From surfing the crimson wave to lady shark week, we have a plethora of perky period-naming conventions. And despite the abundance of cute/snarky menses nomenclature, there’s something huge often missing from the menstruation conversation: period sex.
Did you just think gross! You’re not alone. While lots of people are having period sex, and even more people are pondering doing it – popular culture has been telling us that having sex during our periods is embarrassing (or worse, disgusting).
News flash: it’s neither. And we have proof. “One of my favorite sex memories with one of my favorite ex’s was when we had sex while on my period in the shower,” one O’a Team member shared. “There was something tangibly different about the sex. We were a little more wild, a little more free. Afterward, we realized there was blood well…everywhere. And we laughed, forever after referring to period sex as ‘going Psycho.’” Another O’a Team member shared that once, when she told a hot one night stand that it was “her time of the month” he replied “oh honey, those warnings are for boys, I’m a man” – awesome pleasuring ensued. And yet another O’a team member mentioned it to a man she was seeing and was tickled to hear, “Great, less risk of pregnancy and more natural lube!”
Whether leading to an intimate inside joke or pleasure-to-the-max sex (or both!), these stories tell the tale of a few core beliefs we hold about period sex (or really any sex): being able to laugh about, and being able to enjoy it.
There’s plenty more where laughter came from. Rachel Lark did a great job making us giggle:
As did Louis CK:
Laughter isn’t the only reason to embrace period sex, of course. There are health benefits, including cramp reduction (yes!), and convenience factors like not needing lube (Yes!) and even shortening the length of your period (YES!!).
There’s also the social factor. The more women encourage and agree to period sex, the more popular culture will start to see it as a positive, rather than a means of grossing people out. We want people – you in particular, dear reader – to believe, as Kat George says in Vice, “My body and its various functions are no more or less wonderful or awkward than a man’s.”
But better still, there’s your pleasure, as reported in New York Magazine during Ovaries Week last year. ”Heightened female libido and pleasure, though not universal, is routinely associated with menstruation, Planned Parenthood medical spokeswoman Dr. Vanessa Cullins told me by phone. Increases in blood flow to the pelvic region could heighten pleasure, while surges in estrogen (at the start of the period) and lutenizing hormone (at the end) affect the sex drive. Additionally, a woman who thinks she can’t get pregnant may be ‘more relaxed.’” We here at Team O’a certainly hear and feel that!
And you know anytime we can encourage you to get more pleasure, we’re going to.
What’s holding you back from period sex? Or are you already embracing it? Let us know what you think in the comments or on Facebook!