Many women have symptoms known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS) one or two weeks before the onset of their menstrual cycle. More than 90% of women report experiencing premenstrual symptoms like headaches, bloating, and moodiness. While milder symptoms may not bother some women, others may find them so bad that they miss work or school. Women in their 30s are the most likely to have PMS on average.
I feel compelled to write this post on PMS, although I am not a female or someone who wants to be recognized as a woman. However, my wonderful and amazing daughters, Nyeri and Imani, decided recently to launch an app and website on PMS, Empower Mind Soul. Since then, I have been learning more about the struggles and painful challenges of PMS, particularly for Black women.
Black Women’s PMDD Struggles
Although PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) is sometimes referred to as “premenstrual syndrome (PMS) on steroids,” those who suffer from PMS find that this description does not fully capture the devastating effects of the hormone condition: over one in five individuals with PMDD report feeling suicidal thoughts, and over half engage in self-harm. Additional symptoms include fits of wrath, anxiety, and sweeping depressive episodes that usually pass two or three days after the onset of their period. And all that is required of them as Black women is strength and perseverance.
Living with the effects of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and the difficulties of managing a mental health disorder where Black sufferers’ distinct experiences are underrepresented for Black women living in the United Kingdom (U.K.). According to reports, 3-8% of women in the U.S. and one in twenty women and menstruating individuals in the U.K. suffer from PMDD. It is unknown how these figures break down intersectionally, even with these numbers on file. A research study on PMDD was initiated in the U.K. to investigate five primary aspects of the disorder: diagnosis, therapy, prevention of suicide and self-harm, and “PMDD’s impact on life.” The goal of the research is to determine the various obstacles to getting help as well as how to stop depression episodes that result in suicidal thoughts. They emphasize the need for additional research to examine perspectives from individuals with varying cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, disabilities, and socioeconomic statuses.
For Black women who are living with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder or seeking a diagnosis, the confluence of race and mental health poses a significant burden. Unfortunately, damaging perceptions about PMDD are perpetuated when the condition is downplayed or ignored, undermining the experiences of those who live with it. Racial and gender prejudices add more layers of stigmatization for Black women. The confluence of gender and race can foster an atmosphere in which Black women’s experiences with PMDD are disregarded, discounted, or linked to stereotypes that paint them as “difficult,” “angry,” or “irrational.”
It is questioned if it was a good idea to exclude boys from vital sexual and health education because there is a shortage of information and assistance around periods and sex, which is more frequent than we realize.
When Should Conversations About Menstruation Begin?
Studies show that although menstruation can start as early as age 8, it usually begins around age 12. Parents should ideally discuss periods with their daughters before they or their friends experience them. It’s crucial to offer age-appropriate explanations that kids can comprehend while being upfront and honest about what they should anticipate when having the “period talk” for the first time.
Mothers discussing their periods and associated symptoms with their daughters can be therapeutic and beneficial to others who may be going through similar experiences, as Black women are disproportionately affected by reproductive diseases and have trouble getting the correct diagnosis for their complaints. Many people nowadays are more connected than ever, thanks to social media. Although blogs and platforms like Instagram and YouTube offer excellent information, it’s possible to follow the conversations around common ailments and period symptoms.
Period Trauma Is Real, and Millions of Black Menstruators Are Suffering from It
If you have a uterus, you probably know that sometimes, having a period can be uncomfortable and inconvenient. However, for a significant number of people, they can be cripplingly painful, challenging to control, humiliating, or shameful—that is, traumatic. Any persistent psychological, social, or emotional harm or pain associated with or brought on by menstruation is referred to as period trauma. Period trauma affects most menstruators because of a patriarchal society that devalues period care, stigmatizes menstruation, and discriminates against people who have periods.
Nonetheless, Black menstruators are disproportionately affected by period trauma, which has serious long-term effects that start early and continue throughout the reproductive years. This must change, but it will take work on several fronts. This study aims to investigate the causes of period trauma in this population and offers solutions for better, more enjoyable menstrual experiences.
Why Black Menstruators May Experience Worse Menstrual Trauma?
Black menstruators may be more susceptible than other populations to specific reproductive health problems, which could explain why they suffer from more period stress. It is a well-known fact that they are more likely to acquire fibroids, resulting in heavier, more painful periods—9 out of 10 develop them before age 50. Though it is only one condition, fibroids have a significant role in how Black women experience and manage their reproductive years. Contrarily, Black women are equally likely as White women to develop endometriosis; they are less likely to receive a diagnosis, which has given rise to the myth that they are less susceptible to the illness. They might thus experience their suffering untreated for prolonged periods.
Not only may Black menstruators experience more bleeding and maybe more extreme pain than their counterparts, but they may also be socialized to underreport period problems. If both your mother and her mother had fibroids, you may have inherited a distorted understanding of what constitutes a “normal” period. The conventional wisdom has been that rather than being identified and treated, menstruation is just tricky and should be endured. Even though not all Black Americans are descended from Africans who were sold into slavery, those who might have inherited the quiet surrounding their historical trauma since it helped their ancestors survive. Black women’s and girls’ culture has never been one that could afford to be seen as weak.
Menstruation is viewed in some Black family cultures as a personal experience that should be kept secret, even from family members. This may also result in problems being underreported. There is a severe lack of communication between generations. Mothers do not always talk to their daughters about their struggles, not realizing that they are failing their daughters by forcing them to go through the same things repeatedly.
The patriarchal views that menstruation is “dirty” or “unclean” are also a cause of trauma, and marginalized populations are significantly affected by this way of thinking. Historically, African American women and girls have put much effort into maintaining respectability and being as neat as possible. It can be much harder for Black women and girls than it is for other women to establish positive relationships with menstruation since period stigma exacerbates prejudices against these groups. That is, Black women who own uteruses experience disproportionate humiliation when they have periods.
Fear is a factor as well. Due to past misconduct, Black menstruators may also put off getting help for their period problems. For instance, Black women have a troubled history of being sterilized against their will in our nation. One case that comes to mind is the Mississippi appendectomy, in which women were first informed that they would be sterilized in addition to having their appendix removed. There exist multiple situations where Black women are victims of medical crimes equivalent to fertility theft. Since many surgical procedures and therapies have a history of being connected to medical fraud, there is a great deal of reluctance to treat period problems. Blacks with uteruses choose not to take birth control pills or other less permanent treatments for period discomfort because they mistrust doctors. It is imperative to repeatedly reassure people that research indicates [birth control] has no effect on fertility in the future.
Black people would still be subject to prejudice in the contemporary era even if they could forget the horrible past of their mistreatment at the hands of Western medicine. People who identify as BIPOC in this nation experience subpar healthcare in all areas, not only for women’s health. This is a result of institutional and systemic racism, which by default gives preference to white bodies.
Although this has a variety of effects on how Black people are treated, it particularly exacerbates the trauma associated with specific periods. According to a well-known study, medical trainees and students frequently thought that Black women experienced less pain than White women. You do not take someone’s pain as seriously if you think they are a group of people who can handle pain better. Delays in diagnosis and treatment may ensue from this condition.
Additionally, as was already established, prejudice results in the recommendation of more drastic, permanent procedures (such as hysterectomies) for Black individuals who have uteruses. Instead of basing their recommendations on the patient’s desire to have additional children in the future, doctors may consider specific variables, such as a woman’s lack of insurance or a partner. Your entire life is impacted when you are mistreated by the healthcare system from the time of your birth until your death. The trauma this produces has no bounds.
Due to financial difficulties, Black women in America may not have sufficient access to the medical care required to treat period stress. Black Americans had almost twice as many uninsured people as White Americans had in 2018—and this was before the pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted Black workers’ livelihoods and, consequently, their access to insurance.
Lastly, it is essential to remember that fewer low-income Americans have access to tampons and pads and that about 25% of Black Americans are impoverished as a result of systematic racism. It’s not simply uncomfortable when you can’t afford to control the flow of your menstrual cycle. A Harris Poll conducted on behalf of Thinx and PERIOD found that 4/5 of students missed school or knew someone who did due to not having access to period products.
Reproductive Mistreatment of Black Women
The regulation and exploitation of people’s bodies, sexuality, labor, and procreative capacities as a means of controlling both individual people and entire communities is known as reproductive oppression. Black women’s bodies, sexuality, and reproductive life have historically been commodified in the U.S., which is the source of reproductive oppression against them. Black women were treated as factories of property and wealth makers for their masters during the time of enslavement. They were also frequently raped on a systematic basis, punished for not having children, and pushed to have children. A woman’s fertility determined how valuable she was economically. Nevertheless, enslaved Black women had no rights to become mothers or to take care of and defend their children, even though it was expected of them to have children.
Having access for legal and safe abortions are at the center of much of the popular activity and conversation surrounding women’s reproductive lives. Many societal factors that affect Black women’s reproductive lives interfere with their ability to both have children and raise them with dignity in a setting that is safe, healthy, and supportive. Black women’s imprisonment and health neglect, as well as the over-policing of Black neighborhoods, are a few of these issues. Regardless of school level or financial status, black women are disproportionately more likely to suffer from pregnancy-related health issues, fall critically ill, or pass away after childbirth. Black women with college degrees have more excellent pregnancy-related death rates than White women without a high school education. Prenatal care is less accessible to Black women, and they are also less likely to obtain proper postpartum care (which includes mental health services) and medical attention during labor (including pain medication). Finally, the risk of death for children born to Black women is two to three times higher than that of children born to White women. There is a fascinating Black Panther news article from 1971 (Sterilize Welfare Mothers?) that discusses welfare programs and the sterilization of Native American, Black, and Latinx women.
The history of forced non-consensual, and involuntary sterilization in the U.S. has had a significant impact on Black women’s lives does then and now. During the 20th century, medical practices, policies, and laws aimed at controlling the growth of the Black population were justified by social and scientific rationales provided by eugenics, which positioned non-Whites, people with disabilities, and people experiencing poverty as intellectual and moral inferiors. These ideologies were aligned with controlling images that portrayed Black women as promiscuous (Jezebel) and Black mothers as lazy (welfare queen). Eugenics state laws affected young and impoverished Black women who were frequently diagnosed as mentally ill because they were perceived as promiscuous, had children outside of marriage, or had interracial sex. These laws also institutionalized individual disproportionality and legitimized the involuntary sterilization of people with disabilities.
Quick Facts about Black Women’s Reproductive Health Recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court protecting the Affordable Care Act and allowing Texas’s reproductive service clinics to remain open were significant and genuine wins for the underprivileged, Black women, and the oppressed. However, several state legislatures have placed considerable limitations on the accessibility of safe abortion services in the past few years. Black women are disproportionately impacted since they already encounter more barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health care than do non-Hispanic White women. Due to these differences, Black women are more likely than other women to contract STDs, develop reproductive malignancies, and become pregnant unintentionally.
Concluding Thoughts by Doc T Elliott
Continuing to learn more about PMS and the struggles Black females are having with reproductive struggles is essential for men as well as women to engage and understand. I am so thankful and appreciate my loving daughters for educating me and their community about these prevalent concerns. Please check out their website, https://www.empowermindsoul.com, and their Instagram page, @empowermindsoul, for more information and a place to connect with them and others on this topic. Also, there is a great documentary, Eggs Over Easy, by Chiquita Lockley, that investigates infertility in the Black community, which women share their stories about their unpredictable journey to motherhood. Here are some recommended Premium Loose Leaf Tea Blends that’s non-caffeinated found on Amazon: Herbal Teas by Tiesta Tea – Lavender Chamomile, and Cocoa Mint Chill, Chocolate Peppermint; and Vitex Berry vegan supplement for PMS. Peace and healing, Doc!