Red is the Color of Our Passions

Sex, anger, volcanoes, energy, action.
Red is the color of our blood.

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I hated my  period.
Mrs. Hori, my 10th grade biology teacher,
shined  the light on the miraculousness of
the female body.  As we studied the precise
and exact cycles and chain reactions that allowed the
egg to mature, release, travel, be fertilized or not,
and then shed as menstruation...my shame and anger
toward my femaleness began to thaw.
It didn’t make me love my period,
but it made me hate it less.

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In the 1970s, Gloria Steinem wrote an essay
exploring, with humor, the idea,
“If men could menstruate...”
It is quite a funny little piece.
But it speaks to the 1970s.
Today, in the Loves, the 00s, the Aughts,
we need to update the sentiment.
Today, our sentiment is more like:
love our bodies,
love ourselves,
release shame,
embrace cycles,
and don’t worry about the men!
Let’s get our house in order,
and then invite them in,
only if and when we’re willing...

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When you abhor the body’s products,
you abhor the body.
Shame is the by-product.
We can all do without shame.
Shame creates negativity, stagnation, loathing.
Let’s shed our shame.
Let it roll out of us like our menstrual blood flows,
each month, month after month.

Shed the Shame!