PMS: A CONFUSING SPRINGBOARD TO PREJUDICE

If there is one thing I find annoying in our culture, it is all the jokiness surrounding PMS.  Women joke about it constantly and so do men. The thrust of the jokes is that it is to be expected that women will turn into raving lunatics once a month.

Of course, if you look around you, in your office, your church, or any groups to which you belong, you will find that there is no particular percentage of women behaving like lunatics at any given time.

I have tried to do a little bit of research on PMS in order to write this post but the information I have found on the web is diverse and confusing.  PMS doesn’t seem to be an especially well-defined or well-understood condition.  Thus, PMS is susceptible to all sorts of prejudices.  As with any area in which women differ from men, people are inclined to leap to all sorts of generalizations based on what they think they know about the matter.  These generalizations and prejudices generally inure to the detriment of women, natch.  So when considering PMS, it is best to proceed with caution (and never ever ever ever ever for the love of God say to a woman, “You’re just saying that because it’s your time of the month.”)  Here is what I think I know:

First of all, PMS is not universal. I did not experience PMS until I hit 30.  Some women never experience it at all.

Secondly, PMS is not necessarily severe.  In fact, I would submit that the vast majority of cases are not at all severe.  The symptoms I have experienced over the last five years are some achiness in the legs for a couple of hours before my period begins.

Thirdly, PMS symptoms are diverse.  They include depressed mood, bloating, headaches, cramps, and many, many other possible symptoms. Individuals experience very different combinations of symptoms.  PMS does not necessarily affect mood.  I have never perceived any alteration of my mood connected to my menstrual cycle. What one woman means when she says she has PMS may be very different from what another woman means.

Fourthly, some women do experience very severe and debilitating symptoms.  Women who report such symptoms should be taken seriously. Being in so much pain once a month that you are throwing up is a medical condition.

Fifthly, PMS does not involve the suspension of rationality.  Just because a particular woman might be teary during this time does not mean she is unable to function, make intelligent decisions, and remain responsible for her actions.

Sixthly, women have done all sorts of things while menstruating.  We have run marathons, ruled nations, tried cases, flourished in higher education, fought in combat, continued with primary caretaking responsibility for our children, and pretty much engaged in every other human endeavor under the sun.

Seventh, despite the unpleasantness associated with PMS, a lot of women are glad that they menstruate.  A lot of women have expressed discomfort with the notion of reducing the frequency of their periods by medication that is now available.  (Of course, I find this attitude a bit tough to understand.  I intend to get my grubby little paws on those pills as soon as possible. Less muss and less fuss! Besides, reducing the frequency of menstruation reduces the risk of ovarian cancer-- though there are surely other potential risks and side effects of this medication.)

Comments

[TangoMan]

Drink your milk!

PMS does not necessarily affect mood. I have never perceived any alteration of my mood connected to my menstrual cycle.

First sentence is, I think, correct. The second sentence is philosophically problematic for you're not judging from an unaffected neutral position.

Just because a particular woman might be teary during this time does not mean she is unable to function, make intelligent decisions, and remain responsible for her actions.

That depends on the degree of chemical imbalance within the brain at any particular moment. For most women the imbalance isn't severe enough to impact on cognitive function but we can't make their reactions the universal response.

[The Happy Feminist]

As for your first point agreed. That is why I said I have never "perceived" an alteration in mood. Of course, if I if the alterations I may have are imperceptible to me, then they are essentially irrelevant.

As for women who literally do lose rationality due to hormonal issues -- it's gotta be a teeeny amount.

[TangoMan]

Of course, if I if the alterations I may have are imperceptible to me, then they are essentially irrelevant.

The point I was trying to make, and don't confuse the following analogy as making an equivalence for that's not what I'm arguing, is that just like a mildly tipsy driver thinks she is completely unaffected by alcohol and fully capable of driving, that is until she is pulled over and subjected to an objective assessment where her loss of function is assessed. My point is that from her vantage point she is unaffected but she's in no position to judge. This is the same dynamic we see with PMS - the sufferer thinks all is normal but those who are not affected by the PMS often notice the change.

[The Happy Feminist]

Yeah. That hasn't happened with me-- nor have I ever noticed a change in women with whom I have lived.

[Joel Monka]

The jokes are so common that it made a presumption of harrassment one time when I was working as the in-house printer for the Marion County Health Dept. Someone from public relations was working with me on a brochure I would be printing, and asked what I would call the shade of red she had a sample of, and I replied, "PMS 185". She was quite cold the rest of the meeting, and later I was told she had made a complaint against me for my inapropriate and unwanted joke. Turns out she was unaware that to a printer, PMS means Pantone Matching System (tm), where all colors are broken down into a number system that relates to formulae for mixing the ink. She did apologize when it was explained to her, though, and we had a laugh because I had never realized how it might sound outside my specialized world to be talking about PMS all the time.

[mythago]

Yet the pop-psych belief that men are ruled by their hormones all the time (the ones blamed for aggressive behavior or rude sexual conduct) aren't seen as something that makes them 'crazy', 'irrational' or obviously unfit for responsibility.

[miller_schloss]

Joel - that is hilarious! I work for an ad agency, and I really enjoyed that little industry story. What a funny misunderstanding!

I always get terrible cramps right before my period as well as achy legs and other miserable symptoms. I realized I am very blessed and probably unusual in this: for me, pregnancy has been SO much easier than getting my period every month!

Happy - just wanted to let you know I linked to you today. http://www.xanga.com/miller_schloss/508191818/the-great-big-blog-world.html (And Erin at Unfolding Moments also had nice things to say about you in the comments section.)

[TangoMan]

men are ruled by their hormones

It's not the presence of hormones but their flucuation that matters. Look at how male behavior changes over the course of decades as their testosterone levels change with aging. Women have greater variability in their blood chemical composition than do men and the variability cycles on a monthly basis in addition to age related variability.

[The Happy Feminist]

Well, no, the presence of hormones DOES matter since much male confrontational aggression, predatory sexual behavior and foolish risk taking is attributed to the presence of testosterone especially in young men. The distinction you are making is that the mechanism by which hormones cause certain results is different.

[The Happy Feminist]

Thank you SO much for your nice comments on your blog, MS (not sure whether to call you by your first name here?)

What you wrote really means a lot to me.