Impure before your God, impure before us all: Menstruation, religion, and the impacts of centuries old messaging
Abstract
Across culture and continent, there are varying ways in which menstruating persons experience their bodies and social spaces during their period. Their experience is shaped by societal beliefs of menstruation, religious beliefs and ritual, and myths that are held as fact in many cultures. This report centralizes on the religious rituals and rules that are placed upon menstruating people, and the effects of these rules and perceptions on the individual. These personal experiences are put into conversation with how this contributes to a larger societal attitude towards menstruation and how we can improve upon this, generally negative, perception.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Marcia Bosek
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
Primary Research Category
Social Science
Impure before your God, impure before us all: Menstruation, religion, and the impacts of centuries old messaging
Across culture and continent, there are varying ways in which menstruating persons experience their bodies and social spaces during their period. Their experience is shaped by societal beliefs of menstruation, religious beliefs and ritual, and myths that are held as fact in many cultures. This report centralizes on the religious rituals and rules that are placed upon menstruating people, and the effects of these rules and perceptions on the individual. These personal experiences are put into conversation with how this contributes to a larger societal attitude towards menstruation and how we can improve upon this, generally negative, perception.
