Overcoming Period Shame Through Education and Body Literacy | Kate Morton | TEDxKoenigLane

[MUSIC]

[APPLAUSE]

>> Today, I'm going to

share a story
with you guys

I've actually never
shared publicly.

First, I want to

introduce you to
the main character.

This is 10-year-old Kate

getting ready to
start fifth grade,

who had just moved
to a new school,

struggling to
find confidence,

but was definitely
on her way there.

Could you imagine
starting your period for

the first time in front of

your entire fifth
grade class at age 10?

Well, that's exactly
what happened to me.

I was at recess walking

across the balance beam,

feeling confident in my

brand new khaki pants

when a group of
boys came up

behind me snickering
and laughing.

They asked me, what's

that big spot on the
back of your pants?

Did you have an accident?

Instantly, shame,

fear, and humiliation
engulfed me.

My face turned bright red,

and I had tears
spring to my eyes.

I jumped off the
balance beam and

ran to the bathroom as
quickly as I could.

When I sat in
that bathroom

stall and pulled
down my pants,

I realized they were
filled with blood,

something I had never seen

or experienced before,

and you can imagine my
confusion and fear.

Sitting in that
bathroom stall,

I did eventually
figure out

that I think I had
started my period.

But something shifted
deep inside of me.

And that was shame.

I felt like I had
done something wrong.

None of the other
girls in my class

had started their
periods yet,

and I felt different
and ashamed of my body.

That was

my first introduction
to period shame,

but it wouldn't
be my last.

This shame led me
to get bullied all

through elementary
school, middle school,

and high school for

starting my period
early and very

publicly and also
going through

puberty before the other
girls in my class.

I started extreme dieting

and restrictive
exercise plans,

and this led to a long,

long battle being deeply

disconnected from my body.

But I also wasn't ready
to become a woman,

as everybody
was telling me.

I didn't even know
what that meant,

and I was deeply under

educated and
disconnected on my body.

So I wish I could tell

this 10-year-old what I'm

about to tell you guys.

It wasn't her fault.

She didn't do anything

wrong when she
started her period.

It's the world around

her that needs to change.

And the lack of education
is a major problem.

Sadly, this seems to
be a common theme.

The average age in
the United States

to start your
period is 12.

This is the same year

that girls become
at a higher risk

for developing and
eating disorder

and following the
same path that I did.

Young menstruators
deserve better.

When I started my period,

I knew that it was
not going to be

an easy road for
me from then on,

and I quickly got

a crash course in
the period stigma.

But if you're not familiar

with it, I'll run
you through it.

First, let's talk about

the education you get
as a young menstrator.

It starts off by

separating students
by gender,

educating them
on their bodies,

so to say, but

only 17 states require

medically accurate
sex education,

and that doesn't even

have to include
menstruation.

Then I had to sign
something saying,

I wouldn't actually
share what I learned.

We weren't allowed
to talk about what

we learned in our separate
classes together,

further deepening
my shame.

Or what about the
fact that 60%

of people report feeling

uncomfortable talking
about periods,

and 80% of people

think that menstruation
is unsanitary.

How do we expect to have

period positive
education in

a society that
still finds it

gross disgusting
and unsanitary?

But what about
pop culture?

We learn a lot there, too.

It's not just all at
school or at home.

Well, when I started
menstruating,

the two biggest
movies were

Superbad and Mean Girls.

Everyone's probably
seen them.

And you may
recall they have

two horrible scenes
about periods.

Let's start with Superbad,

where Jonah Hill's
character is dancing with

a girl at a party and she

bleeds through her skirt,

getting blood
on his jeans.

He instantly announces to

the entire party
what's happened,

screams how
disgusting it is,

and his friends
start snapping

pictures and sending
them around the school.

Q, every teenage girl's
worst nightmare.

Or Mean Girls when

one of the students
shares in an assembly

that everyone keeps
writing she's not

a virgin because she
uses jumbo tampons.

She can't help
it if she has

a wide set vagina
and a heavy flow.

The male counselor

looks her in the
eye and says,

I can't do this and
then leaves the room,

leaving her there with

no answers and
feeling ashamed.

Or what about what this

looks like in policy

in the states we live in?

Let's talk about Texas.

Do you know that there's
a tampon tax here?

Period products are
taxed as a luxury item.

Yes, the irony is not
lost on me there.

And this tax is 8.5%.

It makes an estimated
$28 million

a year for the
state of Texas.

And you know what
that looks like

for the average
menstruator?

About $18,000 in
your lifetime

spent on period products.

One in five girls right

here in America is missing

education opportunities
as well as school

because they don't
even have access

to these products or
can't afford them.

So we need to get something
sorted right now.

Periods are not gross,

they are not disgusting,

and they are
not unsanitary.

Everyone in this
room is quite

literally here because
of a missed period.

So menstruation
is the future.

We can't continue to

move forward without
menstruation,

and it's time it got
recognition it deserved.

So how did I get

up on a TEDx stage
to tell you about

periods when I was
this 10-year-old girl

deeply ashamed and
afraid of my own body?

Education changed my life.

As a dietician, I

moved into the
period world

not expecting it for it

to change my entire world.

I learned the value of
the menstrual cycle

and I want to give
you a glimpse

of what menstrual
education could look like.

In only about 60 seconds,

keep in mind, there's
a lot more to learn.

But did you know that

the menstrual
cycle and a period

are actually two
different things?

Your period is just one of

the four phases of
the menstrual cycle.

On your period, this is
your physical bleed.

It shouldn't be painful
or uncomfortable,

but you might
be more tired.

It's okay to say no to

activities and
hang out at home.

After you finish
menstruating,

you move into your
follicular phase.

This phase might feel
like spring to you.

Your energy's rising
along with estrogen.

You might feel
more creative,

and you might want to go

out and hang out with
your friends more,

enjoy your energy
and creativity.

But you're gearing
up for ovulation.

Ovulation is the next
phase of your cycle.

That phase is when

the egg is
physically released,

and it's a phase

everyone should
learn to track.

And if you're having
cervical mucus,

get familiar with what's
in your underwear

because it will
give you an

indication if
you're ovulating.

After ovulation, the
corpus luteum forms,

producing progesterone
and moving

you into the luteal phase.

This phase is
really great for

accomplishing tasks and
getting things done.

It can also be
associated with PMS.

But PMS is common,

not normal, and
that's great news.

So you can move past

it and have a good period.

If the egg is
not fertilized,

the whole cycle
starts over again.

That is just a glimpse of

what menstrual education

could look like
in schools.

And I don't know
about you, but

that's not the
education I received.

I like to know
how things work

and I like to know

what's going
on in my body.

That's a huge way
we could do that.

If you're standing here

and you're like, well,

I don't have a period,

maybe it doesn't
relate to me.

Periods are for everyone.

And I want to
give you guys

three actions you can do

right now to be more

period positive
in your life.

One, when you
leave this talk,

everyone has access
to Google right now.

Google the
menstrual cycle,

learn something new and

turn around and share
it with someone,

whether they have
a period or not.

Number 2, stock
period products

in your office
or your house.

Again, menstruation
is for everyone,

you never know who's

going to be in your space.

This is a great
way to show you're

an ally and that you
support menstruation.

Number 3, get

familiar with what's going

on in your community.

If that fact about

the tampon tax
surprised you,

I guarantee you'd be

horrified if you continued

to do your research
and figured

out what else was going
on unfortunately.

So now we've talked
about periods

and I appreciate you guys

having an open mind.

I never thought I'd be
up here doing this.

And 10-year-old Kate
would be so proud of

28-year-old Kate
for celebrating

her cycle and learning
about her body.

I still have to work
on period positivity

and to undo the stigma

that was laid deep inside.

But if I can make
this transition,

so can anyone in this room

or anyone who's watching.

I encourage you
to take this

seriously and give
the next generation

of menstruators a
chance to leave free of

period shame for

their entire lives.
Thank you, guys.