Jessica Wynn

Women have died in menstrual huts.

In places like Nepal today, girls are still sent to isolated huts during their periods because they're considered impure.

And these huts often have poor sanitation, little food, no protection from cold or animals.

And people have gotten seriously hurt or died from exposure.

I read about a lot of snake bites happened to girls in these huts.

So it's illegal in some countries now, but it still happens.

Not even close.

It's period shaming to its most extreme form.

And that same idea that menstruation is contamination, it shows up in subtler ways, too, like tampon taxes.

People are embarrassed to buy products.

We just treat periods like something to hide.

Yeah, again, women have not historically had a seat at these research tables.

So some cramping is normal, but debilitating pain is also really common.

There was a recent study done by female doctors that shows menstrual pain can be as painful as myocardial infarction.

Yeah, indeed.

It hurts a lot.

Not every time and not every one, but women experience vomiting, passing out, inability to function because there are often underlying conditions like endometriosis or fibroids.

Again, the language about how complex female anatomy is matters.

It's not just cramps.

It's intense pain.