Menstrual-related theories and research have long played a role in shaping how women’s bodies are perceived and how their behavior is explained. More often than not, by attributing a causal link between the menstrual cycle and behavior and/or appearance, negative stereotypes evolve. While theories and research may lend to negative stereotypes, the rise in menstrual activism and access to social media provide a unique response mechanism, helping to keep some in check.

The Theory of the Tampon Tax:

Thompson Chemists, a pharmacy in New York City, stirred up quite the conversation on social media when they posted signs in their store front advertising a “7 % Man Tax” in an attempt to draw awareness to the “pink tax” women have been paying for decades. While in-person customers responded well to the campaign, owner Jolie Alony received negative phone calls and the store’s social media channels were flooded with backlash from men’s rights groups. Name calling was at the top of the list as well as citing the signs and “male tax” as sexist. While the store didn’t actually tax men an extra seven percent, they did offer women a seven percent discount.

“We just wanted to show people that there’s ‘pink tax,’ and that women just pay more for things” said Alony, as quoted in HuffPost. The negative response online is surprising and shows how some may have missed the point: it is not that men are being taxed more, it is that women have been taxed more already. Name calling and suggesting that the store’s signs are sexist further shows how little is known, not only about the cost of having a menstrual cycle, but also about gender disparities in society.

While storefronts are educating the masses in New York about the Tampon Tax, public monuments in Germany are doing the same. The activist group Aktivistin spilled red food coloring in 13 fountains around Zurich, raising awareness for menstrual-related issues, including the Tampon Tax and inequality linked to the menstrual cycle. Signs were left at the fountains citing the hashtag #happytobleed.

The Theory of Estrogen:

Recent studies have shown some interesting insight on how the hormone estrogen influences brain activity. A recent story in the Daily Mail—Women may become SMARTER just before their period—reports that researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, found that rising levels of estrogen after ovulation enlarge the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with emotions, mood and memories. Although an association has been made, the effect the rise in this hormone has is unclear. Researchers want to evaluate if this change influences women’s behavior and predict that the findings will provide insight for PMDD, a disorder that affects 1 in 12 women in the US. While this research endeavor may provide support for mood disorders, could it perhaps reveal a finding that shows how hormone changes can play a beneficial role in women’s cognitive abilities or mood? Is it the right approach to assume, a research finding in the area of hormones will show a negative cause?

Forgetfulness is a real thing for many women going through menopause. On October 13, 2016,  CBSNews reported  that research teams from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School in Boston have found that the drop in estrogen during menopause has an effect on the hippocampus, just as the increase in estrogen has an effect during the premenstrual phase of a woman’s cycle. MRI scans and cognitive activities were studied among 200 men and women. The study found that women with decreasing levels of estrogen were shown to perform poorly on memory-related tasks suggesting that a decrease in estrogen may influence memory, lending to what has been termed “brain fog.”

However, the study also found that one third of the women studied actually tested higher in the memory category, a finding that suggests 1) further research is needed in this area 2) perhaps hormones do not play much of a role 3) women’s lifestyle and vocation may influence how their brain operates.

The Theory of Eleven:
Sometimes, theories can make a great thing even better.

If you haven’t checked out Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things, you may want to because one fan theory proposes that Eleven, the show’s leading female character, may in fact be battling with the experience that is her first period, and not an actual monster from the upside down. Donna Dickens and Jill Pantozzi establish a very convincing argument in a video at HitFix that may have fans re-watching the series with this theory in mind.

When she is not writing and researching about the menstrual cycle and woman’s health for Diva International Inc., or blogging for Menstruation Matters, you will find Sophie Zivku trying out new recipes, reading, attempting to knit and spending time with her ever-growing family in Ontario, Canada.