Free bleeding: A menstrual revolution that is as healthy as it is impractical

From the time that we were little girls in school to now, staining our clothes during periods is one of our greatest fears. How we wish we could be aware of the exact minute we’d start bleeding and how we hope each month that it isn’t when we’re in a public place.

But here’s a couple of questions all women need to ask themselves:

Why this fear? Why this shame? After all, these are just stains, right?

Half the population in the world menstruates, so staining bedsheets every once in a while and not being stocked with menstrual products at the exact moment it hits is bound to happen to some of us. What is so bad about any of it?

The simple answer to all of it is the societal taboo that comes with being a woman.

We’re taught from a young age that the very function of menstruation which is a sign of our reproductive health and hence, our power of perpetuating this race is dirty and something to be ashamed about.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that every woman, at some point of extreme frustration, has wondered how convenient life would be if women could just bleed without having to worry about staining or the flow.

Well, there are some ladies who are actually doing that. And it’s called ‘free bleeding’ which essentially refers to the practice of not using pads, tampons, or menstrual cups to absorb/collect menstrual blood.

What is free bleeding all about?
Free bleeding aims to tackle not just the stigma around menstruation but also the high financial cost many women are not able to bear as well as the environmental harm caused by the waste generated by menstrual products.

When it comes to stigma, the Instagram episode with Indian- origin poet Rupi Kaur really started the debate around how it was time the world stopped perceiving menstrual blood as dirty or something to hide. Her posts depicting period blood were removed by the famous social media platform, not once but twice, for not meeting the community standards. Kaur rightly pointed to the fact that the platform’s standards were absolutely alright when it came to objectifying women but not when it came to showing the realities of a woman’s body.

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In the same year, two women from the UK decided to protest the tampon tax as a reaction to the government refusing to repeal the tax on menstrual hygiene products. One of them, while organising a protest, wrote on her Facebook timeline, “Today, I am forgoing tampons and pads outside the houses of parliament to show how “luxury” tampons really are.” They both stood outside the parliament and bled through their white pants to showcase what it is like when you don’t have access to such items because of the high prices.

As for the environmental impact, you’d be surprised to know that India ends up generating waste of 12 billion pads per year which could take up to 500 to 800 years to decompose, according to a joint report by WaterAid India and the Menstrual Hygiene Alliance of India.

Hence, free bleeding has developed as a concept not just to protest the social stigma as well as the environmental harms but for many women, it has happened because of financial inaccessibility.

Nonetheless, many women are opting for it. So, what is it like, and is it worth it?
We went on Reddit to find the testimonies of women who had tried it. A user named MlleGateaux said that she does free bleed but only at night. Another named Xineee said, “I do “free-bleed” like every other month because even as an adult woman, I suck at keeping track of my menstrual cycle and when it’s gonna start back up again. Thankfully, I’ve always had light periods.”

Someone who goes by the username Abqkat said, “My period is super light and 2.5 days, so if I’m going to be out all day, I’ll bring a tampon but have had the same box of ’em for 5 years and don’t really use them often.”

Some women, however, talked about the impractical side of it all. Reddit user LizzieDane pointed out, “Nah my periods are extremely heavy. I suspect free bleeders either have quite light periods or everything is black at their houses.” Another user named Victorian_Vulcan said, “Nope. That sounds super messy and unsanitary.”

Are there any health benefits to it?
Well, there haven’t been studies that can concretely outline the benefits. However, one can easily assume that women who free bleed are less susceptible to rashes than those who use the average eight pads during their menstrual cycle.

Moreover, it also reduces the chances of a woman suffering from infections, the chances of which are higher when using menstrual products such as sanitary napkins as well as tampons.

However, you could possibly be leaving behind infections on the surface where you bleed which could affect others with a number of diseases. Raising awareness is important but we can all agree that it can’t come at the cost of someone’s health.

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Also, menstrual cups are a rather great choice when it comes to protecting the environment from menstrual products waste given that they can be reused for months!

In the end, the choice is yours. It has its pros and cons which you need to weigh before jumping on the trending bandwagon.