Even with this increasing acceptance of masturbation as a natural experience of human sexuality, it is not uncommon for people of all ages to have concerns, questions and guilt over their self-pleasuring experiences. The idea of one pleasuring him- or herself through some form of direct physical stimulation has been the source of great controversy for many generations. Others have focused more on proper sex being the union of the body and spirit of a married couple. Though the Bible has no clear-cut prohibitions against this sexual activity, both traditional Judaism and Christianity generally regard masturbation as sinful. Although menstruation is a normal part of the female reproductive cycle, it is the subject of considerable misunderstanding as a taboo.
Menstruation is the sloughing off of the uterine lining that builds up during the previous month.
It occurs about once a month in most women between the ages of approximately 12 and 48. In ancient times, a menstruating woman was regarded as unclean and liable to pollute foods she handled, or cause crops to wither. The primary reason for this taboo seems to be the fear of blood. It is thought that menstrual taboos were enforced by men who connected a woman's monthly cycle with the turning of the tides, the changing of the seasons and other events that were mysterious to them. Superstition and taboos around a woman's monthly cycle continue to persist in our contemporary society.