Constructions of Femininity and Experiences of Menstrual Distress

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between constructions of feminine gender identity and experiences of menstrual distress. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess the relationship between femininity and PMS. Statistically significant correlations were found between T-scores for femininity on the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1978) and total distress scores on the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (Moos, 1991). Analysis of the qualitative data suggests that women engage in intense premenstrual bodily surveillance, and the data support Ussher, Hunter, and Browne's (2000) findings that the 'PMS self' becomes lived as an identity position in contrast to a 'real' or 'non-PMS sell.' The authors conclude that our biopsychiatric discourse about PMS functions to legitimize traditional constructions of femininity and that future research should conceptualize menstrual distress as both lived experience and social construction.

A Complex Negotiation: Women's Experiences of Naming and Not Naming Premenstrual Distress in Couple Relationships

“…The notion of women splitting off unacceptable or atypical emotions and behaviors during the premenstrual phase by positioning them as not-me, thus framing the non-premenstrual self as the real-me is well documented (Chrisler & Caplan, 2002;Cosgrove & Riddle, 2003;McDaniel, 1988;Ussher, 2004). A slightly different pattern was evident in this analysis, with some women naming 'PMS' to let their partners know their distress was not their partner's fault, with associated partner relief at this attribution; that is, distress is split off from the relationship.…”

“…Naming their experiences as 'PMS' then, may provide an opportunity for women to air grievances or emotions not usually acceptable, something Elson (2002) described as a 'redeployment' of the reproductive body to meet women's emotional needs. However, the label of 'PMS' means that questions of legitimacy will always exist -are these issues real or just 'PMS' (Cosgrove & Riddle, 2003). A different kind of legitimacy was a concern for women who described a partner's denial of 'PMS' itself.…”

“…Many women experience premenstrual changes in emotion or behavior, due to a combination of corporeal, environmental, relational, and psychological factors, but this change is not inevitably a source of distress, or positioned as a pathology, as Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) (Ussher 2006). Seeking to explicate the cultural context which is implicated in this positioning, examinations of popular culture, self-help texts and medical discourse repeatedly demonstrate a dominant and coherent construction of premenstrual change as 'PMS' (Chrisler & Caplan, 2002;Cosgrove & Riddle, 2003;Markens, 1996;Ussher, 2006). This comprises a negative construction of the 'PMS' sufferer as "irrational, emotional and out of control" (Chrisler & Caplan, 2002, p. 286), with premenstrual change characterized as a pathology caused by hormones that can "cause strained relationships, feelings of despair and worthlessness" (Markens, 1996, p. 46).…”

“…Cosgrove and Riddle (2003) suggest that women are strongly expected to explain behavior or emotions that are deemed to be outside the normal conventions of femininity: the calm, controlled, coping wife and mother, who is always available to care for others, regardless of her own needs and concerns (Ussher, 2006). Some evidence also suggests that women regard being able to label their experience of premenstrual changes as 'PMS' as an important part of validating their experience and recognizing it as a serious biomedical condition (Lee, 2002;Raitt & Zeedyk, 2000).…”

A Structural Equation Modeling on Premenstrual Syndrome in Adolescent Girls

“…www.kan.or.kr 선행 연구에 따르면 청소년기 여학생의 월경전증후군은 초경연 령 [5], 체질량지수 [12], 월경량 [9], 월경태도 [3], 여성성 [13], 일상과 학 업에 대한 스트레스 [5,6], 시험불안 [14] 및 사회적 지지 [15] …”