Periods are a completely natural, normal part of life for much of the population, but the topic is still something that too many of us are embarrassed about or don't want to discuss.
According to a new survey from The Flex Company — which polled more than 2,000 women from six different countries — about 73% of women polled worldwide either sometimes or always hide their periods from other people.
And that's not all — at least 68% of women globally were embarrassed to talk about their periods with men. That's not too surprising, given how many people still think that menstruation is somehow gross.
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The survey gathered a lot of interesting insight on what these women think about their periods, and the different ways in which they experience menstruation.
Women in the U.S., for example, used more tampons than they did pads, but were also the least satisfied with the period products they used. On the other hand, 93% of women in China used pads as opposed to tampons, though 90% of Chinese women said they wished there were more options for period products.
American women were also more likely to have period sex, with 34% saying they'd "of course" have it, while 67% of Chinese women surveyed said that they would never have sex on their period.
By the way, period sex is totally safe — and it can be fun — but to each their own.
Period sex feelings aside, the survey also showed that menstruation myths still run rampant — 34% of women in India are concerned about bear, shark, or lion attacks specifically during their period, presumably out of fear that blood could attract animals. Don't worry — that's not true.
Needless to say, the survey found some pretty interesting things about all the different ways we talk about and handle that time of the month. Read more about the survey on The Flex Company's website.
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