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Functional Periodicity: An Experimental Study of the Mental and Motor Abilities of Women During Menstruation
Excerpt from Functional Periodicity: An Experimental Study of the Mental and Motor Abilities of Women During Menstruation
The present study concerns itself with the mental and motor abilities of women during menstruation, a question of special interest in the United States, where co-education and the higher education of women are well established.
The literature of ethnology retates in variety and detail the ancient superstitions and primitive practices that center around the functional periodicity of women. Menstruation has always been the object of superstition and taboo, and is such even among the civilized peoples of to-day. As an instance of the long survival of savage notions it may be pointed out that The British Medical Journal as late as 1878 contains a long and serious correspondence and discussion as to whether a menstruating woman will contaminate the food which she touches. One contributor puts himself on record as follows;
"I thought the fact was so generally known to every housewife and cook that meat would spoil if salted at the menstrual period, that 1 am surprised to see so many letters in The Journal. If I am not mistaken, the question was mooted many years ago in the periodicals. It is undoubtedly the fact that meat will be tainted if cured by women at the catamcnial period... Whatever the rationale may be, I
can speak positively as to the fact."1
Another contributor, opposed to medical education for women, exclaims:
"If such bad results accrue from a woman curing dead meat whilst she is menstruating, what would result, under similar conditions, from her attempt to cure living flesh in her midwifery or surgical practice?"
The present study concerns itself with the mental and motor abilities of women during menstruation, a question of special interest in the United States, where co-education and the higher education of women are well established.
The literature of ethnology retates in variety and detail the ancient superstitions and primitive practices that center around the functional periodicity of women. Menstruation has always been the object of superstition and taboo, and is such even among the civilized peoples of to-day. As an instance of the long survival of savage notions it may be pointed out that The British Medical Journal as late as 1878 contains a long and serious correspondence and discussion as to whether a menstruating woman will contaminate the food which she touches. One contributor puts himself on record as follows;
"I thought the fact was so generally known to every housewife and cook that meat would spoil if salted at the menstrual period, that 1 am surprised to see so many letters in The Journal. If I am not mistaken, the question was mooted many years ago in the periodicals. It is undoubtedly the fact that meat will be tainted if cured by women at the catamcnial period... Whatever the rationale may be, I
can speak positively as to the fact."1
Another contributor, opposed to medical education for women, exclaims:
"If such bad results accrue from a woman curing dead meat whilst she is menstruating, what would result, under similar conditions, from her attempt to cure living flesh in her midwifery or surgical practice?"
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First published August 4, 1914
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March 22, 2024
“Thus, in time, may be written a psychology of woman based on truth, not on opinion; on precise, not on anecdotal evidence; on accurate data rather than on remnants of magic.”
Leta Stetter Hollingworth silenced misogynistic men in the early 20th century, and she did it flawlessly. Coming from a time where women were not hired due to the belief that menstruation incapacitated them physically and mentally for 6 days each month. It was even adopted as an argument against conceding political freedom to women. In her investigation she goes through past literature of male writers who don’t use tangible evidence to support their statements whatsoever. It is difficult to understand such striking disparity between what had been accepted as true and the facts obtained from the scientific method. Leta hypothesized that this is attributed to the view of woman as a mysterious being, “half hysteric, half angel” in the novelist’s writing at the time. Or could also be because at the time all investigators were men, and the taboo put upon the phenomenon rendered it to a less approachable subject for experiment. I would recommend anyone in the scientific community to read this paper. One thing is to hear about the famous Leta Hollingworth and her achievements, and another is experiencing it firsthand.
Leta Stetter Hollingworth silenced misogynistic men in the early 20th century, and she did it flawlessly. Coming from a time where women were not hired due to the belief that menstruation incapacitated them physically and mentally for 6 days each month. It was even adopted as an argument against conceding political freedom to women. In her investigation she goes through past literature of male writers who don’t use tangible evidence to support their statements whatsoever. It is difficult to understand such striking disparity between what had been accepted as true and the facts obtained from the scientific method. Leta hypothesized that this is attributed to the view of woman as a mysterious being, “half hysteric, half angel” in the novelist’s writing at the time. Or could also be because at the time all investigators were men, and the taboo put upon the phenomenon rendered it to a less approachable subject for experiment. I would recommend anyone in the scientific community to read this paper. One thing is to hear about the famous Leta Hollingworth and her achievements, and another is experiencing it firsthand.
Displaying 1 of 1 review