Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #935118 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Karen Houppert began researching menstruation when Tambrands, the makers of Tampax, reduced the number of tampons in a box from 40 to 35 and then proceeded to increase the price. Her outrage at such a seemingly unimportant act led her to research a scantily charted topic that affects every woman on the planet. The Curse is the result of this research, and between the pages of this challenging and totally frank book she lets rip at a world in which we are cajoled into revealing our innermost secrets and can devour detail after horrific detail about almost any human condition, yet cannot quite face up to the fact that women lose around 6 tablespoons of blood every 28 days.

Houppert approaches her subject from the point of view of a woman scorned, and although her indignation can sometimes grate her exploration of one of society's last taboos is certainly thorough, convincing and ultimately fascinating. From the teenage girls with their "Oh-my God!" leakage stories, to the "Celebrate-your-Cycle" feminists and the tampon manufacturers who forgot to tell us that their products can contain one of the most powerful carcinogens known to man, Houppert puts them all through the proverbial mill. And as she does so, she successfully explodes the myths surrounding menstruation and, without encouraging us all to wave our panty pads in the air , gives us an intellectual lesson in one of society's last taboos.--Susan Harrison

Review
Who would have guessed that there are serious issues around menstruation, a bodily function that's been around since Eve got tossed from Eden? This book makes them not only clear, but urgent. Dioxin poisoning, the psychological impact of secrecy and shame, and doubts about PMS are 1-2-3 on Village Voice journalist Houppert's list. She takes on the $1.7-billion-dollar "personal products" industry with information that there is dioxin residue in the materials used to make most tampons. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are no "acceptable" levels of dioxin; moreover, dioxin, which may affect reproduction, has a cumulative effect. Since it is women of reproductive age who use tampons(one woman may use as many as 11,400 of them in a lifetime), the industry's claim that the dioxin in tampons poses no health threat should be met with skepticism at the least. In the second section, Houppert discusses how and what premenarchal girls learn about menstruation, how much of the secrecy and embarrassment surrounding menstruation is related to young girls' burgeoning sexuality, and how the decreased age of menarche has been blamed, unfairly, for a so-called "epidemic" of teen sex. Premenstrual syndrome's new official status (in the current diagnostic manuals) as a disease is also disturbing to Houppert, who wonders whether the cluster of symptoms that define PMS are a disease or a reaction to frustration and stress in many women's lives. Prozac may bring relief to patients, but it's also a financial boon to drug companies and health management organizations. The book wraps up with notes on the positive ("girl-power" Web sites, a new type of menstrual protection due on the market soon) and the bizarre (a Museum of Menstruation run by a man). Provocative journalism - the kind that provides information on questions no one even thought to ask - on a subject that impacts all girls and women, plus their teachers and physicians. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

We've still got a long way to go, baby.
A very interesting and enjoyable book on a subject which affects us all but which is still considered taboo. The book looks at the menstruation 'industry', adolescence and the phenomenon of PMS. The book is fascinating, sometimes hilarious and sometimes provokes anger at the way this topic is dealt with in our culture. It is especially good at pointing out the contradictions presented to us in advertising: menstruation is normal and natural - but it is also disgusting, embarrassing, and must be hidden at all cost. The book made me want to know more, such as how it is perceived in other cultures or in the past. A worthwhile read.

Fascinating
I've read a lot on the biology of mesntruation (for example Natalie nagier's excellent "Woman"), but this is the first book I've read to examine the place of menstruation and the issues surrounding it in relation to modern women. My main criticism of the book is the lack of biology which seems inexorably linked to the subject. The books seems to say a lot about the medical and sanitary industries as well as modern advertising in these fields, it also raises interesting questions about why menstruation should be taboo. Again though I feel more on its biological role would have made the book even deeper.