Perfect Girl: A Must-Read Handbook for Girls' Growth

Author: Sylvia Schneider
Translator: Huang Xueyuan
Country: Austria
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: The onset of menstruation often comes suddenly. If one is prepared beforehand or curious about becoming a woman, the transition can be smoother. We should trust our bodies, even though they may need some "practice" first: most girls still have irregular ovulation after their first period, which can lead to varying menstrual cycles. In most cases: the longer the menstrual cycle, the more likely it is to have heavier bleeding and pain. However, menstruation generally does not cause pain unless one is extremely stressed. This bodily phenomenon is so unique and mysterious, at least that’s how it feels. Not just teenagers, but adult women sometimes feel that their bodies act on their own without their consent. At first, it’s easy to think that menstruation always comes without warning and strikes at inappropriate times. But with experience and self-observation, every woman will eventually notice when her period is coming. They will also discover that the menstrual cycle is a reliable measure, reflecting their real-life circumstances. Anything can affect the menstrual cycle, such as how a woman is living, what touches her, what makes her happy or unhappy. All possible reasons can trigger a bodily response. For example, being startled, taking certain medications, or engaging in harmful lifestyles, or excessive stress. Even joyful experiences can influence the menstrual cycle, leading to various situations: missed periods, unusual symptoms a few days before menstruation, breast tenderness, ovulation without egg release, or ovulation accompanied by noticeable symptoms (such as mild abdominal cramps or slight bleeding), as well as other irregular symptoms. Our bodies often adapt automatically, quickly, and accurately to changes in life: we only need to observe the immense energy released by women during pregnancy to understand this. Or consider the fact that during the darkest of times, menstrual cycles could even stop automatically, preventing pregnancy and childbirth. The menstrual cycle and menstruation react directly to external influences, and these clear changes reveal a girl’s or woman’s current state. In crisis-ridden times, people are crushed by life, and a woman’s discomfort with her menstrual cycle may be even stronger than usual. But if she has recently started a relationship or landed her dream job, she might not even notice the changes in her body. On the other hand, when a woman is beautifully pregnant, she will feel joy at any sign related to her pregnancy, knowing she will soon have a little one.
In our society, the menstrual cycle is a normal and natural part of a woman’s life, yet many women struggle to accept it and integrate it positively into their lives. As a result, various pains and discomforts arise during this time. Such discomforts are 90% caused by non-physical reasons, setting obstacles to the full expression of a woman’s identity. These sensitive symptoms are often found in women with low self-esteem. This phenomenon has long existed: in the male-dominated thought patterns that still dominate us, women have long been marginalized. For centuries, women have been excluded by men. Even the stories and legends of famous women in history were written and told by men. This is precisely the evidence of women’s suppression or, at the very least, insufficient recognition over the centuries. Religion has always played a dominant role in discriminating against women. Because women have menstruation—once called "impurity"—they were denied equal rights and opportunities to participate continuously in political, economic, and social life. The consequences of this discrimination are still felt today, even if we don’t consciously realize it. Thus, our young girls sometimes feel the difficulties of being a woman in such a society.
Additionally, society’s understanding of health is primarily based on men. Men do not have menstrual cycles, or at least not as, and their physiology is considered stable in medical research. Men, by nature, are not as sensitive to physical and emotional changes as women, and they are portrayed as the ideal of a stable and healthy human being. In this image, the normal fluctuations in body and emotions that women experience are ignored. This idealized image of health does not reflect women’s reality. Under its influence, the flexibility of a woman’s body—this miracle of life, whether physical or mental, which demonstrates women’s great adaptability—is misunderstood as instability. Even women themselves often lean toward this negative perspective. A mother may pass this idea down to her daughter. Thus, women are taught from generation to generation that they are "naturally" inferior to men, should be more dependent, less adventurous, more emotional, more naive, and more shy. If a man exhibits these traits, he may be considered psychologically troubled. So, in theory, a "healthy" woman is equivalent to a man with psychological problems. Women are naturally weak and prone to illness, reflecting an ancient belief that still holds sway in our society. Therefore, we are taught that women are particularly susceptible to diseases during their periods. Although this idea should have been discarded long ago, it still lingers in our minds, affecting even young girls and trendy women. It remains a significant part of gynecological medical thought. Gynecology holds that women are exhausted and emotionally unstable during their monthly cycle. As a result, women feel it’s natural for them to be physically weak, or though they may sense that the old constraints no longer align with their desires, they don’t know how to resist or forge their own path. Irrational self-deprecation and the persistent societal discrimination against women lead to the result that teenage girls and young women unconsciously accept a distorted image of femininity, even self-identity and self-deception.
Good girls go to heaven, right? Maybe not.
Cosmetics