Period Pain Isn’t ‘Just Part of Life’: The Medical Neglect of Menstruation
“It’s Normal” is a Silencing Tool
Period pain gets brushed off constantly—with classics like:
“It’s just part of being a woman.”
“Totally normal.”
“Take a Tylenol.”
But real talk? That’s not medical advice—it’s a shutdown. The soundtrack of systemic failure.
Menstrual pain isn’t just a footnote in life’s story—it’s a glaring headline.
Yet, it’s minimized, under-researched, and undertreated. Here’s the kicker: period pain isn’t inevitable. It’s been normalized because menstruation has been medically and culturally neglected.
How Period Pain Became Invisible In the First Place
Welcome to healthcare, where male bodies have been the blueprint for everything. Menstruation? At best, a footnote. At worst, a punchline. An afterthought labeled as inconvenient, emotional, and non-urgent.
The cultural ick around periods (read: blood, hormones, “female problems”) means that even today, legit period pain gets waved off like it’s just us being dramatic. But the reality?
91% of us feel period pain—and almost one in three of us are writhing so hard it’s ‘severe.’ (Source)
That’s not ‘just part of life,’ that’s a public health crisis. It’s missing school or work, vomiting from cramps, passing out from fatigue. And still being told, “it’s normal.”
When “Normal” Becomes a Weapon
“Normal” pain doesn’t mean “unfixable.” But in the medical world, “normal” often equals “not worth looking into.”
That’s why diagnoses like endometriosis take an average of 7–10 years. That’s why so many of us leave the doctor’s office feeling worse than when we walked in. And that’s how medical trauma starts.
The Research Gap: Why We Know So Little
Menstrual health research is chronically underfunded, and pain conditions affecting women are left in the shadows. Contrast this with the well-oiled machine of other medical research areas. Sure, there’s global awareness, even nods from the World Health Organization, but where’s the action? In fact only 1% of healthcare R&D goes to female-specific conditions beyond cancer. Periods are invisible in research budgets. (Source)
There is some good news though…
Several female (surprise, surprise) founders, scientists and researchers are mobilizing menstrual blood research through healthtech startups like Daye, NextGen Jane, Qvin. And there has been a surge of new period product access and education companies like Aunt Flow, August and others knocking on all the right doors. The Gates Foundation has pledged $2.5B by 2030 for under-researched women’s health—including menstrual health. (Source)
And early research into menstrual blood? Game-changing.
Even some experts are saying menstrual cycle data should be routinely documented—like BMI or blood pressure—because it can flag everything from thyroid issues to rheumatoid arthritis. (Source)
The Feminist Lens: Why This Is a Structural Problem
Across U.S. research, period poverty and untreated menstrual pain consistently emerge not as private inconveniences, but as structural failures with real educational and economic consequences.
Studies show that millions of menstruating students miss school, struggle to concentrate, or disengage academically because they lack access to menstrual products, adequate pain management, or supportive school policies—turning a predictable biological reality into an institutional barrier. These harms are not evenly distributed: low-income students and marginalized communities are disproportionately affected, reinforcing cycles of educational disruption and long-term economic disadvantage.
At the same time, cultural stigma and silence around menstruation compound the problem, discouraging students from seeking help and allowing schools and policymakers to treat the issue as invisible. The result is a system where menstruation quietly undermines participation, performance, and opportunity—not because it must, but because U.S. policy, education, and infrastructure have failed to account for it.
Pain Is Not the Price of Having a Body
Let’s hammer this home: period pain should never be dismissed by default. Change is possible—better research, better listening, better care. Pain that’s been normalized for centuries is still pain—and it deserves attention.
Now, what are we going to do about it? Let’s raise our voices, document our symptoms, and support each other—because we are not the problem. But we might be the solution.
