The slang surrounding menstruation
Some women use the basic term “period” to describe the female menstrual cycle, while others get creative with slang.
School of Health Sciences Instructor Susan Nottingham said the terms she uses for her menstrual cycle would be “my friend 'Flo',” “that time of month,” “a visit from a friend” and the list goes on.
The slang used to discuss female menstruation often comes from historical sanitary practices. Nottingham provided another common term, explaining the origin of the terminology.
“On the rag,” Nottingham said. “Because women use to place rags from clothing before pads became commercially available.”
Nottingham said she started hearing about the lingo or terms to describe the cycle in fifth grade, and she didn’t get “the talk” from her teachers until sixth grade.
“My older sister called it your 'period,’ and the slang was something other people said,” Nottingham said.
Another phrase Nottingham heard people use is ‘in the hut.’
“'In the hut,' because women in some cultures had to sit in a hut during their period and were to stay there during the menstrual flow,” Nottingham said.
Marine City senior Craig Maas said when referring to the cycle, he would call it being on the “period,” “on the rag” or “that time of the month.”
“I think in today’s world, it’s a lot more open to talk about it than it would have been 10 years ago,” Maas said. “After that, I think it is just circumstantial depending on the guy, whether he feels comfortable talking about it. It doesn’t make me uncomfortable at all. It’s just a natural process of the body. (It) also depends on the person’s upbringing whether he feels it’s appropriate talking about such things.”
While discussing her menstrual cycle, Lauren Johnson chooses slang or the proper term depending on who’s she speaking with.
“I’m a school health major, so my vocabulary leans more towards the proper terms, but, when I’m with my friends, I use the slang terms," the Clarkston senior said. "We use slang as a comedic way to deal with the less-than-pleasant bodily experience.”
Rochester Hills freshman India Alexander has several different nicknames for being on her period.
“I call it the ‘bloody Mary,’ ‘the river of death,’ ‘on my dot’ and ‘dot com,’” Alexander said.
