Opening doors and getting rid of shame: Experiences of first menstruation in Valencia, Spain

• In many societies, the first menstruation is an occasion for festive rituals. To celebrate it may seem especially logical in societies that emphasize motherhood. This is certainly so in Spain, yet the first menstruation there is rather a shameful matter. This paradox is dissolved if we suppose that what arrives with the first menstruation is not potential motherhood but potential sexual activity, and also womanhood (as opposed to manhood), and that both are construed as negative or ambivalent. But this means a new paradox in the present Spanish context. After two decades of mostly positive change, the concept of change has become synonymous with improvement. And sexuality, always culturally emphasized in the Mediterranean area, has taken on the role of a key symbol of change. Through analysis of verbal behavior around menstruation, conclusions are drawn about how sexuality and the female body are interpreted in the Spanish city of Valencia today.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Genusstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Gender Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialantropologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Anthropology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

genus

genusantropologi

Valencia

Spanien

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)