Maxi-Pads for the Big Boys

As soon as I read the title “If Men Could Menstruate” I thought, oh this ought to be good… Before I got started on the reading, I began considering how I think men would respond if they were blessed with a monthly menstruation period. At first I thought, men wouldn’t be able to handle it. The mood swings, the bloating, the unbearable cramps, the blood, and the terrible craving for chocolate all seem too much for a man to handle every single month. Sure they can possibly take exterior pain such as a cut on the arm or smack in the face, but when it comes to pain that they can’t control and that is caused within, they can be such babies. However, as I began reading, Gloria Steinem mentions that if suddenly men could menstruate and women could not, it would turn into, as Steinem said, “an enviable, boast-worthy, masculine event: Men would brag about how long and how much.” I couldn’t help but start laughing! Not only did I think the idea was hilarious, but considering the idea that men would actually use it to be even more superior and boastful about it was SO true! It would make such a dramatic change to society. If men could in fact menstruate, they would get away with so much of what women still struggle with today, the power justifications would increase almost indefinitely if men were given everything a woman can do. I guess it’s a good thing men don’t have monthly menstruation periods, we don’t need another thing for guys to boast about constantly, although I do wish they were able to experience it at least once so that they could know and understand what women have to go through every month for almost their entire lives. After reading this article I thought to myself, what if the roles of men and women were switched entirely for a whole week or even a month? Both men and women would be able to see how it feels living life as the opposite sex. Only then, we could grasp what it’s like to be a man and a woman in society. Just like they say, there are two sides to every story, the same goes for men and women, each are loaded with their own advantages and disadvantages, and it would be beneficial to all if one would stand out of their own element for once and see what it could be like living in someone else's shoes for a change.