‘The red Mercedes has arrived’ : On the change in the Polish discourse on menstruation
Language is one of the tools that both shape and reflect reality. Thus, by looking at the language used on the internet to refer to menstruation, we can get a picture of how menstruation is perceived. A picture that is full of shame, incomprehension, and denial, but is also gradually changing for the better.
Despite the fact that, due to the strong cultural taboo, menstrual discourse often depends on the level of one’s knowledge, age, emotional attitude, or the level of familiarisation with one's own body, menstruation is rarely mentioned directly in Poland. The distance towards the topic of menstruation is reflected in the frequent usage of euphemisms that are there to help us speak allusively about the shameful subject of menstruation. ‘Crimson tide’, ‘Auntie’, or ‘these days’ – these are just a few examples of metaphors that we use in order not to talk about periods directly. Sometimes the language around menstruation becomes vulgar (e.g., ‘oestrus’), which directly indicates a negative attitude towards menstruation as some kind of otherness or even animality. The medical language used to talk about periods is, on the other hand, less negative, but it is also often difficult to understand.
It is also worth noting here that internet users, when looking for information on menstruation, often search for medical sources. Such a trend may result from insufficient sexual education in Polish schools and might reflect the taboo related to periods, as a result of which young women are ashamed to ask intimate questions related to menstruation in their family circle. In addition, menstrual contexts are full of negative emotions, often associated with physical ailments or discomfort, but also related to the psycho-social sphere, in which women describe their prevalent feeling as embarrassment, exclusion, misunderstanding, and even ridicule of their menstrual experiences.
This type of menstrual discourse suggests that in Polish culture, the dominant cultural codes related to menstruation primarily reflect the social taboos associated with lack of education and shame. Lack of knowledge often translates into an erroneous perception of menstruation as a disease, which in turn leads to exclusion of women from professional and social life.
At the same time, we are currently observing minor positive changes in the perception of corporeality, which, although taking place mainly in the United States and Western Europe, are also slowly reaching Polish culture. Menstruation often begins to be referred to as women's special time. It is a return to nature and finding the strength of the menstrual cycle. In this light, menstruation is about allowing yourself to be interrupted – not out of necessity but for pleasure. Importantly, menstruation is no longer referred to only in relation to women, but generally to menstruating people, including transsexual and non-binary people.
In line with this trend, in recent years we have also noticed a change in the way sanitary products are presented in ads and commercials. Initially, the advertisement of sanitary products was mainly based on discretion, and the aim of these products was to provide women with a sense of cleanliness and freshness during ‘these days’. Sanitary products were a remedy for the ‘disease’ that was menstruation. They were treated as a panacea to restore normality, return to daily tasks and activities, without fear, stress and pain. Nowadays, brands are starting to talk about periods directly. They emphasise the fact that menstruation is an important event in our lives. The narrative around periods focuses on the naturalness and universality of the phenomenon – in various advertisements and commercials, a red liquid finally replaced the blue one that was used before. Menstruation is being normalised and it no longer means weakness or exclusion, but on the contrary – health, strength, and source of life.
Thus, an analysis of the language used in the context of menstruation shows how our perception of menstruation has been changing over the years. As part of these changes, we observe a slow replacement of the still prevailing styles of behaviour (i.e., residual codes) for new trends (i.e., emergent codes). Although Poland is still dominated by social and cultural taboos related to periods, which is reflected in the language used in relation to menstruation, the changes currently taking place in western countries suggest that the coming years will bring greater familiarisation with the topic of menstruation also in Poland.
About the study:
The research was carried out in Poland in February 2020 by Difference research company, and was based on the method of virtual ethnography which involves analysing the content posted by Internet users in comments, forums, social networks, and blogs, as well as studying pop culture sources. The goal of virtual ethnography is to learn about the habits and behaviours of Internet users in the context of, for example, lifestyle, consumer habits, ways of spending free time, or socio-political issues.