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Bloating. Headaches. Moodiness. Cramps.
Always. Bella. Carefree. Kotex. Libresse. Lil-lets. Lunapads. o.b. Playtex. Poise. Rely. Silky Cup. Stayfree. Summer's Eve. Tampax. Thinx. Uline. U.
Maxi thin. Barely there. Radiant. Ultrathin with wings. Pro comfort applicator. Ultrathin teen pads. Pearl plastic. Security Maxi. All-nighter ultra. Fitness ultra-thin regular absorbency.
Sanitary napkins. Tampons. Panty liners. Menstrual cups. Menstrual sponges.
Contradicting the claim of Elaine and English Showalter (1970) that “unlike sexual activities … menstruation has not literary reflection, true or false,” James Joyce's Ulysses (1922/1986) not only mentions the menstrual period as “a theatrical event for Molly” who, as Cheryl Herr (1989) observes, “remains remarkably free from cramps or discomfort; she is incommoded only by having to sit on the broken commode,” but Joyce's text attributes to them epistemological value in speculations about what constitutes femininity. Here is a sample:
How many women in Dublin have it today? Martha, she. Something in the air. That's the moon. But then why don't all women menstruate at the same time with the same moon, I mean? Depends on the time they were born, I suppose. Or all start scratch then get out of step. (1922/1986, p. 301)
Ulysses has several references and disparate speculations about menses: they release women's bodies of excess blood; they are regulated by the moon; they cause headaches; they are the result of divinely ordained force of nature; they enhance desire; they are an illness. When Molly finds out that she is menstruating, she is worried that her period may spoil the sexual encounter with Boylan on Monday. For a moment, Molly reviles womanhood, lamenting “the usual monthly auction.” Menses appear as an impediment, a debility, something always wrong with women “5 days every 3 or 4 weeks” (1922/1986, p. 632). Molly leaves the bed for the chamber pot. She discharges a mix of urine and blood and, perhaps hoping to escape the