“Menstruation is the only blood that is not born from violence, yet it’s the one that disgusts you the most.” —Maia Schwartz
It hit me hard the first time I read the quote. As I searched my brain for any other kind of blood that isn’t born from violence, I found nothing. I was lucky since my school and my household provided me with the necessary knowledge regarding menstruation or sexual reproduction. However, it was not until a mandatory camping trip during my all-girls high school days, held at a military base camp, that I truly experienced something else. I still remember hearing a few of the military personnel, who consisted of mostly men, screaming at us outside the toilet, instructing us, “Take home all your used pads! Do not dump them in our trash, or the bad spirits will lick them!”
I complied, wrapping my used pads in paper and stashing them in my bag. But the moment stuck with me, not only did I think it was beyond unusual for a bunch of grown-ups, especially men, to tell teenage girls where to dump their own used pads. Yet it meant something else; they were not only telling us to be hygienic or be responsible for our trash, but the errand itself stems from the societal stigma surrounding menstruation, which unfortunately characterizes it as ‘dirty’ and ‘disgusting.’
Mickey Lai’s WAShhh (Malaysia, 2024) begins with a tense atmosphere as a jarring voice from a loudspeaker is heard. It was an order for the group, consisting of young girls, participating in the National Service Training Programme in Malaysia in the middle of the night; they are told to gather outside in 10 minutes. The voice is cold and demanding. The girls are nervous, discussing what was going to happen to them, which looks like it was not the typical roll call. Their commander, whose voice was heard earlier, confronts them and claims that one of the girls was possessed by “bad spirits” and blames the entire group for the incident.
Much like my high school camping experiences, we were taught that menstrual blood is impure, dangerous, and dirty. According to Girls in Control’s report of Compiled Findings from Studies on Menstrual Hygiene Management of Schoolgirls, they found that in Tanzania, young girls were instructed not to discard their used pads because their blood might attract malevolent spirits or be used in witchcraft, which could ultimately harm them. What is even more concerning is that in Taiwan, a menstruating woman was already considered vulnerable and an easy target for spirits and demons.
One major aspect of WAShhh that caught my eye was the use of black and white in the film. This artistic choice powerfully emphasizes society’s historical perception of menstruation: often forced into a single, generalized understanding. Later, we see the girls rummaging through the trash can as the commander orders them to clean and get rid of the “dirty blood” that is believed to be the cause of the possession case. The scenes unfold with the girls examining random used pads one by one.
A conversation with Mickey Lai at Locarno revealed the reasons behind the choice: she wanted the audience to focus on the character’s dynamics rather than the sight of blood. Doing so eventually reduces the shocking element and humanizes the situation. The second reason is due to the theme of racial conflict, seeing all the different characters from diverse backgrounds, Malay, Chinese, or Indian, with the help of the muted colors like this—it creates a sense of equality–we were not meant to see the aspects that creates one race, it is the connections that the characters build with each other.
My interpretation of the creative choice is that the black-and-white filter is a mask. What we were meant to see is this natural, red color liquid on the pads or the red-stained detergent water Jia Hui, the group leader, used to wash them. Instead, the color we see is what Mickey Lai intended: vague, neutral, no longer bright red, just black and white. If it’s your first time seeing menstrual blood, it could be any color, not necessarily red.
The black and white imagery serves as a mirror for the society’s perception towards menstruation, viewed in harsh, black-and-white terms, what the society intended: as disgusting, dirty, and a sign of bad luck, even with it being a natural function of the body that one often would not choose to experience. They endure not only the physical pain and difficulties caused by menstruation but also the heavy burden of the constant intimidation from the stigma surrounding its existence.
Another major detail of the film is the role of the female commander, she serves as a meaningful depiction of the internalized stigma that has been going around for a long time. Despite potentially experiencing similar struggles to other women, she has absorbed the same beliefs that menstruation is dirty and spiritually dangerous. She has made use of them to oppress more, in a vicious cycle. The commander not only reflects how patriarchy is tied to this stigma, but also its deep roots in culture and society. Despite that, Jia Hui leads and holds the group together. She is the one who gives courage to the other girls and convinces them that she does not believe the superstitions. She represents the resistance towards the outdated stigmas of shame and control, and only through compassion could she achieve it.
I found the stigma around menstruation really harsh—countless of us who experience it monthly must have gone through the terrors of the public’s own menace towards it. Whether or not the restraining practices are often implemented in your life, they are still deeply rooted in the culture, affecting how people view it. In the very least, we should recognize it for what it is: a natural, biological process as a very part of human beings.
By the end of the day, we shall foster the environment where menstruation is seen as a healthy and fundamental part of life. Much like Jia Hui, through her compassion towards others, we must work on deconstructing the stigmas and replacing them with empathy, by making sure no one else has to experience it again through fear.
Editor: Natania Marcella
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