by Christa Lei
When I first got my period, I didn’t know it wasn’t normal to have debilitating cramps and pre-menstrual symptoms. Friends and loved ones reported a certain degree of pain but nothing that wasn’t out of the ordinary, so to speak.
So I waited it out for decades. I wrote about my experiences in Autostraddle and elsewhere, but given that it took me two decades of crazy menstrual symptoms to get diagnosed with adenomyosis, I wanted to emphasize how crucial it is to bring these stories to light.
Dismissal of our embodiment is the norm for menstruating people. The word ‘sexual’ can be off-putting to some; what was formerly known as “women’s health” has expanded to a larger umbrella of care. As a writer and social worker, I believe sexual and reproductive health should be accessible to all bodies—not just the skinny, white, and privileged!
Every September, the World Health Organization shines a spotlight on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) by dedicating an entire month to the field.
Additionally, on September 4th, the World Association for Sexual Health celebrates World Sexual Health Day, and their theme this year is “Every Body.”
This means people shouldn’t restrict bodily autonomy for any body whatsoever—especially if that person is able to reproduce. Gender identity is vast, and so is the range of bodies that menstruate—which means SRHR applies to all bodies that are able to reproduce, regardless of how a person identifies.
Unfortunately, not all bodies move through the world on equal terms. Mine didn’t, and neither do the bodies of menstruating people in my motherland.
Abortion is still illegal in the Philippines with no written exceptions—not for rape, incest, or even to save a life. This prohibition is located in the country’s Revised Penal Code, which was written during Spanish colonial rule.
Therefore, the country has been following guidelines that were meant to suppress and eliminate native Filipinos. But some citizens have been fighting these archaic laws anyway.
The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2012 after years of organizing, guarantees free contraception at government health centers, finally brings reproductive health education to public schools, and names post-abortion care as a right.
Though providers can still deny care on religious grounds outside of emergencies, organizations like PINSAN and EnGendeRights are pushing for decriminalization.
The Philippine Commission on Human Rights once called abortion immoral—and some of you might agree with that—but limiting access to abortions only means limiting access to safe abortions. Thankfully, they are now recommending decriminalization.
In the spirit of resistance, Filipina-American pop star Olivia Rodrigo held the first Daisy Chain Fields on August 29 in Irvine, California. Aiming to emulate feminist events like the Lillith Fair, Rodrigo brought together feminist icons to support sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The event sold out in the first 30 minutes on sale. Every artist volunteered their time and performed unpaid, and the festival raised $10 million on sales alone, doubling the amount from a donation by Melinda French Gates, and splitting the profits among ten different organizations, including the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood.
When we talk about sexual and reproductive health and rights being for every body, it means the crowd in Irvine and even in Quezon City. I was denied a lot of that access through ignorance, and I got a name for my chronic pain eventually. But a lot of people don’t.
CHRISTA LEI is a writer, editor, educator, and social worker based in NYC. They are a Blackburn 71’ Fellow in Fiction at Randolph’s MFA whose work has appeared in Autostraddle, the Seventh Wave and Vast Chasm, and others. Their work has been supported by the Peter Bullough Foundation, Studio Luce Guatemala, and the PowerHOUSE residency.
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