Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Until as recently as 1972, pads and tampons couldnt be advertised on TV.
The evolution of how we think and talk about periods has been both influenced and mirrored by depictions onscreen.
Very rarely is a period portrayed as what it is like for almost everyone who experiences it mundane.
Director Brian de Palmas approach is intentionally gory, traumatic, and horrific.
The film mirrors the enduring perception of menstruation as something gross and embarrassing.
Eventually Emmeline (Brooke Shields) gets her first period andpanics.
(Its not the worst euphemism for a period Ive ever heard.)
She declares it not fair that nothing happens to boys.
Would it have been uncomfortable?
But thats life something that, incidentally, wouldnt be possible without periods.
He mistakes her cramps for appendicitis, and calls an ambulance for her.
Sharon returns home, mortified, and her brothers tease her about it, as brothers do.
Superbad(2007)
A comedy classic,Superbadhas a classic period-shaming scene.
Kick-Ass 2(2013)
Superheroes have periods too!
While hes moaning in pain, she quips, Oh, take your tampon out, Dave.
Its an attempt to demascluinize him shes implying that hes a girl, and therefore weak.
Surely superheroes can embrace their full powers without resorting to dated gender stereotypes.
A take in which period blood is not sensationalized, its just portrayed as it is.
He reacts with curiosity rather than disgust, examining the blood and asking her questions about it.
The casual rawness, authenticity, and relatability has earned its title asone of thebest period scenes on TV.
