My Period Vol.032 - "40 Years of Period Life Alongside the Evolution of Sanitary Products: It Taught Me How Life Can Change"
Minori Kitahara, 54 years old
Author, Representative of LOVE PIECE CLUB First period: 2nd year of junior high school (14 years old)
Menopause: 54 years old
Average period length so far: 5 days
Average menstrual cycle so far: 28 days
Menstrual products and sanitary items I have used so far: menstrual cups, menstrual discs, organic cotton tampons, cloth pads, tampons, napkins, and many more
-What day is your period?
The day when a friend will visit as promised
-What image comes to mind when you hear the word "menstruation"?
Woman's Life
- I would like to look back on my life with a focus on menstruation. When was your first period? How do you remember it?
I got my first period in 1985, at the end of my second year of junior high school. I was one of the latecomers to menstruation in my class, I think I was second from the bottom. I had heard that my mother had also had a late period, so I vaguely thought, "Maybe I'll get my period late too," and "Maybe I'll never get my period again," but I didn't feel particularly anxious.
On the day of my first period , I was at home and was surprised to find a pitch black stain on my underwear in the bathroom. I thought "period blood = red," so I thought, "Huh? Did I poop?" When I told my mother, she handed me a napkin and said, "Just put it in your underwear."
My first sanitary product was a thick disposable pad without wings. At the time, it didn't have any adhesive tape to fasten it to my underwear, so it was a stiff, stiff pad that just sat on top of my underwear, which was uncomfortable to wear.
The next day was Sunday, and we ate red rice, a traditional dish to celebrate the first menstruation. At the time, my father had the tradition of serving okonomiyaki for lunch every Sunday, and on this day, the unusual combination of okonomiyaki and red rice was served at the dinner table.
Then my father began giving speeches about menstruation and the body. I hated having my father talk about such sensitive topics, but now I think that as a teacher at an all-girls school, he was probably expressing his hope that his daughter would be able to live her life in a way that was positive about her body.
I used tampons for the first time when I was in my third year of junior high school. It all started at the pool. I had plans to go to the pool with some friends over summer vacation, and there was a chance that our periods would overlap , so I discussed with a few friends that we should all take this opportunity to practice using tampons. I asked a friend who was already using tampons to give us a lecture in front of the toilet, and we all put them on together. It's a fond memory. After that, I was so impressed by how comfortable they were, that I started using tampons and pads together even when I wasn't at the pool. I had always thought, "Women who use tampons are so cool!", so I didn't have any psychological hurdles to using tampons from the start.
When I was in high school and winged and thin sanitary napkins came out, I remember thinking, "Wow, such a convenient thing has come into existence!"
I never had any negative feelings about my period. I may have had some leaks, but perhaps because I never had period pain, I never perceived it as something painful like many people do. Rather, I felt a sense of pride that I had become an adult woman.
- People in their 20s who realized the importance of sex education and started to pursue it
After graduating from high school, I went on to university and majored in international relations. I had more opportunities to come into contact with foreign cultures, and I found it fascinating to learn about the variety of sanitary products available, such as the different colors of napkins depending on the country and tampons without applicators.
It was around this time that I started using organic cotton tampons. I bought them at a pharmacy near my university, and it always gave me the feeling that I was "choosing them myself," which made me feel like an adult.
An experience related to menstruation is pregnancy and abortion at the age of 19. I suddenly realized that I hadn't had my period for two or three months and told a friend about it, which is when I found out I was pregnant. At the time, I was reading a lot of feminist books and thought I had a lot of knowledge about the female body, so I was a little shocked that I hadn't noticed any changes in my own body.
I was in no condition to give birth and raise a child, so I chose to have an abortion. I understood that the right to abortion is a woman's, so I didn't blame myself and, I think I looked in the phone book and chose a hospital.
However, the reactions of the doctors and nurses there seemed to me like they were blaming me for the abortion, and the teacher's pale face when I explained in my physical education class the next day that I was visiting because I had had an abortion - each of these experiences gave me a glimpse into how society views women's bodies.
These experiences, along with the sexual violence cases against women that made headlines at the time, made me feel a strong sense of anger and a strong sense of the need for sex education.While majoring in educational psychology, I searched for ways to convey the discomfort I had felt to the next generation.
While studying at graduate school, I realized I wanted to have the words to communicate with myself, so I stopped studying and started working part-time at a magazine company, writing articles.
Later, in 1996, when the internet first came out, I started a website production company with a friend, and there I came across an online shop run by a feminist that sold vibrators for women. When I saw a vibrator made for women, I felt hopeful, thinking, "This is something that will allow women to make their own sexual choices," and I thought, "This might be what I want to do!" And so I started LOVE PIECE CLUB, which continues to this day . I opened an online shop that imported and sold products for women, including vibrators and other self-pleasure items and sanitary products, from overseas, and not only sold the products, but also held study sessions and produced a magazine.
It was around this time that I discovered menstrual cups. At the time, they hadn't been available in Japan, so I ordered an overseas product and tried it myself. I still remember being shocked by how comfortable something like this was.
We have been selling various items such as cloth napkins and menstrual discs that we have tried ourselves and found to be good, with the aim of providing new options for women.
Sanitary products are directly connected to how you experience your period. I feel they are extremely important in facing your own body. It's no exaggeration to say that sanitary products can change your life.
Just like in my teens, I didn't feel negative about menstruation at this time. I think this is because I hardly ever had period pain and it didn't disrupt my life in any major way.
However, looking back now, I feel like I did have symptoms similar to PMS (premenstrual syndrome). The term "PMS" hadn't even been coined at the time, and I didn't think there was a name for my condition, but I would feel irritable, emotional, and unable to concentrate -- these were the symptoms I'd experience before my period.
During this time, I feel like I was trying to resist my physical discomfort and changes rather than facing them. Because I was strongly opposed to being seen as a woman, I may have refused to accept the effects of menstruation and PMS, thinking that they were just in my mind or that I could overcome them with willpower.
- 30s: Encountering low-dose birth control pills
When I entered my 30s, I started taking low-dose birth control pills. My menstrual flow decreased and I no longer had PMS, which was very comfortable.
The pill made my period feel even, and although it was nice to be able to control it in that way, there were times when I wanted to get back to feeling more natural, so I stopped taking the medication for a while. When I wasn't taking the pill, my period came in waves, and when it finished I felt like "it's over!" and I liked the feeling of completing one cycle when it ended. The word for period in English is "period," and I think that's exactly right.
- 40s: Feeling uncomfortable talking about menopause
Around the age of 45 , I started to experience discomfort such as tinnitus and fatigue. Looking back, I think it was the beginning of menopause. I knew the term menopausal disorder and had knowledge of its symptoms, but for some reason I thought, "I haven't experienced it yet."
I'd been talking about menstruation with friends since I was a student, and even as an adult I'd had many opportunities to talk about sex and menstruation with other women, but when I reached menopause, I suddenly realized that I'd never talked about it with anyone. This was only nearly 10 years ago, but back then, menopause wasn't as commonly discussed as it is now, so I think one of the reasons for this is that there was less information and opportunities to talk about it.
Even though I've worked in the field of women's sexuality for many years, I've become more cautious about these topics as I get older. I think I've become more aware of the need to be careful about talking about them, as some people suffer from gynecological diseases and their experiences and situations are different for each person.
Some people may have a negative image of the end of menstruation, as it means the loss of reproductive ability. I remember watching the TV show "Little House on the Prairie" as a child, and there was a scene in which the mother of the main character, Laura, was excited because she thought she was pregnant, but it turned out she had gone through menopause. I remember the scene where she was shocked to find out about menopause, even as a child, made a strong impression on me.
Because of this, I was unable to talk to older women about menopause, and I think I also found it difficult to talk about it with friends my age.
-Started a "period diary" in my 50s. Feeling sad about saying goodbye to my period
When I was 50, a blood test showed that my hormone levels were still high enough for me to have my period, so after consulting with my doctor, I continued taking the pill. Then, when I was 51, I switched to hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
After I stopped taking the pill, I started paying attention to when my period came, something I'd never paid much attention to before, and I started recording my period dates using an app. It was the first time I'd ever kept a period diary. When my period came, I felt a surge of joy, thinking, "It's here again," but at the same time, I also felt a sense of loneliness, thinking, "This might be my last." I often hear people say they feel relieved after menopause, but I feel lonely. It's not that I've lost my reproductive ability or anything like that, but rather the loneliness of knowing that I'll never again be able to see my friends who used to come every month.
In May of this year, I experienced bleeding while on a business trip to Spain. I hadn't had my period for a while, so I went to the gynecologist as soon as I returned home and had a uterine cancer screening just to be sure. The doctor told me, "If you experience bleeding again, it will be abnormal bleeding," so I think that means my period is over.
I had my first period at age 14, and now I'm 54, so I've been dealing with periods for exactly 40 years.
I am currently continuing HRT. I am spending time consulting with my doctor and getting to know my body better. Even after my period ends, my body and hormone balance continue to change every day, so I want to make it a point to listen carefully to what that tells me.
-Looking back on your period, what do you think now?
For me, my 40 years of menstrual experience have been a happy experience. In the last 10 years, the options for menstrual products have expanded dramatically, with things like menstrual cups and discs, and I've had the joy of trying out different products and figuring out how to interact with my body. With the joy of knowing my period is "coming back" and the sadness that it might be over, I believe my days with my period have been an irreplaceable, special time.
I hope that women who are about to enter menopause can enjoy their "last period." For those who have been holding back, thinking "it's just the way it is," this will be their last chance to let go of that feeling.
Note: "My Period" aims to provide an opportunity to think about and talk about menstruation, an issue that is often hidden, by recording and sharing how people of various generations and backgrounds have dealt with it. It does not endorse any specific products, services, or methods of coping. The content posted is based on each person's personal experience, so if you have any symptoms that concern you, please consult a medical institution.
