Time to end this period drama
Periods. Menses. Waiwhero. ‘‘That time of the month’’, as golfer Lydia Ko professed in her post-game interview on Monday.
Social media erupted with praise for the 25-year-old golf star’s honesty on why she needed physiotherapy in the last round of the Palos Verdes Championship, in which she tied for third.
The reaction from interviewer Jerry Foltz was priceless, but his reaction spoke to the wider context when it comes to talking about menstruation in sport – it doesn’t happen, and when it does (some) people feel uncomfortable about it.
To put it bluntly, periods are not comfortable. For some, as Ko outlined, it causes back pain, for others it’s like experiencing a Trent Boult fast ball to the nether regions relentlessly for days on end.
I hate to point out the bleeding obvious, but more than half of New Zealand’s population experience this natural, normal occurrence. It’s about time we normalised the discussions about periods, particularly in the ways it impacts girls’ and women’s ability to participate and engage in sport.
In 2021, Sport New Zealand found there was a significant decrease in participation in sport by girls and young women in their teenage years. Reasons include feeling body conscious, and inappropriate uniform design.
Both community level and elite level female athletes have spoken about the impact of uniform design, especially while menstruating. In gymnastics, we’ve heard stories of athletes withdrawing from competition and training because of the tiny uniforms that do not offer much coverage.
Then there are the white uniforms. ‘‘Please stop making us wear white’’ was the call from those who engaged in research from Victoria University in Melbourne that addressed major barriers for female participation in sport. The research found 64% of girls want dark-coloured bottoms.
The research found girls reported feeling self-conscious about their period and the colour white exacerbating this feeling, particularly when theywere concerned about leaking.
It’s the same for elite athletes such as Football Fern striker Katie Rood, whose international uniform is mainly white. ‘‘That’s your team colours. You deal with it, but there’s been times when you’re a little uncomfortable or concerned, and I’ve had teammates that have bled through. It’s awkward and uncomfortable,’’ she told Stuff last year.
‘‘As a team, you check up on each other at times. You give those around you a warning ‘hey, this could happen, could you keep an eye out for me’.
‘‘You shouldn’t have to do that. You just want to play the game and do it the best you canwithout having to worry about that.’’
One in two girls are skipping sportwhile menstruating, according to recent research from global sportswear brands Puma and Modibodi. The brands are launching specially designed leakproof underwear for athletes.
Then there’s period poverty – the inability to access sanitation products because of cost. A 2018 report from KidsCan found one in two women struggled to access these necessities because of price, and one in five had missed work or school because of period poverty.
In 2020 the Government rolled out a scheme to provide free period products for schools, to help girls attend school, sport and cultural activities.
Sport Waikato has also recognised period poverty is a major barrier to participation for girls, and in 2021, via their This is MEcampaign, they started providing workshops and free period products, including leakproof underwear care of New Zealand brand AWWA. I really wished these types of garments were available when I was younger, playing in a boys’ cricket team, in a white uniform.
There’s also the historical societal (and cultural) stigma that comes with menstruation. In a sociological setting, sport was created by men, for men’s bodies and interests, with many practices designed for men – such as fitness standards – still being applied to women today.
Thankfully, there’s excellent work going on by Dr Stacey Sims and the WHISPA team associated with High Performance SportNZ to progress this conversation.
They’re not shying away from it, and neither is Ko. Nor should you, regardless of who you are – mum, dad, coach ...
As Ko said ‘‘honesty it is’’, so it’s time to get honest and talk about it. Period.
It’s about time we normalised the discussions about periods.