Cultural history of menstruation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In ancient times, menstruation (from Latin mensis 'month' ) was seen as a cleansing process because women had too much blood or nutrients in their bodies that needed to be eliminated. Up until the 20th century, menstrual blood was said to be poisonous and could spoil food or contribute to it spoiling more quickly. On the other hand, it should also have magical powers and was the ingredient of many spells. In Western medicine, menstruation has long been considered an indispensable prerequisite for maintaining the health and fertility of women. According to Judaism's concept of purity , menstruating women were considered unclean and excluded from all ritual activities .

Scientific theses on menstruation

Antiquity

In the past, it was mainly men who were engaged in scientific research into menstruation. For her, the male body was always the starting point for her reflections and the woman the being that deviated from it. Often she was also seen as an unfinished man.

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras (* around 570 BC; † 510 BC) saw menstruation as an excess of nutrients that women ingest with food and which must occasionally be excreted. Hippocrates (* around 460 BC; † 375 BC) believed that the constitution of women was more humid, less dense and weaker than that of men and therefore produced an excess of body fluids that had to drain regularly. He was referring to the humoral pathology that had been widespread for many centuries , a concept that saw the origin of diseases in an imbalance of juices (e.g. blood, mucus, black and yellow bile).

For Aristotle (* 384 BC; † 322 BC) menstrual blood was necessary to excrete the excess blood that would form in both sexes. But since the man is warmer than the woman, he can “boil” this blood and excrete it as semen, whereas the woman cannot. For him, blood was the only contribution women made to the development of a child. In doing so, he granted women a certain kinship with their descendants, in contrast to many other scholars of the time, for whom only descent from the father was important. Aristotle saw only raw matter in menstrual blood, but in semen the element that contains all the important properties of the child. The Roman historian Gaius Plinius Secundus (* 23; † 79) was also of the opinion that new life would arise from the blood. This process can be compared to a cake in which the male seed takes on the role of yeast, which causes the dough to rise and shape. But outside of pregnancy, the blood is poisonous and women would only survive because they are immune due to years of habituation. The belief that menstrual blood is a poisonous substance became generally accepted in the ancient world in the 1st century AD and was still supported by scientists in the 20th century.

Middle Ages and Renaissance

In the Middle Ages, regular blood flow in women was considered very important for health when they were not pregnant, as it was considered to maintain the balance of juices. Menstruation was still viewed as a negative process that indicated the inferiority of women. Like many other scholars of the Middle Ages, Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1176) also saw menstruation as a consequence of the Fall, but she was one of the few who emphasized its life-giving aspect and interpreted it as a visible sign of women's fertility.

At the beginning of the Renaissance , the level of knowledge about menstruation differed little from that of antiquity, but during this period it was studied primarily with regard to its toxicity. The values and scientific knowledge of antiquity lived again, and so then mingled astrology , theology , magic and humoral pathology in the medicine .

Time of enlightenment

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the worldview changed from active, vital principles that unite the whole world to a mechanized worldview. The Enlightenment fundamentally changed people's attitudes towards nature, which was now viewed as something chaotic and dangerous that needed to be fought and controlled. In this context, the understanding of the sexes also changed. Women were no longer regarded as incomplete men, but as totally opposite beings. The man was assigned culture, spirituality, abstract thinking, science and progress, the woman nature, physicality, superstition and tradition. In this context, it was important to study women systematically and to master them, as the laws of nature came to light in them.

Even in modern times, women were viewed as inferior beings. However, this was no longer justified with the sinfulness of the female sex, but with the closer relationship between women and nature. But this naturalness would be impaired by civilization. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) therefore saw menstruation as the consequence of a pernicious effect of civilization on women, caused by too much food, too little exercise and sexuality restricted by social norms.

19th and 20th centuries

With the spread of the theory of evolution and the social Darwinism derived from it in the 19th century, the white man moved to the top of the human hierarchy. The woman was now seen more than ever as the other being. This otherness was equated with invalidity and women were called to motherhood, but at the same time condemned to constant illness due to their physiological weaknesses. In this context, menstruation was increasingly degraded to a state of suffering and a necessary evil.

The closer connection between menstruation and reproduction was recognized, but at that time it was still believed that ovulation would take place in these days and that menstruation therefore corresponded to the animal rut. Nevertheless, sexual intercourse during menstruation was considered harmful, especially for men.

Some doctors saw menstruation as an unrealized pregnancy. They were of the opinion that every egg cell brought to maturity by nature must also be used for its intended purpose. Therefore it is essential for the health of women that they are permanently pregnant between menarche and menopause so that they never menstruate. Motherhood and the loving and complete devotion to this task was seen as the sole purpose of women.

In 1919, the Viennese doctor Béla Schick observed that roses placed in a vase by his housekeeper withered very quickly. When asked, he learned that she was menstruating. He concluded that their blood contained the "menstrual poison " menotoxin , which he had detected in the blood and sweat of menstruating women. However, several scientific investigations did not come to a clear result in the following decades. It was not until 1958 that the doctor Burger proved that menstrual blood was non-toxic.

View of religions

Judaism

In Leviticus , chapter 15, verses 16-30, there is more information about the ritual impurity of men and women after ejaculation and menstruation. Women were considered ritually unclean for seven days during menstruation, as was anyone who touched them or an object of theirs. If men had sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman, they too became ritually unclean. If this law was deliberately broken, the couple would have to be cast out from the people according to Leviticus 20, verse 18 and die.

For men who lived according to the Talmud it was a ritual duty to watch out for their wives' bleeding, especially whether it was menstruation or some other bleeding from the genital organs, for in those cases the rules were the rules not so strict. The strictly Orthodox Jews extended the time of ritual impurity to 14 days.

During the period of menstruation, a woman was excluded from all ritual acts. She was not allowed to visit the temple or synagogues. She was also forbidden to shake hands with a rabbi. After those days, she had to undergo a special cleansing ritual. To do this, it was necessary to rinse the entire body with water, i.e. to take an immersion bath. In the cities of the Middle Ages there was for this purpose special baths Jews called mikvah , which were filled with groundwater or rainwater. Even today, married couples in Orthodox Judaism are prohibited from having sexual intercourse during menstruation.

Christianity

Early Christianity did not exclude women from attending worship. In the beginning, the Christians were concerned with a spiritual piety in which the physical condition was not important. Women had a very high position in the early Church. This changed over the years, likely due to Jewish influence on Christianity. Women have now been pushed out of the higher positions on the grounds that they are impure during their menstruation and therefore generally unsuitable for service at the altar.

In the early Middle Ages, ecclesiastical teaching and medical knowledge were mainly written down and preserved by the monasteries. The monks increasingly associated sexuality with sin and defilement. Since the sexuality of women was obvious due to menstruation and pregnancy, they were soon seen as fundamentally depraved and menstruation as God's punishment for Eve's sin. Only the Mother of God was excluded from this, which theologians explained by saying that she never menstruated. Now, even among Christians, women were not allowed to go to church or take communion during this time. However, since Hellenistic-Roman influences were also introduced into Christianity and these became increasingly important in the Middle Ages, interest in menstruation and the restrictions that came with it diminished, until it finally no longer had any influence on participation in worship and reception Had sacraments.

Popular belief and superstition

The medical-scientific knowledge about menstruation had hardly any influence on popular belief over the centuries . This only began to change in the second half of the 19th century.

Until then, the simple rural population viewed the body as a world in miniature, the processes of which corresponded to those of nature and the world. So people also believed in a connection between the phases of the moon and the female cycle. Nature and the earth were associated with femininity, which, like them, is dangerous and vulnerable.

Menstruating women and menstrual blood were said to have many influences on everything living and material, both positively and negatively. It was believed that the touch of a menstruating woman made cider and wine sour, turned beer, curdled milk and caused plants, especially seedlings, to wither. Menstruating women were therefore often banned from activities that brought them into contact with the supposedly endangered goods. What was particularly feared was the so-called evil eye of menstruating, which was said to get sick people and animals, cloud mirrors and rust metals.

But menstrual blood was also said to have positive properties. It was part of almost every love spell, and when painted on the door post of a house, it should also keep witches away and protect them from fire. If a menstruating woman were to walk around a field, this, according to superstition, kept vermin away; Weapons forged with the menstrual blood of a virgin, however, were considered particularly victorious.

Monthly hygiene

Almost all ancient cultures knew special menstrual clothing and hygienic aids to soak up menstrual blood. For this purpose, sanitary napkins made of vegetable fibers, bast or grass were used. Napkins made of linen or scraps of cloth were also used. In ancient Egypt women used both sanitary pads and tampons made of grass, in Roman times made of cotton. It was not common to wear underwear until the 19th century.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, doctors, some of whom were more affluent women, recommended that they be as gentle as possible during menstruation and that they rest almost exclusively. Changing bandages was also considered harmful as it would stop the blood flow prematurely. It was recommended not to wash, to use only a pad, and not to change underwear. On the other hand, some doctors were of the opinion that frequent washing and short Sitz baths are important for the smooth running.

At the beginning of the 20th century, women in the country used special belts to which they could attach self-sewn ties made of linen or wool. Her underwear consisted of trousers with a hole in the crotch, which they could also close with a patch of fabric on buttons in winter. During menstruation, they could easily attach the pads to their underwear. The first disposable sanitary towels were already available for sale at the end of the 19th century and the tampon came onto the market in Germany in the 1950s .

See also

literature

  • Caroline Ausserer: Menstruation and female initiation rites (=  historical-anthropological studies . Volume 18 ). Peter Lang AG , European Science Publishing House, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-631-38275-8 .
  • Julia Becket: Ruby Red Time - Beginning of Menstruation . “Do you remember ...” women between the ages of 19 and 90 tell. Diametric, Würzburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-938580-09-7 .
  • Sabine Hering , Gudrun Maierhof: The unfit woman . Social history of menstruation and hygiene. 2nd Edition. Mabuse, Frankfurt am Main 2002, ISBN 3-933050-99-5 (first edition: Centaurus, Pfaffenweiler 1991, ISBN 3-89085-633-0 ).
  • Kristina Hohage: menstruation. An exploratory study on the history and meaning of a taboo (= Socialia series . Volume 31). Kovač, Hamburg 1998, ISBN 3-86064-845-4 (Dissertation Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität 1998, 347 pages).
  • Xenia Krämer: The book of drapery . G&S Verlag, Zirndorf 1993, ISBN 3-925698-42-6 .
  • Dagmar Margotsdotter-Fricke: Menstruation - from powerlessness to power: how the wonderful thing about the female cycle can be regained for our self-image as a woman [for every woman of every age] . Göttert, Rüsselsheim 2004, ISBN 3-922499-76-7 (diploma thesis [o. O.] 2002, 211 pages).
  • Erich Püschel : Menstruation and its taboos . Schattauer, Stuttgart / New York NY 1988, ISBN 3-7945-1180-8 .
  • Judith Schlehe: The blood of strange women . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1987, ISBN 3-593-33859-9 .
  • Jutta Voss: The Black Moon Taboo: The Cultural Meaning of the Female Cycle . Kreuz, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-7831-2594-4 .
  • Sabine Zinn-Thomas: Menstruation and monthly hygiene: dealing with a physical process (= international university publications . Volume 245). Waxmann, Münster / New York, NY / Munich / Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-89325-523-0 (Dissertation Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main 1996, 256 pages).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Stolberg : Menstruation. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , pp. 971 f.
  2. ↑ Caroline Ausserer: Menstruation and female initiation rites . European Science Publishing House, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-631-38275-8 , p. 24 .
  3. ↑ Judith Schlehe: The blood of strange women . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1987, ISBN 3-593-33859-9 , pp. 14 .
  4. ↑ Caroline Ausserer: Menstruation and female initiation rites . European Science Publishing House, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-631-38275-8 , p. 26th f .
  5. ↑ Caroline Ausserer: Menstruation and female initiation rites . European Science Publishing House, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-631-38275-8 , p. 29 .
  6. ↑ Judith Schlehe: The blood of strange women . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1987, ISBN 3-593-33859-9 , pp. 22nd f .
  7. ↑ Judith Schlehe: The blood of strange women . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1987, ISBN 3-593-33859-9 , pp. 23 .
  8. ↑ Judith Schlehe: The blood of strange women . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1987, ISBN 3-593-33859-9 , pp. 24 ff .
  9. ↑ Judith Schlehe: The blood of strange women . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1987, ISBN 3-593-33859-9 , pp. 26 .
  10. ↑ Sabine Hering, Gudrun Maierhof: The unfit woman . Social history of menstruation and hygiene. 2nd Edition. Mabuse, Frankfurt am Main 2002, ISBN 3-933050-99-5 , p. 30 (first edition: Centaurus, Pfaffenweiler 1991, ISBN 3-89085-633-0 ).
  11. ↑ Bela Schick: The menstrual poison. In: Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift 33 (1920), pp. 377–379.
  12. ↑ Frank Krogmann: Menotoxin. In: Werner E. Gerabek, Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil, Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte . De Gruyter, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 970.
  13. ↑ Kristina Hohage: Menstruation: an exploratory study on the history and meaning of a taboo. Hamburg 1998, p. 100.
  14. ↑ Judith Schlehe: The blood of strange women . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1987, ISBN 3-593-33859-9 , pp. 16 f .
  15. ↑ Caroline Ausserer: Menstruation and female initiation rites . European Science Publishing House, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-631-38275-8 , p. 27 .
  16. ↑ See www.mum.org/neues5.htm.
  17. ↑ Xenia Krämer: The book of clothing . G&S Verlag, Zirndorf 1993, ISBN 3-925698-42-6 , p. 120 .