Lilly Singh Instagram – Drop a 🔴 below if you’ve ever been embarrassed about your period. I know I’m not alone and that sucks. This is a true story and there’s 100 other examples I can give you where I recall feeling shame around my body and completely normal bodily functions. So much of my upbringing involved me trying to hide and bury parts of myself. As a kid, I was embarrassed that my parents didn’t give me “the talk,” so I pretended to know what a period was. Then when I got my period, I pretended I didn’t have it. When asked why I didn’t want to go into a swimming pool, I would say “my stomach hurts.” That was a classic line. It was never that I had my period and that a period is completely normal, but it was always that “my stomach hurt.” I was never taught to use tampons. In fact, none of my friends growing up used tampons. I literally just recently learned how to do this (thank you to my adult friends who figured it out and literally taught me…) but every time I’ve been asked about it… I’ve lied. I learned how to be ashamed of every single facet of my body and that shame has followed me for most of my life. But over the past couple of years I’ve really tried to unsubscribe from this trap and deweaponize shame, which is why I’m making a vulnerable post like this one. Because I have a feeling a lot of you can relate. The wild thing about shame is that it gets its power by convincing us we’re alone…but we’re not. Periods are not embarrassing. Periods are not shameful. However you choose to navigate your period is your choice. And if anyone is uncomfortable hearing a conversation about periods, it’s time to evolve. Because no, it’s not just that “my stomach hurts.” I’m on my period. You’re perfect the way you are.