Discussion Questions for The Body Project
Chapter 2: Sanitizing Puberty

Psyc425 F2009

1.       Do you look at menstruation more as a hygiene issue or as a coming of age for girls?

2.       Where did you learn the most about menstruation: school, physician, mother, siblings, peers, books, films, etc.?

3.       How did medicine and commercial interests help transform the menstruation experience? 

• What are the benefits and the drawbacks associated with these developments?
• E.g., sanitary products increased convenience for women, but also were extremely profitable and emphasized cleanliness over other meanings of menstruation.
• Physical aspects of menstruation were taught, but without links to maturity or sexuality.

4.       With the availability of printed materials and school sponsored  which contain information regarding menarche and becoming a woman, young girls can now  learn about puberty in different ways than they previously had.  Do you think that these sources of information are helpful to young women?  In what way?  Do these sources tend to leave out issues of importance?

•  When answering this question also think of the how the availability of these sources of information may have lead to changes both views of menstruation and on the mother-daughter relationship. 

5.       How was health/sex education different for daughters of middle class mothers compared to daughters of working class, and immigrant mothers?  Do you think this has had an impact on these young women? If so, how?  Can you imagine that there is still a difference in education levels between classes today? 

6.       Think back to when you first began menstruating, was “girl talk” about menstruation accepted? How did you talk about menstruation among your peers?  Did you have any secret names or phrases to keep your secret quiet?  Were you concerned at all about the pace of your development during puberty as compared to the development of your peers?

7.       One theme in the book suggests that mothers have a difficult time discussing puberty and menarche with their daughters.  Did you experience any such difficulty or were you able to talk openly with your mother or other adult woman? Was there anything you wish you would have known before your first period, which you wished your mother would have told you?

8.       Were there any rituals of initiation into womanhood related to menarche in your family?  Was it a cause of celebration?  Were you allowed or denied any privileges after you began menstruating?  Are you aware of cultures with menstruation rituals?

9.       If you had a daughter, at what age would you discuss menstruation with them?  Would have the ‘sex-talk’ with them at that time, or wait?  How open should parents be in discussing a daughter’s body and sexuality? In what ways would you inform and prepare your daughter for her future journey?

10.   Brumberg argues that although American girls are now more knowledgeable about their bodies, there is now a disconnect between menstruation and reproduction, so that menstruation is now more about hygiene and less about maturation. By turning attention away from internal changes, girls now focus more on external parts of their body (e.g., body image), potential effects on self-esteem What do you think of this argument about young women’s “body projects”?