Period shame stops countless girls from continuing sport. The Women’s World Cup can help break this stigma
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Wednesday, July 12, 2023
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New Zealand has also swapped out its traditional white shorts for teal blue to help combat period anxiety.
Key Points:
- New Zealand has also swapped out its traditional white shorts for teal blue to help combat period anxiety.
- The shame and taboo associated with periods stops many young girls from continuing sport, and misinformation about menstruation affects the performance and health of countless elite athletes.
- The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is an opportunity to dispel period myths and put a focus on the specific needs of athletes who menstruate.
Women athletes aren’t small men
- This research doesn’t consider the physical and psychological changes that women athletes may experience at each phase of the menstrual cycle, nor how that may affect peak performance.
- Research into how the menstrual cycle affects the performance of women athletes is growing.
No longer a mark of honour
- Overly intense training can cause some athletes to stop having periods.
- This has often been considered normal by coaches and a mark of honour among athletes themselves.
- Symptoms include periods stopping or becoming irregular, reduced performance, mood changes, and recurrent illnesses and injuries including stress fractures.
Change is happening, albeit slowly
- For example, the Australian Institute of Sport launched an initiative in late 2019 to “improve female athlete specific knowledge and systems of support”.
- Many women athletes themselves have started to speak up about the taboo associated with menstruation and are lobbying for change.
- She’s now using her profile to raise awareness of women’s health issues and to try and reduce the taboo around periods.
Girls’ barriers to sport
- Puberty, and the start of periods, is a time when girls’ participation in grassroots sport falls off sharply.
- A UK survey of more than 4,000 teenagers published last year found there are complex barriers and deep-rooted negative attitudes affecting girls’ enjoyment of sport, including period shame and body image issues.
- Various state governments are investing in grassroots sport facilities that better attend to the needs of women.
These can help girls and women be empowered to manage their periods in ways that will enable them to continue their participation and not feel ashamed or embarrassed. With the world cup media spotlight, we have an unprecedented opportunity to break menstrual shame, silence and taboo.