'There's a lot of propaganda about the menstrual cycle'

Dr. Jen Gunter, the 'internet's gynecologist, is setting the record straight in 'Blood'

- By Kristin Rushowy

As a teen, Dr. Jen Gunter used to bleed heavily every month and, at that time, the pads she needed were so big and bulky they came in a suitcase-sized pack she remembers carrying home precariously while riding her bike.

But it was those rides — which she preferred to taking a trip to the store with her parents to buy them — that got her thinking about periods and why they happen.

That was the beginning of her desire to find out more about the menstrual cycle and, after 30-plus years as a gynecologist — Gunter has now become the “internet’s gynecologist” given her enormous popularity online for her crusade against misinformation — she’s written a book that will make you realize just how little you know about it.

“Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation” covers all the things we never learned: from the how and why behind periods, to PMS, abnormal pain and bleeding, to the history of products and the array of modern ones (including some interesting finds on Gyno Etsy). How patriarchy and misogyny labelled menstruation as dirty and shameful, and how that led to the topic — even the words around it — being such a taboo.

“I really hope it helps to destigmatize the process; I hope to help people be more empowered about what’s happening to their body so they can learn that they’re not alone,” said Gunter, who grew up in Winnipeg and did her medical residency at Western University in London, Ont., but now lives in California.

“They can understand … and they can advocate for themselves. And they can also sort through misinformation online because, sadly, there’s a lot of propaganda about the menstrual cycle and that has a huge impact.”