Why we need to talk openly about menstruation…

So I'd seen the name Alasdair Thompson come up on Twitter a couple of times and wondered what it was about. Then I read this article, in which said Mr Thompson states that women should be paid less than men because (among other things) we need sick days each month.

Well, fuck you, Alasdair Thompson.

But this plays into something I've been thinking, with my openness about my issues with menopause and depression. We women have been trained not to talk about "that time of the month" or be open about what's going on. It's a secret. Something to be ashamed off. Something that makes us feel dirty.

It's not a pleasant thing but you know what? It's life. It happens to half the population around the world. It's as natural as eating, breathing or peeing.

It is, however, one of the bodily functions that men can't share in, and because we don't talk about it, it becomes even more taboo. So they don't understand. So they can set up the world to their biorhythms and then say stupid things like 'oh, you get sick every month so of course you're worth less than I am'…

But if we were open, if men knew all about menstruation and it's impact, if it became an accepted part of the human experience (be you male or female), then maybe this would change. Maybe, for example, the workplace could be adjusted so you take advantage of the times of the month when women are at full bore and then ease up the times when she's not.

Take advantage of it. When she's ovulating, all the hormones primed to attract and seduce men, send her in to negotiate the big deals.  When she's ready to bite someone's head off for looking at her the wrong way – maybe that's the time to have her sack a few folks. Or get stuck into the filing that didn't get done when she was flying around the place doing the hard yards.

Imagine if this was an accepted way of working. That we organised the workplace to take advantage of the hormonal ups and downs of a woman's fertility cycle, rather than punishing her for something she can't control.

I know, crazy dream. But the openness can't hurt us – can it?