Comics show what men need to understand about periods

That "time of month" can sometimes feel like your body is working against you. 

Menstrual cramps, feminine care expenses, and even an abstinence from sex can come with your period. 

Many ladies understand the inconveniences that often accompany their periods, but not all men are aware of these challenges — or sympathetic to them for that matter. Some men's comments about periods are downright rude and sexist.  

President Donald Trump's now-famous allusion to Fox News host Megyn Kelly's menstrual cycle is a perfect example of a man using this female biological function to attack a woman's character, without showing compassion to the issues that periods may create for women. 

However, men can learn more about what women are going experiencing through the following comics, which lightheartedly highlight some of the struggles women face while experiencing their menstrual cycle every month.

Though periods are supposed to last anywhere from two to seven days, according to the Mayo Clinic, some women can experience prolonged periods. This may be caused by dysfunctional uterine bleeding, which doctors can treat through hormones, Everyday Health reported in 2010. 

It should come as no surprise that bleeding constantly for weeks on end is no picnic for women, especially when it is only supposed to happen for a week per month tops.

A 2015 Huffington Post investigation found that the average woman will spend nearly $20,000 on period essentials in her lifetime. That includes birth control (which accounts for $11,400 of the total cost), new underwear due to menstrual stains, tampons, panty liners, Midol, heating pads, acne medication, and chocolate, a well-known favorite for women on their periods. 

Menstrual cramps can be extremely painful for women, particularly for women suffering from endometriosis. At their worst, menstrual cramps can make it hard for women to get their work done. Some employers are understanding of the challenges that period pains can pose. 

A few years ago, Jezebel writer Erin Gloria Ryan voiced disagreement with the idea that women should get time off for their periods, stating that people could use this as a way to "bolster arguments that women aren't as capable as men." She did, however, highlight how periods affect everyone and not just the women who have them: 

"When people grumble about ladies actually needing time off from work because of issues of or relating to their reproductive systems — debilitating periods, ultrasound and pregnancy care appointments, maternity leave — it speaks to a profound ignorance of what the female body entails and enables."

"Without women's reproductive systems, none of the people complaining about women needing to take care of their reproductive systems would exist to complain in the first place. Raise your hand if you weren't grown inside a female body. None of you should be raising your hands." 

Take this from a girl whose male relative muted tampon commercials all of her life: skirting around the issue further stigmatizes this totally normal biological function. If you can father children, then you shouldn't be uncomfortable with the way the process works on a woman's end.