User:Ships at a Distance/Menstruation

Ancient Persian society
In Ancient Persian culture, menstruating women received punishment for menstruating for more than four days, which was believed to be the proper amount of time. During menstruation, women were required to be in isolated huts or rooms. If a woman continued to menstruate beyond four days, she was given one hundred lashes and sent back into isolation for five or more nights.

Native American society
In the tradition of the Bribri of Costa Rica, a menstruating woman may only use banana leaves as a plate for her food which must be thrown away in a sequestered spot. The belief is that if a used banana leaf was found and eaten by a cow, it would die. Similarly, a menstruating woman can only drink out of a designated cup, because it is believed that anyone drinking out of the same cup after her would die.

The Illinois Native Americans would punish with death any woman who failed to give notice of the onset of their menstrual period.

European culture
"European and American women menstruated infrequently compared with today. They

* started menstruating later, frequently in the mid to late teens, and stopped earlier, if they lived long enough to experience menopause, thus creating a shorter time for menstruation

* married earlier, legitimizing the production of children, which reduced menstruation

* had more children, and used less contraception, stopping menstruation for long periods

* breast fed their children longer (and more often), which usually stopped menstruation

* were more likely to be under- and malnourished or sick, or any combination thereof, which can stop menstruation

* died earlier - stopping it dead

(Read many of these same points, made by Prof. Patricia Sulak, M.D., at Texas A&M University.)"

Chinese culture
[ http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1054139X03000491]