Periods. Statistically speaking, half the people reading this have them (don’t fact check me on this one, please). Even though my previous statement might not be one hundred percent factually correct, a large part of the population has first hand experience with menstruation. Still, the mentioning of menstruation and all things related (I’m thinking about sanitary pads, menstrual cups, tampons, stained clothes etcetera.) is uncomfortable for many and it is considered a private issue. Growing up in Sweden, I was fully aware that I one day would get my period and I was in some ways looking forward to it, thinking that would be that I was a proper grown-up then. That of course changed as soon as I got my period and the anticipation transformed in to a feeling of injustice and having been wronged in some way. And don’t get me started on the uncomfortable pads and the fear of staining my pants and the following (mainly imagined) public ridicule. Continue reading