Is Menstruation Obsolete?

Rating:
Summary: Potentially convincing--but I'm not convinced
Review: I find it hard to say this, as I'm not in the habit of flying in the face of well-marshalled evidence; but I'm really not convinced. I can't help but believe that behind this work are two suspect premises: a starting belief--not just a conclusion--in the inherent valuelessness of the inherently feminine (that is, that women should be more like men), and the inistence (which has also led to many strange diets) that we are, biologically, exactly what we were in prehistory. I can't accept either of these. Now it may fairly be said that this may be a personal bias; it's true that despite having fairly painful and heavy periods, I would be appalled at being asked to stop having them (menopause, I can see, is going to be...educational.) And I will agree that for women whose menstrual suffering is extreme, or whose health doesn't support it, there might be some benefits to giving menstruation up. However, I don't think I'm alone in believing that there are physical health benefits to be derived from menses in a healthy woman. Aren't there also scientists who believe that menstruation is good for the uterus, that the flow flushes out toxins and relieves the buildup of hormones? Mightn't it fairly be said that the action of hormones in the body is not so well understood that tampering with the hormonal cycles is not without risk? And physically speaking--this is anecdotal, yes, but not terribly subjective--this is a time when the body, at least, definitely acts differently. Colon and bladder tend to flush out as well as uterus; speaking for myself, I eat very little, drink a great deal of water, and come out of the menses feeling much more energetic. If there's time to physically rest--sleep, meditate, and let the body do its thing--the results are better still. All this suggests to me that, potential emotional or intellectual benefits aside, the body benefits from this rest or break in its normal activities. As for the "stone age" argument, I weary of hearing it in context with the so-called "cave man diet", and I'm not impressed with it here. We don't hesitate to live 20th century lives or to give up the "natural" when it suits us; we are not in agreement anyway about how "all" prehistoric humans lived (and I don't see us going back to getting most of our protein from grasshoppers and carrion, a reasonable probability.) No one seems to have convincing evidence that we *couldn't* have adjusted to eating bread or having fewer children over the course of 10,000 years (a moth's characteristic coloring can change in a few generations, when natural selection is sufficiently intense). And, finally, we are already living hugely longer and more healthy lives than our supposedly protein-heavy and perpetually pregnant ancestors--so why do we want to go back to their biological model? If indeed menstruation is a drain on our health, it's clearly not half the drain of repeated pregnancy and childbearing, but no one asks if pregnancy is obsolete. If periods do "become obsolete", if women do--as so many men AND women seem to want--become "more like men", I really can't believe that this would be an overall benefit. Yes, it can be inconvenient to menstruate--in a world geared to men's cycles and programmed to ignore women's. Yes, we might be able to stay "younger" by not doing so--in a world which apparently values perpetual youth (with its shallowness and self-absorption). But the real problem is not menstruation; it's the insistent spread of industrial western dogma, which says that we should never need to rest from work and hard play, never be at the mercy of our bodies, and never grow old. Not me. I want to rest when I'm tired and fuzzy; I want to work with my body instead of running it by remote control from up above; and I want to experience the change that cycles of all kind bring. This is what people used to call life. Without these things, I'm not sure what to call it.

Rating:
Summary: Give it a Chance
Review: Inspired by the premise of this book, I have gone without menstruating for two years now, and my only regret is that I didn't cease ten years earlier. I see absolutely no benefits of monthly bleeding.

Rating:
Summary: Illogical Outcomes
Review: The menstrual cycle culminating in monthly shedding of the uterus is much much more than just a monthly bleeding process. Unfortunately few modern women are in touch with the many benefits of our natural cycle, the time in the cycle of high creativity, the time to go in and be reflective, the time to be a powerful woman, the time of higher sex drive, etc. Since so few women understand or use effectively the hormone changes throughout the month, most see it as just a nuisance. All in all there has been very little research on the woman's cycle, so it is very hard to understand how Coutinho can come to the conclusions he has reached in his book. Men are living longer too and one of the most frequently seen diseases in older men is prostrate cancer which is relieved when sperm is suppressed. So would he advocate removing the ability to produce sperm for men of middle age to reduce the chance of prostrate cancer? To take medication that would eliminate menstruation to prevent a disease that an individual might or might not get and suffer a reduced sex drive, and lose the benefit of the monthly cycle just doesn't make sense. In an interniew Coutinho even said that loss of a woman's sex drive was not important. Well some of us would like to keep our libido intact.

Rating:
Summary: Menstruation Definitely Deserving Research
Review: There certainly is a great amount of information to be found in this book. Although there is a tendency for the reading to somewhat "lost in the translation" from the original edition, the premise is very straightforward and provocative. As more research is conducted in the areas of female reproductive system, this book should serve as a good introduction. There is sound reasoning that menstruation be suppressed in women with endometriosis, anemia, and other afflictions. Additional research suggests that other diseases will be connected to menstruation once more is understood. The prevailing theme is strongly reasserted throughout the book. Women have only recently been enduring menstruation on a regular basis. The fact that women, throughout history, have been in either a pregnant or lactating condition is one fact which clearly illustrates the point. I also found the early chapters which give a chronological foundation, to be informative. The early history, from the Roman Empire through the modern age, was quite interesting. I do recommend the book. I am convinced that if more people were to read the book, health and wealth would be logical consequences.

Rating:
Summary: Give it a Chance
Review: This book is a must read for every woman who wants to better understand menstruation and the cycles of her life. The author writes in fascinating detail from a historical, medical, and cultural perspective about what causes menstruation, how it has evolved through time, and what facts are important to current discussions about menstruation. The author makes a convincing argument that menstruation is not obligatory. He details the troubling disorders related to contunial menstruation such as anemia, endometriosis, and PMS. He then purports suppressing menstruation results in increased health advantanges for women. This book cannot be ignored. It provides critical information that will help any women make an informed decision regarding her health.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: This book is a must read for every woman who wants to better understand menstruation and the cycles of her life. The author writes in fascinating detail from a historical, medical, and cultural perspective about what causes menstruation, how it has evolved through time, and what facts are important to current discussions about menstruation. The author makes a convincing argument that menstruation is not obligatory. He details the troubling disorders related to contunial menstruation such as anemia, endometriosis, and PMS. He then purports suppressing menstruation results in increased health advantanges for women. This book cannot be ignored. It provides critical information that will help any women make an informed decision regarding her health.