Menstrual Taboo and Women’s Agency

Abstract

Menstrual taboo continues to impact women’s lives across cultures in ways detrimental to human freedom and choice. Myths and taboos associated with menstruation are responsible for the violation of human rights and perpetuate women’s subordination as something natural and therefore legitimate. Today, scholarly deliberations have gone beyond the ‘whether menstruation is taboo’ debate. Phenomenological analysis, menstrual health, period poverty, and archaeology of menstruation are some of the examples of contemporary works on the topic. Scholars have also dealt with the relation between menstruation, human rights and agency. Various studies have shown a connection between menstruation and the curtailing of women’s agency. The present article is an attempt to consolidate the evidence on how menstruation erodes women’s agency. The article is based on a narrative review of available literature on menstrual taboo and human agency. The literature includes published research papers, book chapters, and national and international reports. The research ends up finding certain complex ways through which agency is robbed off from women during menstruation, such as the ambivalence of feelings regarding their identity, internalisation of heterosexual norms, and body alienation.