5 Ways To Break The Period Shaming Stigma

Cycle related symptoms continue to affect 90% of people with periods—that's ~80 million in the U.S. alone and ~700 million worldwide. Yet, it still feels taboo to discuss. Elix was founded with the mission of igniting conversations around menstrual health and democratizing access to proven holistic solutions. Here’s five ways you can join our mission in breaking the period shaming stigma.

1. Ask a relative what they do to support their hormone health

Hormone health is intimate and personal, but that doesn’t mean it needs to feel isolating and lonely. Share your journey with someone you love. We can learn so much from each other.  It all starts with one sentence: what do you do to support your hormone or menstrual health?

2. See how your coworker or classmate copes with cramps during the week

Nearly half of U.S. women have experienced ‘period shaming’1 and a study conducted in 2019 found that 80%2 of people who called out sick due to their period did not feel comfortable telling their boss the real reason they couldn’t come into work. We can’t blame them—a separate survey conducted the same year found that ⅓ of men3 think it’s unprofessional to talk about periods at work. But we disagree: raising awareness about the challenges of menstrual symptoms at work is one of the ways we can break the stigma.

3. Poll your group chat: who has missed out on life events due to their period? 

Our #endowarrier, Juliana, opens up about her debilitating menstrual symptoms and recounts a time she wasn’t able to be there for her loved ones due to her period. Unfortunately, stories like this are all too common. A study published in 2019 found that periods cause people who menstruate nine days of lost productivity a year4. Support each other by opening up about a time you missed out on a life event because of your period and how you coped with it.

4. Prompt your followers to describe their period in one word

Type period into Google images and you’ll get a lot of photos of people who mensturate holding their stomachs in pain or bleeding through their underwear. The word period typically has a negative connotation. Help your followers see their period in a new light with two prompts: (1) Describe your period in one word and (2) Now, describe your period with one positive word. 

5. Share a stat from our State of Menstrual Health Report

We’re spotlighting the 90,000+ Elix Health Assessment completions from 2021 to spark conversion on the reality of the State of Menstrual Health in North America.

The highlights…

• 57% stop activities for at least one day per month due to cramping
• 50% rate their period symptoms at 8+ severity (on a scale of 1-10)
• 49% have irregular cycles that could come at anytime or not at all
• 65% turn to pain medication, while 20% “do nothing” to manage pain
• Birth control isn’t helping as much as medical professionals hoped, with 95% of those on birth control still experiencing cramps and 55% still experiencing irregular cycles.

Click here to read more: The State of Menstrual Health Report

This article was reviewed by Zoey Gong. 
Zoey Gong is a Traditional Chinese Medicine nutritionist, food therapist, and chef. Her recipes have been featured in various publications, including the cover of Food & Wine magazine in the February 2023 issue. She’s the author of The Five Elements Cookbook: A Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine with Recipes for Everyday Healing, where she guides readers in the basics of TCM through encyclopedic entries on common ingredients and 50 nourishing recipes.