Menstrual Myth Busting

The Case of the Hormonal Female

Sally King

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN: 9781447371625
• eBook ISBN: 9781447371649
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Feminism & Feminist Theory
• Index: Social Sciences

In this book, Sally King interrogates the diagnostic label of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) to expose and challenge sexist assumptions within medical research and practice. She powerfully demonstrates how the concept of the 'hormonal' premenstrual woman is merely the latest iteration of the 'hysterical' female myth. By blaming the healthy reproductive body (first our wombs, now our hormones) for the female-prevalence of emotional distress and physical pain, gender myths appear to have trumped all empirical evidence to the contrary.

The book also provides a primer on menstrual physiology beyond hormones, and a short history of how hormonal metaphors came to dominate medical and popular discourses. The author calls for clinicians, researchers, educators and activists to help improve women's health without unintentionally reproducing damaging stereotypes.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
• List of Abbreviations
• Glossary
• Acknowledgements
• Trigger warnings
• Introduction
• Part I Menstrual myth making
• Part II Where are we now? PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome)
• Appendix A: The reduction of menstrual physiology in (medical) education
• Appendix B: Participant background survey
• Appendix C: Interview question lists
• Appendix D: Transcription notation
• Appendix E: Discursive device notation
• Appendix F: Discourse coding tree
• Appendix G: The influence of three key gender myths on the participant group discourses
• Notes
• References
• Index