is built up over time. The purpose of said uterine lining is to provide a place for a baby, but when the egg isn’t fertilized, we shed the lining and drop the egg (not like a chicken).

From a young age, women are taught that this touchy topic is to remain quiet and carried like the Scarlet A Hester Prynne wears. In case any boys are reading, remember that time in around fourth or fifth grade when all the girls left the classroom, and you guys were left to entertain yourselves or maybe were allowed to fly paper airplanes around the room for 45 minutes? Yeah, while you guys were off doing whatever, the ladies were escorted to a dark, quiet, isolated classroom where we were made to watch "The Pancake Movie." The movie was outdated and very cheesy, and the only thing I truly remember from the movie was two girls having a sleepover and one of their moms making uterus-shaped pancakes in the morning and having “the talk” with them. Aside from the terrible acting and script, what this movie taught young girls was that we have to conceal our periods from the world’s eye. We mustn’t talk about this topic around others, and it must be done in a secret, private meeting room. Maybe this is why women always travel in packs to the bathroom. Where else are we supposed to have these conversations? Again, I repeat: I do not suggest we make the ovulation cycle a dinner topic, but at least women can stop hiding our tampons and concealing our pads when we all know this “phenomenon” occurs.

For decades, women have been oppressed and forced to hide their periods and made to feel shame or guilt for having one. In the middle ages, women were told to stay in a “red tent” and sit on some hay for a week, being careful to never get near the crops or water source because they would contaminate them. Point in blank, we need to stop the “period taboo” in the country and tell women that there’s nothing wrong with embracing the flow.