if men bled,

There would be policies written to accommodate their need for rest.

We’d hear about how incredible it is that they have the ability to carry and birth new life into the world, and how utterly powerful and amazingly unmatched their bodies are.

If men bled, there would be far more studies done on how to support health within the menstrual cycle, and “try birth control” as a suggestion for managing intense period irregularity and pain would be unacceptable. It would be absolutely criminal to expect them to carry on with life per-usual when they were cramping, bleeding heavily, or feeling totally tapped out of their strength.

“Rest when you bleed, and conquer the world when you ovulate” would be the slogan on all the commercial ads, and every store would have books on hand for cycle tracking and fertility awareness and meal plans per each phase of the cycle.

If men bled, it would be glorified and everyone, girls and boys alike, would be taught how to care for them well when they bleed and how important it is that they do this — so there would be great respect for this process.

They would be proud of their physiology and the vital role they play in the continuation of all people.

They’d have badass stickers on their hard hats at work about how cool they are and how life literally wouldn’t happen if not for them. They’d have a network of buddies who bring meals for them when they bleed so they don’t have to cook or worry about nourishing and replenishing their energy stores while their incredibly wise womb cleanses out what no longer serves them.

If men bled… it would not be a secret and it would not be shameful.

So dear woman, own it.

Let me say too, I love men.

I love men because they are inherently not women, and because they also play such an important and vital role in the world that is so different from our female task here. Their strength and willpower is amazing and my smart-assy made-up story here is not intended to downplay that.

We balance one another, our feminine to their masculine, our yin to their yang, our intuitive fluctuation to their steady constant.

What I don’t love though, is watching women try to make themselves small or different for the sake of fitting into the box of the “man’s world” and then struggle silently because of it, accepting that as a form of fate. When the feminine is silenced and we muddy up our differences, the whole world suffers in so many ways.

This is what happens when masculinity forgets the essential role of the feminine and assumes power-over instead of standing in their vital role of protection-of.

So, I hope this (somewhat?) dramatized write-up offered you another perspective, or at least a good little chuckle.

Because how different it would be if we learned to honor every part of ourselves in this way, how different it would be if we spoke openly about what’s needed where we are now in our cycle (not last week, not next week, but.. now), and if we were to raise our children respecting themselves in this way and having a knowledge of the differences in the opposite sex and how to honor them, too.

This is the heart behind the Auntie Circles I offer, in hope to start the conversation and unravel and remove the stigma around what it is to be a woman and to woman well. Whether you’re a mother who was never really handed your torch and had to forge your way yourself, or even have young girls in your life you’d love to help start these conversations with — or really anywhere beyond or between, this is for you.

Part of woman-ing well is having a knit circle of gals we can collaborate with on these such things in a healthful and whole way.

I’d love to hear from you, any positive comments, questions, or curiosities are welcome.

<3

G