Men and Menstruation : A Social Transaction

What’s with the men in menstruation? This is the question Men in Menstruation: A Social Transaction sets out to answer. From earliest times men have been puzzled and perplexed by the menstrual cycle and have constructed elaborate taboos, superstitions, and practices attempting to explain why women have a periodical emission of a fluid that resembles blood but is not the result of an injury or affliction. In other words, men want to know why it is possible to bleed and not die. In order to understand what goes on between men and women in the presence of menstruation, this book examines a variety of encounters, referred to as "menstrual transactions." From the three women in the Bible who are identified as menstruating to contemporary films, advertising, TV programs and literature, the book explores a wide range of transactions, even including Prince Charles’s close encounter of a menstrual kind. The book will appeal to anyone interested in gaining insights into the mystery of menstruation as well as students of gender and women’s studies or media theory and history.

David Linton (Ph.D., New York University) is Professor Emeritus at Marymount Manhattan College. He has published research on topics as diverse as the Luddite movement, the reading behavior of the Virgin Mary, Shakespeare as a media theorist, and media education. He serves on the Board of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research as well as having formerly been president of the New York State Conference of the American Association of University Professors. In addition, he is a cast member and the resident poet of the podcast Fireside Mystery Theatre.