I strongly believe that males should be educated on this matter,if they so wish as it is just a natural issue and not taboo in any shape or form whatsoever,I myself believe the more educated he is and is serious about the subject,it can lead to better lovemaking,intamacy,relationships and marriages,its a natural and beautiful,wonderful gorgeous subject

 In Africa culture there are many taboos,believes,myths which have made men shy away from menstruation talk.But logically why should you shy away from something that your kid,sister,wife goes through everything month?It makes no sense!Men/boys need to be taught how to help/guide our girls in the society.That's why one of our field guys Mr Omwaka is doing a research about.."why they've been avoiding and how they should be involved"

I am all for men and boys learning as much as they want about menstruation.  Likewise, I feel women and girls should be educated on the male system.  I'll grant that we learn more about male anatomy in school than we do female, but that doesn't mean we really take the time to understand it.  Mention menstruation?  The general male response is, "EWWW!"  Mention a wet dream?  The general female response is, "EWWW!"  Okay, children, if we want the other half to be sympathetic, we need to show some sympathy ourselves.

Boys should learn what happens to girls during puberty at the same time as they are learning about their own changing bodies. And it needs to be treated as a normal conversation and process: not about something that is dirty or shameful.

I wish men did understand menstruation better, so that they were more empathetic and informed about it instead of resorting to insensitive comments like "jeez, she must be on her period". (This Huffington Post story about the Bodyform response is funny, but why did the journalist have to start with that comment? Why is the so called CEO assumed to be "on her period" just because she delivered a blunt video reply? If you haven't watched this video, it's worth a view, as is "Adventures in Menstruation"s analysis of it.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/16/bodyform-the-truth-video-response_n_1970503.html

http://chartyourcycle.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/happiness/

Frankly, I wish more women took the time to understand what was going on with their bodies and were more mindful and gentle with themselves.

Boys and men absolutely need to be part of the conversation. This needs to happen everywhere in the world. In the book (and new documentary) Half the Sky, there are countless stories of girls and women are deliberately marginalized because men have this fear of women and want to hold on to power. This blog post came out yesterday, describing what it is like to be a teen girl. It's become a common story during our time.

http://sodisarmingdarling.tumblr.com/post/34106027759/what-its-like-being-a-teen-girl

I do not believer there needs to be a limit on what men need to know about menstruation. Gender is irrelevant. I think the conversation simply needs to remain respectful of people's boundaries about what they are willing to share and consume. If the conversation is healthy and respectful, I'm all for it!

Here is my take on Motherhood, Men and Menstruation (with video). 

http://lunapads.com/blog/2012/03/motherhood-menstruation-men/

My boys know about menstruation and I want them to be respectful of girls from the beginning (teasing happens too early and affects girls self esteem) and grow up to be men who are proud of women and the magic of their reproductive cycles.

Here's to #periodtalk!

Suzanne