Purity culture and red pandas

Recently Disney released an animated movie called “Turning Red”. It’s essentially the coming-of-age story of 13-year-old Mei Lee where she goes through the typical chaotic coming of age themes. 

She doesn’t want to be the perfect little girl her parents expect her to be and so she rebels. That’s a pretty universal theme most people wouldn’t think twice.

There’s just one little thing that is making people mad. 

When a 13-year-old girl is coming of age she usually gets her period. It is only briefly mentioned once in the movie when her mother asked her if “the red peony bloomed”. 

It has small references through out the movie towards having a period but overall, it’s a tiny part of the movie.

That tiny little part has stirred up a lot of talk about purity culture and why people are thinking that periods are too heavy of a topic for kids. A lot of people are saying that periods shouldn’t be talked about with kids and that it is inappropriate. 

Personally, I believe purity culture is (very obviously) bad. I don’t know a single person that it has helped and I know plenty of people it has hurt. But what does purity culture have to do with periods?

Well, in purity culture girls are innocent, untouched angels that would never go through something as ‘gross’ or ‘unclean’ as a period. 

Once you have your period you are an adult and even once you are an adult you aren’t supposed to talk about it.

The first problem with that is girls can get their period anywhere from 10 to 15 years old. I know multiple girls who had their period before turning 10.

If periods are an adult topic than are girls just supposed to bleed through and suffer without knowing for years until they turn 18?

That seems crazy to suggest because it is crazy.

Periods are a natural part of life. And they are something that young girls should be taught before they think they’re bleeding out because they started a period that no one taught them about. 

Everyone should be aware of what is happening to their body. Even if purity culture thinks otherwise.

Purity culture is bad enough for people’s mental health, we shouldn’t let it affect physical health also. Idolizing women for being ‘pure’ while telling them to be ashamed of something that is natural for them doesn’t even make sense. 

Kids shouldn’t be surprised by a period just because of some old, outdated rules. Everyone has to come of age including young girls. 

There is no reason for people to be upset about including a natural part of a girl’s life in her story. It’s time to stop freaking out about dumb little things like periods and time to start taking care of each other. 

No one stays a kid forever, everyone grows up and goes through puberty. Even little girls. 

Lots of little girls have periods, and crushes and all little girls experience life. Even if they look and maybe act different than their counterparts. They deserve to understand their own body and get the understanding that little boys get when they start growing up.