So here's some not-so-shocking news: Men think they know more about women's bodies than women do. Case in point: a guy who recently tweeted that he, as a guy, personally thinks that "menstrual pain is a myth."
Women, of course, aren't letting that statement stand.
It all started when the guy, who goes by @goldenconceptng on Twitter, tweeted out "What's worse than a broken heart?" To which a woman who goes by @RAFIAT_BELLO helpfully responded, "Menstrual pain, homelessness, hunger, etc." That, apparently, gave him the right to claim that women have just been lying all along and pretending to have PMS just for, we don't know, the fun of it?
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Luckily for us, but not so much for him, women (and some men and probably also people of other genders) have taken it upon themselves to shut him down.
So you really think you can just be bleeding and it won't be at least a little bit painful? Straight bleeding for 5 days? ?
— Rilwan Balogun (@Real001) July 16, 2017
Some people vomit during menstruation, some are given drips, some have to be medically put to sleep, some purge. Different body types.?
— Bella (@RAFIAT_BELLO) July 13, 2017
I have a friend that gets hospitalized every month. Wenever she has her period we all know cus she will be in the hospital.
— bella targaeryan ? (@BellaLaBomba) July 14, 2017
— Kim (@Kcubzz) July 17, 2017
As a guy, why do you think your opinion on this topic matters? pic.twitter.com/TT6idXw2zS
— Ari (@TheOnlyIbukun) July 14, 2017
I have lightheadedness, dizziness, nausea, severe hot flashes where I gotta lay in the cold shower, and I throw up ??♀️
— Jay ? (@partynextweexnd) July 15, 2017
Why can't you you people just keep quiet about things you don't know or have never experienced?
— Drunken Delight ? (@Chidaluuu_) July 13, 2017
— Winter ti de (@Misundastudent) July 13, 2017
In case it bears repeating — which it really, really shouldn't — menstrual pain is a real thing that many people experience. Medically, it's called dysmenorrhea, and according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, more than half of people who have a menstrual cycle experience this pain for at least one or two days.
Natural chemicals called prostaglandins that build up in the lining of your uterus are to blame. These are the chemicals that signal to your uterus that it's time to shed the lining that has built up over the last 28-ish days, which it does by muscle contractions. For some, those contractions are painful and lead to what we call cramps.
Others have even worse menstrual pain, which the ACOG says is "secondary dysmenorrhea." This can include endometriosis — a painful condition in which the uterine lining grows outside of the uterus, adenomyosis — in which the lining grows in the muscle wall of the uterus, and fibroids that grow in or outside of the uterus — which are sometimes painful, and sometimes not.
So, yeah, pretty safe to say we haven't been making that up.
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