Stigmatizing the bleeding body: Menstruation, dirty femininity, and masculine hegemony

Menstruation is a perfectly normal bodily function but remains stigmatised and is considered dirty across patriarchal cultures. In this study, we apply the conceptual frameworks of dirty femininity, via reflexive thematic analysis, to 82 semi-structured interviews with menstruating cisgender women from multiple national backgrounds, to show that menstruation is, indeed, positioned as a form of dirty femininity, similar to other feminine bodily functions such as breastfeeding and menopause. Its regulation is constant and deeply embedded in social norms, constructing menstruation as physically, morally, socially, and emotionally dirty. In particular, masculine gendered power structures and hegemonies policed participants to conceal menstruation. Against this backdrop, participants also formed femme resistance to mitigate the stigma, offering glimpses at how menstruation can be normalised and destigmatised by coupling structural and cultural change.