Vagina MuseumOn this day in 1969, humans walked on the moon. So let's take the opportunity to talk about the moon and its relationship to menstruation. Does the moon influence our menstrual cycles at all?
The word "menstruation" is itself linked to the ancient Greek word for moon: "mene". However, this link is indirect: "mene" influenced the Latin word "mensis" for month, and "menstruation" comes from this word.
Both the lunar cycle and the menstrual cycle are roughly the same length - around 29 days long. So for someone with a regular cycle of 29 days, they will be largely synced with the moon's phases. But does this mean that one is influencing the other?
It makes sense to believe that the lunar cycle influences the menstrual cycle. The gravitational influence of the moon's alignment with Earth causes the large bodies of water to move with the tides - and what are we but big ol' bags of water?
Both tides and the light of the lunar cycle have an effect on animals - for example, coral spawns on a full moon.
But there isn't actually any strong evidence that the moon is influencing our periods.
Research linking the menstrual cycle to the lunar cycle doesn't show any clear consensus as to which phase of the moon is responsible for menstruation: some show menstruation starting at around the full moon, others at around the new moon.
This means research cannot demonstrate a mechanism for *how* the moon is influencing our cycles - while there is arguably a benefit for either being fertile at a new moon (complete darkness) or a full moon (most light), it can't be both on a 29 day cycle!
It's worth noting at this point that neither the lunar cycle nor the menstrual cycle are exactly 29 days: the lunar cycle is in fact 29.5 days long, and the menstrual cycle can be anything between 21 and 40 days, and varies both within the same person and between people.
The huge variance in the length of the menstrual cycle suggests that the moon's influence, if it exists at all, is pretty minimal.
The similarities between the length of the lunar cycle and average menstrual cycles can sometimes muddy the waters in interpreting objects from the past - for example, was the Ishango Bone a menstrual tracker, a lunar calendar, or something else entirely? https://masto.ai/@vagina_museum/110745834500630408
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Attached: 1 image OLD THREAD REPOST This is the Ishango Bone. This carved bone is about 22,000 years old and is covered with columns of markings. The bone has puzzled researchers since its discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo. What do the markings mean? Image credit: the Ishango Bone on display at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences credit: Joey Kentin (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
(((Klefstadmyr)))@vagina_museum Psst! That link is to the fruit flies' cunnilingus.