Men And Women Talk Period Shaming, And Everyone Learns Something

For a necessary biological function that more than half of the population has experienced, some of us are awfully sensitive about menstruation.

People with uteruses have periods. It's a fact. Whether you like it or not, there's probably a person in your general vicinity who is currently menstruating.

But the phenomenon remains taboo in such a way that it's hard to have open conversations -- especially with men. But where does that stigma come from?

The Refinery 29 video above traces a history of period shame, explaining the sometimes oppressive-seeming religious and cultural rules surrounding menstruation. Ironically, without the menstrual cycle, none of us would be here, so we'd do well to celebrate this pretty amazing system in the body. Learn more about the history of stigma around periods by watching the video above -- then let's conspire to break it down.