I have decided to share a fun and unknown fact with everyone- Women. Have. Periods. I know, truly a shocker.
From Grendel, we know that women have always had these dreaded things known as periods. Towards the end of the novel, we see Grendel open the legs of Wealtheow and place her over a fire, but he immediately notices the "ugly hole" between her legs and releases her. You would think that this would no long be a problem now, and no one is no longer disgusted by the natural processes of all women. Wrong. To this day many men STILL can not handle the idea of a period. So have we actually changed? I have chosen to compare the way women’s bodies are described in Grendel versus the way society reacts to them today.
In Grendel, the first woman described is Grendel’s own mother. But it is far from a pleasant description. He often uses words such as pitiful, confused, ugly, and fat. However, he completely relies on this women. When he is close to death or when he is attacked in a tree, he calls out for her. He despises her, but fully understands her power and love for him. This is then contrasted with Wealtheow, who in my opinion is Grendel’s secret crush. He falls for her upon first sight. Attracted by her red hair and ability to dominate the room, Grendel goes out into the night and searches for her. This is all destroyed when he finds out she has periods. After that moment, Grendel never returns to her bedside and stops describing her physical attributes. How could he ever like a woman who BLEEDS?
Unfortunately, this is extremely similar to today’s world. As we discussed in class, even in advertisement that promote feminine hygiene, red liquid is not used. God forbid we actually use a fluid that resembles what the product is used for. We must make sure that men are unaware that the average woman bleeds once a month. It is also important to note that in films or novels, the idea of a period is rarely brought up if at all. Unless the character is potentially pregnant, then we ignore the fact that periods even exist. In many novels and movies, women now only serve one role. Sex. Let’s talk about Angelina Jolie. After reading both Beowulf and Grendel, I can honestly say I would have never pictured Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother. But there she is. In fully sexual glory.
Do you think this woman has periods? She seems too perfect to have such a terrible thing happen to her. But yet, she is still a woman.
The view towards natural processes of a women haven’t changed. I would love to announce that we live in a world where we no longer hide the fact that we bleed and can use red liquid in a commercial, but I can not. So, while the time of Grendel and Beowulf appear to be extremely different than today’s world, we must ask- is it really?
I enjoyed reading your post! I think culture surrounding menstruation is often portrayed as negative, yet serves as a double standard because human life begins with this very process. I once wrote a paper on ancient menstrual myths and found that what we know about the history of menstrual hygiene begins with ancient civilizations. Women have experienced periods since before humans were completely evolved as a species. Despite this, there’s very little documentation about women’s periods in ancient history, probably due to the fact that most of the scribes were men who chose not to record menstruation. I think this natural process over time has led to "period shaming". What I mean by this is, those feelings of embarrassment and self-hate felt by a lot of women are then reinforced by society, which tells women that their bodies should be clean and tidy, and if they aren’t, well that’s not something to be openly and honestly discussed. By anyone. The world is no longer in the medieval period. As social media, technology, and other sectors become open and widely used, so should the conversation about menstruation.
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