A Menstrual Cycle can also be known as a "Period", "Mother Nature", "Aunt Flow", all of which refers to the bleeding caused by cramping of the uterus through the vaginal opening for 5-7 days. This cycle happens once a month (or 26-36 days) after their first cycle begins. The Menstrual Cycle can happen as early as 7-8 years of age, the average beginning at age 10-13 years of age. However, if your Menstrual Cycle has not shown up by around the age of 15, make sure to check with your doctor to see if you need any extra medical care from an OBGYN or other Medical Professionals. This is the number one reason why discussing Menstrual Cycles at a young age with both young girls and young boys. It's important for us to do a service to our next generational by not hiding the reality of human anatomy. Teaching about menstration and the menopausal process to all young people is important for us to understand the proper ways of having public conversations about menstrual cycles. We say that teaching your child about autonomy, body part identification, and menstrual cycle knowlegde is important starting around ages 5&6. Children know more than you think and it's our job to give them the tools not to get in danger. While it will never be most children, there will always be some who start their menstrual cycles really early (like 7-8 yrs). 

*We also want to mention how abortion laws have been protecting abusers and rapists who are close to young victims, by not allowing for abortions, increasing complications to childhood pregnancy, and traumatizing young children.*

Menstrual Cycles can cause unnecessary pain via cramping, headaches & migraines, nausea, bowel issues, and cyst & scare tissue formation with conditions like Endometriosis and Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). When we discuss time off from work, and making equal environments we often discount the menstrual cycles that people experience that may cause them to be unable to work the same. 

People who experience menstrual cycles are often referred to as women, but it is also important for us to discuss the trans-men and nonbinary people in the menstruating group. Not everyone wants to be referring to their menstrual cycle as something that is specifically feminine, while others may attach womanhood with their menstrual cycle. All of those identities and feelings are positive, but we have to make room for all of them to exist together. 

It's also very important to think about the burden of purchasing menstrual products to manage periods symptoms such as pads, tampons, menstrual cups, period underwear, reusable pads, etc. There are companies that have worked to remove harmful carcinogens such as chlorine, bleach, and the reduction of single use plastics. These menstrual products can also cause toxic shock if there is over exposure to the components of the products. Make sure to research the kind of products you plan to use to an extent. The PINK TAX is real and you can try to avoid it by buying straight from the website, but we all know that getting things off the shelf can be necessary. The purchasing of menstrual products can be very hard on the individuals who have low income, and they are often the least donated item. If you can please take time to donate menstrual products to those in need that can be awesome, but you can also leave them new products in public bathrooms so that someone else can pick them up when needed. If you attend a university or school see if you can get students together to pass a Menstrual Cycle or Period Bill to provide free resources to those in need on campus. Many schools have been recently adopting this practice, for the overwhelming affect it has on the pockets of college and highschool students. 

We hope that we can foster a conversation where the act of sex itself is not sexualized. It is vital that we are able to come together as a species, across both sexes, to understand that sexual activity has historically not always been pleasurable for everyone involved, and the force of birthing and sex on females, has created a generational shift in how one may view sexual activity. When coming at these conversations from a scientific perspective, we have to remain aware that these are functions of our bodies, and for some the lack of function or ability is really difficult to manage. The more we have educated conversations on these topics, the less scared or stigmatizing it will be to experience them. We all have these bodies, yet we still want to live in a world where we pretend we don't know. There is nothing that should be forcibly hidden from the rest of the world, especially if it is about the state of our bodies or lives, we are here on Earth to wittness one another. We should curate a society where there is no justification for unconsensual actions that comes from ever mistaking another human's state of being as 'promiscuity', for that is a grave dishonor to our own species. Promiscuity itself, is a word that should have never needed to exist, only used to describe a women's presentation from a horrendous man's perspective. 

Another example, being able to discuss an orgasm and how they can occur for/in different bodies, without sexualizing the conversation, is imperative for us to have a framework and move through discussing the ways pleasure can occur with another person, without creating unnecessary pressure or being uneducated about potential needs. 

There are many groups of people who do not experience, or define, sexual pleasure in the ways typical society may; and beyond their ability for such, they carry entire lives with them still. We often forget about people's traumas (old or new), and that emotional, physical, or mental these traumas stay with us, changing in the soft ways they might, but they never go away. We have to keep in mind that outside of ability or want, all bodies experience orgasm and pleasure differently in the physical form. This along, with the complexity of different genitalia potentially needing different stimulation to achieve pleasure, can influence the series of actions so that sexual acts are only pleasurable for one person at a time. 

 From a neurological perspective, we have to keep in mind that sexual pleasure and sexual desires have always lived in the part of the brain responsible for fight or flight, and our adrenaline centers, which means for those who've experienced a lot of their life in severe fight or flight, sexual activities may be a different experience. It is often that people experience intense emotional releases when they experience sexual pleasure, which is something that we as a society should be foster more in conversation. 

Many groups of people experience their pleasure in different ways depending on how sexual activities have occured in their lives, and how it affects them. We know that 1 in 6 women have been assaulted, so we understand that there may be direct trauma associated with the act of sex, and sexual pleasure. The act of sexual reproduction for the intention of birth can also bring it's own from of trauma for many people. Experiencing a misscarriage or loss of a child, is a life-changing experience, one that may temporarily or long-term affect the people who are in that relationship. For parents going through infertility, the act of sexual activity can become associated with negative emotions rather than positive ones.  That does not mean that sexual activity isn't pleasurable for people in this situation, but that the pleasure is not being done for the act of pleasure, but to lead to a child. 

• Understanding Our Bodies

• Access to Healthcare

• Pregnancy

• Birth/After Birth

• Adoption

• Infertility 

• Abortion

• Consent

• Body Systems

• What We Eat

• Meditation/Affirmations

• Menstrual Cycles

• Microbiome and Pathogens

• Viruses and Vaccines

• Disabilities and Differences

• Sexual Health

• Virginity

• Orgasm

• Sexual Intercourse

• STI Protection Options

• Contraception

• Parenthood

• Sexual Violence (Trigger Warning)

• Mental Health

• Seeking Mental Healthcare

• Perception

• Emotion Guide

• Desires and Motivations

• Unsafe Family Life

• Suicidal Peer Harm Prevention Guide

• Community Health

• Relationships

• Avoiding Predators

• Language Barriers

• Who Should I talk to?

• Drugs and Interactions

• Harm Reduction

• Substances

• Overdose Protocol 

• Gender and Sexuality 

• LGBTQIA+

• Femininity & Masculinity

• Homophobia & Transphobia

• Sexism