Women, Periods and Hormones

Lauren Southern on X

It's really awful how we discuss women's periods and hormonal cycles. It’s been disastrous for gender relations.

One thing I’ve noticed as my female friends and I have gotten older, is we’ve had to independently garner so much information about our own hormones that is not obvious general knowledge - and it’s been life changing in a positive way.

The increasing denial of gender differences has a part in this, but also cultural stereotypes have been destructive. (SOME) Men began making a joke out of menstruation, and weaponizing hormonal cycles against women “oh you're just a psycho cause you're on your period".

Leading women to get reasonably defensive - particularly when they say perfectly salient things that get cast aside by vulgar comments about their biological and hormonal experiences.

Unfortunately this went a step further into society fighting so hard against the “emotional woman on period” stereotypes that we began denying hormonal fluctuations all together.

I remember growing up as a young girl and being sold the idea that the entire notion of menstrual cycles affecting emotions was just a sexist stereotype. Leading to me never fully being aware of how my own hormones were impacting me.

This has been catastrophic for both men and women, and particularly their relationships.

As women, understanding how your cycle works, how your hormones fluctuate and how this may impact your reaction to certain events is critical to your success in life and relationships. It’s also critical to your health and knowing if something is off about your body.

Men, sympathizing with and realizing hormonal fluctuations are real and understanding them, are critical to having a healthy relationship with a woman. Your own hormonal cycles impact you as well.

It literally impacts every aspect of one's life.

If a man in your life is extremely ill, in pain etc. maybe that is not the best time to bring up a sensitive subject that needs to be addressed, or to put a ton of things on their plate to do.

This works similarly if a woman in your life is at a certain point in her cycle, sometimes experiencing pain, mass hormone fluctuations and changes. You need to be aware and acknowledge this strategically. And ABSOLUTELY not mock or minimize a serious biological function.

Tracking these cycles are integral to trying to get pregnant or avoid it.

Tracking cycles is critical when you make certain plans, considering whether they’re going to require large amounts of energy or will increase stress levels.

If hormone fluctuations are extreme, how you eat as a family or a couple may need to change and be adjusted to maximize both physical and mental health. (sugars, carbs etc. can spike inflammation and hormones)

Man or woman, physical health and gut health severely impacts your moods, ability to focus and have healthy well tempered relations.

I know so many women that will lose their periods entirely, or be struggling with symptoms of serious disease like endometriosis and never find out for ages because they don’t discuss these things with their partner - or their partner assumes they are exaggerating - and they wonder why everything is on the decline.

I sympathize with men, that it’s extremely difficult to understand an experience you have never had in your life. Which is why dismissing, mocking or ignoring it can seem easier, but once again will make everyone's life more challenging and everyone more ignorant.

It’s wild how few people are really in tune with their bodies, and the bodies of their loved ones. It’s particularly catastrophic when people make a mockery of or completely deny these realities.

I see men on here who think the bleeding part of a period is “ovulation” - or worse don’t see any point in trying to understand them at all because that’s “women’s business”.

Ladies, for your own sake start tracking your cycle! Really get into how your hormones are impacting your weight, skin, mood and general life flow.

Men, if you are in a relationship express a desire to understand - and definitely if married or in a very serious relationship, you should be just as aware and in tune with your ladies cycle as well. You should literally have the same tracker on your phone. Don’t shy away from this! Work together!

Solutions to modern gender chaos require acknowledgement of real biological phenomena on a serious level devoid of mockery, coming from a place of love.