Abstract
Social shame and stigma surround menstruation, which may compromise women’s health and rights in various contexts. Men’s attitudes are particularly important because men often hold positions of power that influence women’s experience. This study examined factors associated with menstrual attitudes, including heteronormative attitudes, sexism, and family influences. A cross-sectional Qualtrics panel survey (n = 802; aged 18–44; 50.8% female) was performed. We tested a revised menstrual attitudes scale based on items drawn from previously validated measures. Data were analyzed using a structural equation modeling framework. Factor analysis identified and confirmed a 5-factor model for menstrual attitudes. Men endorsed more negative attitudes toward menstruation than women; however, this difference was largely explained by factors other than gender in the structural equation model. After controlling for family and demographic characteristics, attitudes toward openness and secrecy surrounding menstruation were most strongly associated with gender role expectations and hostile sexism. Benevolent sexism was associated with finding menstruation debilitating, denying menstrual symptoms, and endorsing avoidance of activities during menstruation. Heteronormative and sexist attitudes were associated with more negative menstrual attitudes, while increased menstrual knowledge was associated with more positive menstrual attitudes. The difference in menstrual attitudes between males and females was explained largely by heteronormative attitudes and sexism. This suggests that attitudes toward menstruation are closely linked to social ideals about men and women.
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Data available upon request.
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Notes
The terms female, woman, male, and man are used deliberately. Specifically, male/female refer to biological sex while man/woman refer to gender. This distinguishes statements referring to one’s capacity to menstruate (i.e., biological sex: female/male) from those referring to one’s sociocultural experience (i.e., gender: woman/man). The participants in our analytical sample were wholly cisgender, giving the results equal applicability to sex and gender.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Sarah R. Christensen and Emily B. Pilling for their helpful contributions to concept ideation and survey development.
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This work was supported by the Department of Public Health at Brigham Young University. Study methodology was included as part of the grant application process, but the funder did not consult on research design, collection, interpretation of data, writing, or publication. The funding organization will not gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript.
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JBE and BMM contributed to study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by JBE and BMM. All authors contributed to the analysis, led by AAC. The manuscript was drafted or edited by all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Eyring, J.B., Crandall, A. & Magnusson, B.M. A Modified Menstrual Attitudes Scale: Heteronormative Attitudes, Sexism, and Attitudes Toward Menstruation in Male and Female Adults. Arch Sex Behav 52, 1535–1547 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02565-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02565-y