For JR 495 – Combatting Menstrual Stigma with Menstrual Education
Audio script:
Lead VO: People who menstruate are often taught that the cramps, headaches, and nausea they feel while on their period are normal. But how is one able to tell if their periods are abnormal or unhealthy?
Introduction to SOT1: Shayzari K., a 21 year old self-proclaimed student of life living in Southern California, has had their menstrual cycle for seven years now.
NAT: Soundbite of Shayzari and their grandmother talking.
SOT1: If I'm experiencing nausea, I can't eat anything, nor can I take any sort of pain medicine that's in pill form because my body will react. And then it's just a means of me trying to appease the pain. So that means laying in bed, finding something comfortable to be in physically, making sure I have things around me to where I don't have to necessarily go up in the bathroom. If I can't make it fast enough, I might have some water near me. I mean, that's if I'm afforded a day off.
VO: Shayzari didn’t realize that her symptoms were extreme enough to signal that something was off. Then, a friend sent her a Tik Tok about endometriosis.
NAT: Five signs you have endometriosis from personal experience, yes I am an endometriosis survivor…
SOT2: She was like, This sounds like what you go through during your periods. Essentially, the lining of your uterus grows outside of your uterus. And so when you shed, there's an immense amount of pain and it can affect so many different things. It can cause nausea and it's very rare for me personally not to have nausea when I'm on my period.
Intro to SOT2: Endometriosis abdominal pain is often mistaken for menstrual cramps, and in some cases, people with endometriosis experience no symptoms. According to Yale Medicine, on average, menstruators in the US suffer from endometriosis for ten years before receiving a proper diagnosis.
VO: Despite having been hospitalized for her menstrual symptoms, Shayzari has not been able to access any level of preemptive menstrual care. They shared that by being raised in a community of Black women whose pain was often dismissed, they learned just how real medical racism is from an early age. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the likelihood of a Black mother dying from pregnancy related causes is 2.5 times higher than it would be for a white mother due to implicit biases that result in dismissed pain.
Intro to SOT3: Shayzari still struggles to access menstrual health care and faces difficulties in navigating health insurance.
SOT3: Now, having been an adult, I've been trying to figure out the insurance system myself, and it's been so many lines of red tape. It's, it's absolutely ridiculous. Those resources might be available, but they're expensive. It doesn't matter what your background is, what you've done in the past, you deserve good access to care and you have a right to care. But you know, making the effort is what I'm trying to say. I'm actively trying to make an effort to get my life together and find my newfound adulthood and really stand on my own two feet.
VO: There’s no sign of Shayzari stopping their efforts to receive menstrual health care and spread awareness of menstrual conditions such as endometriosis.
SOT4: I think that educating people on menstruation and its effects and its factors is so important because it can save lives, one, but it can solve so many problems for people in their daily lives.
Kicker: Planned Parenthood clinics offer services to screen menstrual conditions such as endometriosis, so if you are experiencing symptoms, please schedule an appointment.
Sign-out: For JR495 at Emerson College, this is Jo Malicdem.
NAT: Soundbite of Shayzari and their grandma talking.