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

rendering him impure. In the Talmud it is stated that if a menstruating woman walks between two men, one of them will die (leaving us to ponder what world history would have been like if we had actually had that kind of power all along … the mind reels!). In Jerusalem, a special bus system for the very religious ensures that by seating the men up front and women in back, no chance contamination might occur. In his 2007 book, The Year of Living Biblically, author A. J. Jacobs realized it was virtually impossible in New York City to sit anywhere that a menstruating woman definitely hadn’t been, and so had to resort to carrying a folding chair with him everywhere he went.
     
Orthodox Jewish men won’t shake hands with a woman for fear she may be menstruating, thus rendering him impure.
     
    According to Islam, menstruating women are still forbidden to touch the Koran, perform special prayers at Islamic festivals, fast (being expected to make up the days at other times during the year), and, last but not least, have sex with their husbands. According to the Koran: “When they have purified themselves, ye may approach them in any manner, time, or place ordained for you by God. For God loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean.”
    “All right,” we hear you say, “we get it. World religions have always been run by men, and any religious beliefs and rituals about menstruation are little more than ancient superstitions based on primitive fears, none of which have any place in the twenty-first century. After all, except for a distinct minority of the religiously conservative and very devout, no one actually believes any of this menstrual sex/pollution nuttiness anymore … do they?”
    The creepy thing is, they do and they don’t.
    If one is up for a mirthless laugh or two, we suggest visiting any of the consumer-oriented Web sites maintained by the big femcare manufacturers. One and all, the sites address myths we’re depressed to hear apparently still need debunking, notions that many females obviously still cling to, such as: Is it safe to wash one’s hair during one’s period? Is it okay to take a bath? And from the Barr Pharmaceuticals-sponsored Web site, knowyourperiods.com : Is menstrual blood poisonous? Is sex with a menstruating woman dangerous? Admittedly, Pliny the Edler wrote that sex with a menstruating woman during a solar or lunar eclipse could be fatal. But remember, he came up with that one in A.D. 60. How weird is it that many of us are clearly still haunted by menstrual superstitions dating back for literally thousands of years?
    The Internet, being the clearinghouse of not only much useful information but also rants from the fringe, gives us this recent mature post from a mainstream men’s health Web site: “Some guys are absolutely disgusted at the mere thought of going anywhere near her vagina when it should be ‘closed for maintenance,’” and guys should explore other ways to be satisfied “until her playground’s no longer muddy.” Such sentiments eerily echo those of 1951’s The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Sex, which stated that both men and women were often queasy about female genitalia even when a woman wasn’t menstruating, “because of the wetness of the zone. They think it is messy, or that a woman is ‘dirtier’ than a man.”
    All right, already; we think we’ve succeeded in making ourselves seriously depressed. It’s time for a much-needed reality check, okay?
    Despite all the apparent squeamishness out there, many women and their partners in fact find sex during menstruation just ducky. Sure, one can still get pregnant in the process if not using protection, and what’s more, it might not be the best time to break out those 500-thread-count Egyptian pima sheets. Some women keep an extra set of dark sheets or a towel on hand to deal with the spillage. Others shrug and say to hell with it.
    Some women also find their mojo