Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation by Elissa Stein, Susan Kim

from taking part in religious ceremonies for the first four days of her cycle. And in ancient India, sex was also forbidden during her flow.
    Yet what was an ancient people to do, what with 50 percent of one’s community continually spending so much time wallowing in their own filth, corrupting everything they touched and being a loathsome abomination in general? One couldn’t exactly banish women all the time—who else could the guys turn to for the cooking, harvesting, food storage, cleaning, childcare, and sex?
    As a result, many religions and cultures cleverly devised ritualized cleansing ceremonies to regularly purge women of their monthly impurities—rites that still continue in many parts of the world to this day. Not only do such rituals assuage the male fear of contamination, allowing a man to enjoy his wife’s charms and services with a clear conscience, but by establishing a cycle of filth and cleansing made up of ritualized banishment and reacceptance, male-dominated society perpetuates the cozy myth that women are flawed, dirty, and routinely in need of being made clean again. The implication becomes that women not only deserve the treatment they receive, in fact, they’re pretty damn lucky!
     
In the Bible, a woman used to be allowed to Cleanse herself every month symbolically, with, animal sacrifices.
     
    In certain Islamic sects, women must perform a ritual cleansing bath, a ghusl, washing themselves thoroughly from head to toe, making sure their hair and scalp are scrubbed clean, as well. The Manusmriti (one of the foundations of Hindu law) also requires ritual bathing at every cycle’s conclusion.
    In the Bible, a woman used to be allowed to cleanse herself every month symbolically, with animal sacrifices; just check out Leviticus 15:29-30: “And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the Lord for the issue of her uncleanness.” But given animal rights and anticruelty laws (not to mention the going price of turtledoves and pigeons), that’s no longer a viable option. Instead, there’s always the mikvah—perhaps the best-known and most controversial ritual, intended for many purifying uses for both men and women, but best known for postmenstrual cleansing.
    To understand the mikvah, one needs to understand the female cycle, according to Orthodox Jews. The Talmud (the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible by ancient rabbis and scholars) added another week following the end of the period, which means that a Jewish woman—at least according to Orthodox rules—is considered unclean for at least two weeks out of the month. During this time, she is niddah. This means “separated,” referring specifically to any physical contact with her husband. And “separated” means no hugging, no hand-holding, no casual brushing a stray crumb off his chin, and most certainly no sex, for half of the month.
    In order to begin the purification process, a woman must wait until seven days after the last day of her period. Then she checks herself internally for any trace of blood. Using a small, clean, white cloth (special ones called bedikah are made for this purpose), she checks the vaginal canal to make sure it’s blood-free. Alternatively, she could opt to wear white underwear and sleep on white sheets. When everything is completely free from even the faintest trace of menstrual flow, she’s finally ready to be spiritually cleansed.
    First, the woman bathes, shampoos and combs her hair, and removes anything touching or covering her skin: watches, jewelry, makeup, even bandages. She often undoes any braids, as well, to ensure that every bit of her, including each filament of hair, will be totally immersed. The mikvah itself has been built into the