Period Lingo and Slang

Coming up with different names to reference a period is part of almost every menstruators’ journey. It starts at a young age and some of these slang terms or lingo follows us as we grow up and continue to use them. But why not just call it a period? Why do we have all sorts of different terms? With the rise of conversations about periods, comes the lingo that goes along with it. There are many common terms floating around on the internet. In this blog post, let’s dive into some of the popular lingo and the nature of why menstruation slang even exists.

According to an international study--which looked at attitudes around the world towards menstruation--there are over 5000 slang terms for just the word “period”. The study was conducted by Clue (a period tracking app), and The International Women’s Health Coalition (Clue). They analyzed over 90,000 responses from 190 countries (Clue). It is interesting to see that the practice of giving your period a nickname is common around the world regardless of cultural differences.

Some popular english period euphemisms include:

• Aunt Flo/Flow

• Time of the month

• Red tide/river/sea/days

• Code Red

• Monthly visitor

• Mother Nature

• Shark Week

We often hear “It’s my time of the month” or “I’m having a visit from Mother Nature” and other phrases to announce that one is menstruating.

In order to destigmatize and normalize period conversation, it may have been easier at younger ages to call it something else. Young menstruators often feel embarrassed to discuss menstruation or even embarrassed to say the word “period”. The fact that so many people around the world feel this way or use slang terms is proof that as a community, we need to do better to destigmatize and normalize period conversation. In some remote communities, there are beliefs that bad luck such as natural disasters, death of animals, and illness will occur if menstruators are not banished to huts or cowsheds when they menstruate. This kind of environment would make one feel as though menstruation is something to be ashamed of and make the conversations about periods difficult to have.

While we cannot immediately change the whole world or the cultural views that may be related to menstruation, we can take steps towards creating more comfortable and safe spaces to discuss periods. In your own daily life, this could mean becoming comfortable with saying “I am on my period” or “When I am on my period…” and being direct with your choice of words. Society has often deemed this topic as taboo or TMI (too much information) and led many menstruators to feel as though they should not share their stories.

In reality, it is all about what makes you feel comfortable as an individual. Some people are more comfortable using euphemisms, others are comfortable calling it as it is. Some people are comfortable sharing their personal stories with others, some opt to be less vocal. Whether your period has a special name or not, the important thing is being able to have that conversation if that is what you need.

Resources:

Clue. “Menstrual Euphemisms by Language.” Clue Period & Ovulation Tracker with Ovulation Calendar for IOS, Android, and WatchOS, Clue, 14 Apr. 2021, https://helloclue.com/articles/culture/top-euphemisms-for-period-by-language.

O’Connor, Roisin. “There Are More than 5,000 Ways to Say 'Period' around the World - These Are the Best Ones.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 1 Mar. 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/menstruation-study-finds-over-5-000-slang-terms-period-a6905021.html.