I helped organize my high school's period prom, alternatively called the "blood ball," with my dance and feminism class. Everything went down completely awesome, and we're hoping to establish this as an annual event in my school.The period prom was a celebration of menstruation, for girls and transgender students only, and everyone wore red and the decorations were red and the food was red and we listened to all girl music. And after about an hour and a half the music was turned down and everyone discussed their period. At first people talked in no particular order, and then we all went around and shared positive things about bleeding. I was amazed at how excited girls were to talk and that the "workshop" was kept up with no lapses or odd silences for the hour and a half remaining of the dance.
Reasons girls said they liked their periods were:
#It was the only time of month that they gave complete attention to their bodies and going easy on themselves, and giving into and focusing on exactly what their bodies wanted (mainly food and rest and to be alone).
#Similarly, some girls liked having a time of month to focus on their vagina.
#Girls liked the emotional release that PMS gives them, and after it is over some felt like a weight is lifted from their shoulders, or like they had dealt with and gotten rid of things that had been bothering them the whole month before.
#Some girls liked knowing every month that they weren't pregnant.
#Others liked knowing that their body was still in good working order and doing what it was supposed to do.
#Some girls who used menstrual cups or diva cups (like me) liked seeing exactly how much blood they bleed every day, which you can see if you have a menstrual cup(and some liked giving their blood to the flowers).
#Some girls liked that some of the boys in their lives treated menstruation like a big, creepy mysterious thing that only girls were privy to the details of.
#Some girls liked that sex was more fun for them before or during their periods.
Other topics that came up were first periods, sex ed classes, and alternatives to pads and tampons. There were obviously a lot of negative feelings about menstruation shared as well, but the point of the prom was to have a celebration and maybe get girls to think more positively about this bodily function because it happens to all of us, every month, for a good number of years. Some older women teachers came and talked about menopause as well, but unfortunately they barely got a hearing because all the girls wanted to talk so much, which I thought was really too bad because I want to know how women feel after they stop bleeding.
Some boys were put out that they were not invited to celebrate menstruation also. I was one of the few in favor of having boys come and was voted down; in retrospect, I was glad it was an all girls event. I felt much more comfortable sharing personal stories with no guys there, and I don't know if other girls would have shared as much if guys had been there. I really got a sense of community just being in female company for three hours and talking about periods, and dancing just with girls just for ourselves. (Some boys are now thinking of organizing a "semen soiree," or a "phallus festival." I think it's a cute idea and maybe would make some guys feel better about being left out, but a penis fest would be different from a period prom in that the period prom was meant to make girls feel more positive about their periods, something that a lot of women and girls loath, and I think that guys already feel pretty damn positive about their penises).
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