‘She’s just hormonal’, ‘Someone’s on their period!’ ‘She’s menopausal’. But no one ever hears, ‘it's hormones’ or, ‘he’s just a hormonal man’.
Being a woman, if I feel particularly upset or angry, my first thought is usually whether or not I’m on my period and if I’m not I’m at a loss as to why I’m feeling this way. We need to stop feeling the need to find an excuse for our feelings and just experience them.
Our menstrual cycle does hugely affect our mood: in the first two weeks, the levels of oestrogens go up, boosting mood and energy. As does the menopause where oestrogen levels begin to drop, and ovaries stop working. The hormonal changes that occur during menopause may cause mood swings and difficulty concentrating.
However, other factors also have an effect and sometimes need paying attention to. Menopause is also the time when those who menstruate face multiple stressors, such as their children leaving home. Teenagers labelled as ‘hormonal’ may also be facing other concerns such as school stress or friendship worries, ultimately affecting their mood.
The ‘hormones’ argument has been continually used as a way of oppressing women and those who menstruate. In the 19th century, hysteria was considered an illness in those who menstruate, and was colloquially defined as an ungovernable emotional excess - ‘crazy’.
In 1939, James E. King, the president of the American Association of Obstetricians, Gynaecologists and Abdominal Surgeons, devoted part of his presidential address to hormones and women’s craziness, or as he called it, their “peculiarities” and “inconsistencies.” He said hormone therapy would help those who menstruate manage their emotions and make them prettier; oestrogen would supposedly bring back aging youth of those who menstruate.
The blaming of emotions of those who menstruate on hormones is commonplace, and whilst hormones do have a factor in our mentality and behaviour, labelling those who menstruate as ‘hormonal’ as a synonym for ‘crazy’ or ‘irrational’ is not acceptable.
Written by Coco Clelland
Artwork by Sophia Patterson
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