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When Jessica Biel was determining her next project, writing a kids book aboutperiodswas not high on the list.
Penguin Random House/Getty Images; Art by Channing Smith
Frankly, it wasnt even on the list.
It was a total accident, Biel tellsGlamourover Zoom.
And even as a 40-something, I still dont know that much about it on some level.
I dont know why my cycle does the things that it does.
And its crazy that I feel that way at my age.
And soA Kids Book About Periodswas born.
We didnt want to make it sound like, Aunt Flo is coming this month!
Shes here to visit, Biel says.
Kids can handle the language.
They want to know the truth.
And if you normalize the language early on, then it doesnt sound weird.
Why not tell the truth about how our bodies work?
I would imagine the older one has asked about periods, unless the younger one has too?
Jessica Biel:My three-year-old has already asked, What is this?
[because] he sees my tampons around.
Im not hiding them.
They are in all of my bathrooms in my house, in case anyone ever needs one.
So he wants to play with them like theyre toys and shoot them like theyre little guns and stuff.
Then, the nine-year-old for sure, because I can barely go to the bathroom on my own.
Im like, You guys, I need some privacy kindly.
But Im not going to stop my life or my personal menstrual hygiene.
If theyre in the bathroom, I am going to do what I need to do.
So theyre curious what [tampons] are.
Theyre finding them in my bag.
So what did you tell them about your period?
Im on my period.
And he goes, Okay, thanks, Mom.
And he didnt ask me anything further than that.
But I think we are on the precipice of sharing more information.
And I needed tools.
I didnt know necessarily how to have these conversations with them.
I remember when I was taking sex ed when I was young, they separated boys and girls.
It just wasnt transparent.
How did that affect you?
What is a normal period like for you?
Does it take you out of commission for a few days?
My period is definitely kind of intense and extreme for a couple of days.
I go through the range of emotions the first few days and then it kind of calms down.
But it does sometimes feel like I am out of control for the first few days.
And kids are so sensitive to your emotions.
Theyre feeding off of our energy way more than we realize sometimes.
We need to reframe how we talk about periods too.
The number of times Ive heard, Oh, youre PMSing?
No wonder youre crazy today.
Or Watch out, shes on her period.
All of this just contributes to this unfair generalization.
Yeah, its all surrounded with shame.
Its not an excuse, its just the truth, right?
But when someone says some comment like, Oh, are you on your period?
its like a shameful comment.
Or Youre going to be crazy because this thing has got you.
In the book, you say, Periods are cool.
Mantra, personal mantra, Periods are cool!
And you write that periods are powerful.
Im like, Damn right, theyre powerful.
I could move a car right now with my frustration and adrenaline.
Well, I have to be honest.
I dont always feel that way either when Im on my period.
Your bodys ability to have a period means your body is able to bring life into this world.
Its a pretty amazing thing.
And to cleanse your body every month.
Its a wild and weird experience, but its cool and powerful too.
And to your point, changing the language around it.
Sometimes thats how I feel about a period.
Theres a major purpose behind it.
So how do youtake care of yourselfwhen youre PMSing or on your period?
It shakes your world and you dont want to have to deal with those things.
I don necessarily have to make it to my Pilates class or to the gym.
And its not a bad part of who you are; its just what your bodys doing right now.
That way I feel so much more ready to eventually pick back up.
But that hibernation time is actually a super-sacred time.
Its meant as a jumping-off point, like, Heres the pathway in.
Lets fire up the door together.
My brother has a daughter.
So its even more important for someone whos not experiencing [menstruation].
I wouldnt know how to talk to anybody about it if I wasnt experiencing it.
And even though I am experiencing it every month, I dont have all the language.
I hope you have a book-launch party and make everybody come in their most comfortable sweats.
Be like, Period or not, dress in the most oversized sweats you might find.
Thats a great idea.
