The Importance of Menstruation in the Life of a Modern Woman: A Literature Review

This paper analyses the cultural, social, ritual and medical aspects of women’s menstruation and gender issues in Lithuania. It examines how menstruation was taboo in historical times, hidden and emphasized as dangerous, magically symbolic states. The menstrual period was associated with impressions of impurity and magic, and its meaning was often conveyed through ritual actions, such as slapping the face or magic spells. The analysis draws on ethnological and folklore material, examines the concept of menstruation in traditional culture and its symbolic reflection, including the smell of blood and magical practices. It also discusses how modern social and educational changes that reduce the taboo on menstruation are changing attitudes towards women’s biological processes and bodily cleanliness. One of the most important conclusions is that the experience of menstruation was often accompanied by fears, secrecy, and shame, and its ignorance and taboo have persisted to this day, although modern phenomena and education seem to be reducing these social and cultural barriers.