The Curse: A Cultural History of Menstruation"In its hard headed, richly documented concreteness, it is worth a thousand polemics." -- New York Times, from a review of the first edition "The Curse deserves a place in every women's studies library collection." -- Sharon Golub, editor of Lifting the curse of Menstruation "A stimulating and useful book, both for the scholarly and the general reader." -- Paula A. Treichler, co-author of A Feminist Dictionary |
Contents
Women in the Closet Taboos of Exclusion | 7 |
Not Tonight Dear Taboos of Sex | 18 |
Putting Her in Her Place Rites of the Menarche | 28 |
Woman Unclean Menstrual Taboos in Judaism and Christianity | 37 |
Menstruation and Medical Myth | 45 |
Modern Menstrual Politics | 54 |
The Menstrual Process | 69 |
The First Pollution Psychoanalysis and the Menarche | 73 |
Absent Literature The Menarche | 171 |
The Miracle of Blood Menstrual Imagery in Myth and Poetry | 186 |
Menstrual Madness in Drama and fiction | 200 |
From Leeches to Estrogen The Menopause and Medical Options | 213 |
Psychology and the Menopausal Menace | 220 |
November of the Body The Menopause and Literature | 225 |
The Menstrual Hall of Fame | 243 |
Moving the Menses or Vicarious Menstruation | 249 |
The Storm Before the Calm The Premenstrual Syndrome | 83 |
What Every Girl Should Know | 107 |
The Monthly Euphemism | 115 |
Red Humor The Menstrual Joke | 119 |
Periodic Parade Menstruation in Advertising | 129 |
Rags to Riches The Menstrual Products Industry | 138 |
Menstruation Goes Public | 151 |
The Bleeding Tower Menstrual Themes in Fairy Tales | 161 |
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Common terms and phrases
adolescent Afterword American associated attitudes become believe birth bleeding body called cancer castration cause century Chapter child cramps cultural Curse dangerous daughter death defloration disease doctor estrogen fear feel female Feminine feminist film flowers fluid genitals girls Health hormonal husband images intercourse taboo Journal Kotex literature lives male Mary menarche menopause menses menstrual blood menstrual cycle Menstrual Disorders menstrual extraction menstrual flow menstrual jokes menstrual period menstrual process menstrual taboos menstruating woman month monthly moon mother myth novel pain Penelope Shuttle penis percent physical poem Premenstrual Syndrome Premenstrual Tension primitive progesterone psychoanalytic psychological puberty Puberty Rites rhythms ritual sanitary napkins seclusion sexual society story strual struation subincision suicide symbol symptoms Tampax tampons Tassaway tells theory therapy tion toxic shock syndrome treatment Truly Tasteless Jokes unclean uterus vaginal vicarious menstruation witch womb women writes York young