Nothing is more poetic than realizing the process that brought us all into this world is probably taking home the crown for “Miss Understood” among the general public. And all of the myths, cultural legends, and cringey health classes about periods definitely are not lending a helping hand.
So when u/Candid_Reading_7267 asked the question, “What’s the dumbest thing you’ve been told about menstruation?” in r/AskWomen on Reddit, the responses flowed in with centuries-old myths and just plain nonsense that will leave you shocked:
1. “Some people claim that period blood is just toxins your body is releasing because of a poor diet.”
2. “I was extracting blackheads on my friend’s little brother’s face, and their father asked if I was on my period, and I said no. Later, I found out that he thinks period hormones could seep into his son’s pores and make him gay.”
3. “I saw a TikTok video of a guy saying that ‘no woman should be menstruating now, and we have the ability to just turn it off, but are all refusing to or have forgotten how to.’ Some of the video stitches were gold.”
4. “The idea that we can hold it in or in any other way control it. No. We cannot. It is an involuntary function, like a heartbeat or liver functions.”
5. “I will always remember this guy asking if I have an orgasm when I insert my tampon. I wish I was making this shit up.”
6. “That I could go swimming without sanitary products because my period would stop while I was in the water.”
7. “If you put your finger up your vagina, the egg will break and you’ll feel yolk.”
8. “I dated someone who thought if a girl sneezed during her period, it forced all the blood out and her period was over.”
9. “That women use it to gain sympathy. They say, ‘It can’t be that bad, and besides, even if it were, they are used to it.'”
11. “Since I live in a culture that glorifies women’s purity and virginity and cares so much about the hymen, which they believe keeps the vagina sealed, I always wondered how come I bleed and even pass blood clots having a sealed vagina. Once, I actually asked someone (a woman, by the way), and she told me that the hymen works like a curtain or roller shades.”
12. “In a YouTube comment (the video explained how women can get pregnant on their period and why), some idiot said that having sex with someone on their period is disgusting because of all the ‘rotting tissue females release’ while on their periods.”
13. “You cannot make mayonnaise when you are on your period. Apparently, it will not whip up properly. I think it is in the same vein as the ‘Menstruating women spoil meat’ thing.”
14. “Menstrual products shouldn’t be free because condoms aren’t free, and that’s not fair to men.”
15. “That it only hurts when you haven’t fully, deeply accepted your feminine nature. I was told that by another woman when I was about 13 years old. I’m happy to report that even at that young age, I thought it was probably bullshit.”
16. “I had an ex who was convinced that period blood was blue; the reasoning was that it’s blue in commercials. He didn’t understand why the commercials would ‘lie.'”
And finally, this person gave us a story that’s rooted in some kind of misconception about periods that I never, ever in my life imagined I would hear:
17. “I was around 11 years old, and I had a nose bleed that lasted about four hours. It started with me throwing up blood, and then it was gushing from my nose. There wasn’t an injury or anything like that; it was random. Most parents would have gotten their child to the ER within the first hour. Mom let me bleed for four hours.”
If you’ve heard any other totally unbelievable things about menstruation, be sure to leave them in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
