Abstract
In the Western world, menstruation has been branded a taboo topic. The purpose of this chapter is to build an argument for the use of morality as a fruitful lens for understanding menstruation communication within families. This chapter frames familial communication about menstruation as sites for the process of moral communication that have implications for the experiences, communication, and (dis)embodiment of menstruators through analysis of original, qualitative data using the concealment imperative framework and negotiated morality theory. In-depth interviews were conducted with mothers (n =30) who identified as either current or former menstruators. Results indicated family functioned as a site for moral communication when discussing menstrual products and in dialogues attempting to normalize menstruation. Framing family conversations as sites for the co-creation of moral understandings of menstruation offer an avenue from which menstruation can be re-storied, not as a shameful or embarrassing taboo, but as an embodied and powerful experience.
TopIntroduction
Menstruation is a natural and healthy bodily experience seen as both signaling one’s transition into puberty (Winkler & Roaf, 2014) and “an integral part of female identity” (Winkler & Roaf, 2014, p. 3). Yet it is stigmatized (Johnston-Robledo & Chrisler, 2011) and identified as a “taboo topic” (Costos et al., 2002; Kissling, 1996) that can be shame-inducing (Fingerson, 2006; Schooler, et al., 2005). By definition, menstruation is a biological process that begins during puberty and signals a body’s ability to reproduce (Quint, 2021). According to Dahlqvist (2018), “it is an experience shared by more than two billion people in the world. Every day 800 million people menstruate” (p. viii). The purpose of this chapter is to advance an argument for the use of morality as a fruitful lens for understanding the communication of menstruation, a taboo topic, within families. Familial communication about menstruation is framed as sites for the process of moral communication that have implications for the experiences, communication, and (dis)embodiment of menstruators through analysis of original, qualitative data using the concealment imperative framework (Roberts, 2004) and negotiated morality theory (NMT) (Waldron & Kelley, 2018).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Concealment Imperative: A socially constructed norm that requires menstruators to hide all evidence of their menstrual cycle under the threat of shame and embarrassment.
Memorable Message: A message that sticks in someone’s memory long after it is communicated.
Morality: A set of values, ideals, and evaluations that outline an individual’s view of what is right or wrong, good or bad, desirable or undesirable.
Moral Commitment: A value or belief, held by an individual, that reflects their evaluation of rightness or wrongness about a given topic, or circumstance.
Just Relationship: A close relationship characterized by a sense of relational justice and fairness.
Menstruation: A biological cycle that lasts about 28 days. At the end of the cycle, if the individual is not pregnant, the lining of their uterus will shed causing a bloody discharge to be dispelled through the vaginal opening.
Memorable Moral Message: Enduring messages that communicate moral commitments that are remembered for a long time and influence a person’s views of right and wrong.
Family-of-Origin: The family an individual was raised within.
Family: A self-defined group of intimate connections, typically related through biology or marriage, who maintain their relationships through interaction, and are connected both voluntarily and involuntarily.
Negotiated Morality Theory: Theoretical assumptions that outline the process of co-constructing moral ethics through communication.
Relational Justice: A form of social justice that occurs in relationships that outlines how fairness is established and maintained between partners.
Processual Justice: A type of relational justice that conceptualizes fairness between partners based on how they communicate with, and treat, one another. Usually characterized by respect, listening, perspective-taking, and a recognition of each other’s humanity.