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Showing posts from January, 2021

The Second Sex

  In the course of some research that I was doing on the patriarchal ideology in our country, I discovered that Sigmund Freud has conveniently described women as the "mutilated man".  Of course, how on earth could a woman possibly have an identity independent of a Man's? A woman is nothing but "Man's half"- no, a woman is a Man that has been discarded. Couple this with Freud's ridiculous theory of "penis envy" and you already have two of the many reasons why I despise Sigmund Freud. Putting that aside, let's concentrate on why I started out at all. WOMEN. Or more specifically, women's position in our society. One need not even go as far back as the not so ancient "ancient times", and all that "traditional position of women" gibberish. Look at the society around you now.  I come from a "progressive" family, but often i'm told not to go out in the clothes I'm wearing because my "top is too short...

MENSTRUATION

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Periods are a natural and vital part of a woman’s life. It is normal vaginal bleeding that occurs as part of a woman’s monthly cycle. Every month millions of adolescent girls around the world face a miserable cycle of pain, discomfort , shame , anxiety and isolation when their menstrual period arrives. Menstruation is a phenomenon unique to girls. But it has been always surrounded by myths and taboos that exclude women from many aspects of socio-cultural life. These taboos, myths of societies impact women’s emotional and mental health. The cultural and social influence appears to be a hurdle for advancement in this subject till date. In many parts of India, culturally, menstruation is still considered as impure and dirty. The origin of myths and taboos dates back to the Vedic times and has often been linked to Indra’s slaying of vritras. Not entering the “puja” room is the major restriction among urban girls and whereas not entering the kitch...