If I body-shame a woman, it is more a reflection of me being critical of my body, me not being able to keep up to certain standards I have, and so making sure that the women around me feel the same way.
Rupi KaurRead
Why are we so terrified of a natural process that allows for life to be brought into this world? Why do we scramble to hide our tampons when we pull them out of our purses?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote addresses the stigma surrounding natural bodily processes, particularly menstruation, and encourages openness about them.
Rupi Kaur's quote challenges the societal norms that associate shame and fear with natural processes such as menstruation and childbirth. It prompts us to reflect on why such fundamental aspects of life are often hidden or treated as taboo, encouraging a cultural shift towards acceptance and celebration of these experiences as part of the cycle of life.
Themes
MenstruationNaturalLifeTabooOpennessShame
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about women's health, to highlight the importance of destigmatizing menstruation.
More from Rupi Kaur
All quotes →There have been articles saying that all women need to read my book. I ask, why not all men? In fact, that would be even more valuable because we women want to sit down with men and tell them - this is how we feel, this is what we go through.
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When I was little, my dad told me about Anandpur Sahib and the court of Guru Gobind Singh. That we came from a tradition of poets, warriors and artists who created when it was illegal to create... we're groomed to be reckless in the defense of what we feel is right.
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I wasn't entitled to dream so big. The idea of me being a writer wasn't even possible in my mind. Even when I began to write and first published, I couldn't call myself a writer.
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The way a small child might dream of visiting Disneyland, I dreamed of writing books. Never did I think my poems would become that.
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I was always writing for myself. I wrote what I needed to write and hear - that's what makes it powerful.
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