cultural perceptions of women

the emerging women blog has an interesting post on cultural perceptions of women's menstrual cycles and what those perceptions say about views of women in general. the comments that follow the post are worth the read as well.

from the post:

"for centuries men have found women’s menstrual blood and the products they use to deal with it unclean and the butt of jokes." She writes, "Without menstrual blood, we would not have the human race for much longer. It is that monthly cleansing of the womb that allows pregnancy and prolonging our species. It’s high time we acknowledged that far from being unclean and a joke, it is what allows us to be and continue being. It is what makes us intensely feminine, female and other and beautiful."

and

We seem to fear or hate our bodies as much as the men.

Is this a latent fear of all things feminine? It is too other for men to try to engage and understand? Is it part of the centuries old habit of despising women for the "weakness" of these things? Or is it even confined just to women or does our culture still accept the dualistic assumptions that disparage the physical body? And why do we as women continue to see the natural aspects of what it means to be female as something to be embarrassed by and hidden? Or is this just a Christian backlash to the world's objectification of all things sexual?

i'll post my own thoughts in response to this in my next post.