(menstruation information institute)<\/em>\u00a0gives workshops about menstruation and for everyone with questions about this subject. \u201cWe give these workshops mainly because school systems are quite masculine, young girls are not taken into account in the current systems\u201d. \u00a0According to Maaike, not only society system is made or designed by man but also everything around us like schools, buildings and houses.<\/p>\nAccording to Peter, 86% of young girls in the Netherlands indicate that, in high school, their needs are not sufficiently taken into account. With \u2018needs\u2019 we mean using the bathroom when you need or almost being obliged to participate in the gym classes. \u201cGym teachers \u2018learn\u2019, during their study, that it’s \u2018good\u2019 to exercise during periods. But in fact, they don\u2019t have any idea how it feels to do sport during a menstrual period. During the menstrual period, a human body keeps 46% of its energy, would you like to do sports with this low amount of energy?<\/p>\n
What\u2019s normal?<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Men-struatie voorlichtingsinstituut,<\/em>is an organisation that provides informational workshops for everyone who has questions about the menstruation cycle. Peter de Vroed, together with Ank Verhagen, is the initiator and their office is based in Eersel, which is around 25 minutes from Eindhoven. After a 1.5-hour drive, we parked the car at the driveway in front of Peter\u2019s house, ring the bell and enter the office, which is next to the house, meet Peter and drink a cup of tea while talking about the current taboo. \u00a0\u201cWe receive questions mainly about what to do with the menstruation complaints. A lot of women assume that all their complaints are \u2018normal\u2019. They visit the general practitioner, which will give the advice to use the oral conceptive pill and that all the information they get.\u201d After Peter\u2019s girlfriend experienced a lot of menstrual complaints, together they wanted to find an alternative and asked their selves \u2018what could we do differently\u2019?<\/p>\nPeter also asked the question: \u2018what do you need\u2019, his girlfriend gave one answer; rest. This rest and calmness influenced her menstrual period immediately. Instead of heaving menstrual pain for about eight days it became only four days and sometimes even 1.5 days. During research with around 500 women about the menstrual cycle, Peter realised there are a lot of women who have no idea of their menstrual cycle and what is \u2018normal\u2019 and not. But after all the research, investigations and even writing books, it didn\u2019t work out. There are so many people who still don\u2019t understand the menstrual cycle. So, Peter and his girlfriend bought a device to simulate the menstrual cramps by sticking stickers in the lower abdomen. \u201cMore than 220 women who tested this device have indicated that the device gives the same feeling as usual menstruation cramps\u201d. With this device, everyone can feel what it is like to have menstrual cramps and that is exactly what we need to give attention to the menstrual cycle.<\/p>\n
For this interview with Peter, I brought my sis male friend Maurice with me. He, of course, never felt what it is like the have a menstrual period. To let him feel this, Peter asked me to bring Maurice to let him feel the menstrual cramps by using a simulation device. \u00a0One of Maurice\u2019s first reactions was \u201coh, it\u2019s rough to have to go thought this every month\u201d. We were just starting. \u201cIt feels like a lot of pressure, this cannot be healthy\u201d, at this point the simulation device was only at 15%. Maurice ended up at 65% which I think is a decent percentage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2021\/01\/DSC_0005_Fotor-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” imgwidth=”65%” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
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School system<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>The institute also provides workshops for teenagers from the age of 14 in high school. They explain what kind of symptoms there are, how they arise and what can be done about it. \u201cThe purpose of the workshop is to increase the awareness of the differences between male and female bodies.\u201d Peter also gives explanation about the oral contraceptive pill because, in his opinion, there is not enough information given to girls who start using the pill. But even more important, according to Peter, is to inform them of what they put exactly in their bodies and what kind of consequences there are.<\/p>\nAs I explained before Peter has a menstruation simulation device where everyone who want, can feel what it is like to feel cramps. The high school kids can try the menstrual period simulation to this. \u201cThey are all sensibly enthusiastic about the simulation and all the information we give them. If you don\u2019t involve boys and man in this menstrual situation, it will always be a woman\u2019s \u2018thing\u2019 and you keep this taboo about it\u201d. If you would let man support and understand what a menstruator feels during periods, they go along with it.<\/p>\n
To \u2018solve\u2019 the taboo problem according to Peter, we have to educate young people about what a menstrual cycle is and how it could feel like. And this is where the Dutch government comes in. In addressing the second chamber, the Ministry of medical care asked some questions about the period poverty in The Netherlands. Secretary of state Bas van \u2018T Wout let know that to break the taboo, primary and high school are required to give more attention to sexual health and diversity and that, according to him, there are several lecture methods in which there is enough attention to menstrual wellbeing. Van \u2018T Wout also adds that professionals such as the GP\u2019s could provide advice. Opinions are divided about this.<\/p>\n
Another solution is to almost reduce patriarchy in society. According to Peter, it\u2019s quite simple, body differences. In a society, as we have now, we are trying to equal genders and that is something I very stand for. But there will always be a difference in people with or without a uterus. \u201cAt this point, we all are functioning like we have a male body, and that something wrong. If we keep expecting women to live their lives like man, they constantly have to step over their own boundaries\u201d. Peter tells that it should be okay to say \u2018no\u2019 or \u2018not today\u2019 sometimes, for instance, to work-related situations. \u201cWhat is more important than your body, health and wellbeing\u201d?\u00a0Almost nothing but in current society as now, it is almost impossible to say this.<\/em>\u201cThat\u2019s who we keep the taboo, it\u2019s like a circle. We want to break this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As long as there are humans living on this planet, there are people who menstruate, month after month. It should be the most normal thing, right? Unfortunately not, in a Dutch survey conducted by plan international,it became clear that 36 percent of a thousand girls between the age of 12 and 25 years old, did […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":1248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cbj","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Let's stop hiding our menstruation! - International Journalism<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n