Table Of ContentGirls in Power
G I R L S I N P O W E R
Gender, Body, and
Menstruation in Adolescence
LAURA FINGERSON
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
Chapters 2, 5, and 6 contain revised sections of “Agency and the Body in
Adolescent Menstrual Talk,” Childhood12 (2005): 91–110, reprinted with the
permission of Childhoodand Sage Publications.
Published by
State University of New York Press
Albany
© 2006 State University of New York
All rights reserved
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For information, address
State University of New York Press
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Production, Laurie Searl
Marketing, Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fingerson, Laura, 1974–
Girls in power : gender, body, and menstruation in adolescence / Laura Fingerson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6899-9
ISBN-10: 0-7914-6899-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6900-2 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 0-7914-6900-X (pbk.)
1. Teenage girls—Psychology. 2. Menstruation—Social aspects. 3. Body, Human—Social
aspects. 4. Sex role. I. Title.
HQ798.F56 2006
305.235'2—dc22
2005037173
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
One Introduction 1
Menstruation is . . .
Salient Body Experiences
The Teen Participants
The Interviewers
Analysis of the Data
Organization of This Book
Two Negative and Ambivalent Experiences 15
Concealment and Shame
The Horrors of Leaking
“Why I Never Carry a Purse”
The Body as Actor
What If It Gets Stuck?
Tampax Ads in a Room Full of Boys
The Checkout Boy
“Surfin’ the Crimson Wave”
“It’s Not a Big Deal”
Three Cultural Contexts 39
Cultural History of Menstruation
Concealment and Hygiene
Taboos
Contemporary Views and Advice
vi CONTENTS
Historical Context of Health and Medicine
Schools
The Family
Media, Advertising, and Merchandising
Four Medicalization and Gender Politics of the Body 57
Medicalization of Menstruation
Fifth-Grade Health Class
Menstruation as a Reproductive Issue
What About the Blood?
Every Single Month Forever and Ever
Menstrual Suppression?
The Value of Female Bodies
What If Men Could Menstruate?
Understanding Gender
Living in Our Bodies
Five Girls in Power 83
Agency and Power
Creatively Responding to Dominant Social
Norms
Forging Connections
“I Don’t Think Boys Could Handle It”
Menstruation Is Social
Getting “It”
Stories and Supportive Talk
What’s Normal
How Embarrassing!
But Adults Don’t Talk This Way!
Interviewing in Community Groups
Isn’t Menstruation a Personal Event?
“We Should Just Create a Women’s Store”
Six Boys’ Responses 111
Knowledge Is Power
Blaming Menstruation
“Grossing Them Out”
Menstruation as a Sexual Issue
CONTENTS vii
Boys’ Jokes
Who Has the Power?
Embarrassing and Teasing Girls
Girls’ Advantages
Expressing Power: Second and Third Wave
Feminism
Potential for Manipulation
Alternate Responses by Boys
“My Friend Kristin Explained . . .”
Beef Jerky
Seven Conclusion: Bodies in Interaction 145
The Teens’ Concluding Thoughts
Different Interpretations
Social Interactions and Gendered Power
Menstrual Celebrations
Reflections on Research Methods
Conclusion
Appendix A: Participants in Individual and
Group Interviews 157
Girls
Boys
Appendix B: Interview Guides 161
Individual Interviews
Group Interviews
Notes 169
References 177
Index 187
Acknowledgments
I had the impression when I began graduate school that research was an indi-
vidual endeavor, particularly for graduate students whose primary objectives
are to write “independent” and “original” research to earn their degrees.
Luckily, my impression was false and I have never been truly alone in my
research. During my time in graduate school and as a faculty member, I have
managed to be involved in a community of collaboration and support that
has been invaluable in not only my research but also my understandings of
sociology and the wider world. This book has been significantly enhanced by
conversations with and feedback from friends, colleagues, and advisors con-
tributing their expertise and encouragement.
First and foremost, I thank my teen research participants and the direc-
tors of their community groups for allowing me to take a peek into their men-
strual and body talk. Going into the project I knew the data would be inter-
esting, but I had no idea how unbelievably fascinating and rich teen talk
about menstruation and the body would be.
Second, I thank Paul Namaste Ruggerio who interviewed the male
research participants. In preparing for this project, I quickly realized that the
teenage boys would never open up to me as they would to a man. I cannot
imagine a better interviewer for this project. I am deeply in debt to my tran-
scriptionists: Kirsten Eamon, Emily Fairchild, Vanessa Hamilton, Tiffany
Lynch, Julie Patterson, and Jill Stalowicz. The analyses would have taken
much longer without the fabulous, accurate transcriptions of my data.
Vital funding to pay Paul and the transcriptionists came from: the Indi-
ana University CONCEPT I program in medical sociology; the Indiana Uni-
versity Graduate Student Organization; the Kinsey Institute for Sex, Gender
and Reproduction; and the Midwest Sociological Society.
Several people offered amazing insights and feedback on my data, analy-
ses, and writing: Katy Hadley, Sandi Kawecka Nenga, Kris DeWelde, audi-
ence members at conference presentations I have given on this topic, Ellie
ix
