Why can't we talk about periods? | Jen Gunter

Translator: AFIQAH ZAIHAN Reviewer: Amirul Iman

When I was a teen, I had terrible periods.

Semasa remaja, saya mengalami datang bulan yang teruk.

I had crippling cramps,

Senggugut terlalu sakit

I leaked blood onto my clothes and onto my bed sheets,

Darah haid habis terkena pakaian dan cadar

and I had period diarrhea.

dan saya mengalami cirit-birit ketika datang bulan.

And I had to miss school one to two days a month,

Saya terpaksa ponteng sekolah satu atau dua hari sebulan

and I remember sitting on the couch with my heating pads, thinking,

dan saya ingat saya terpaksa duduk di sofa dengan pad pemanas sambil berfikir

"What's up with this?"

"Apa kena semua ini"

When I ate food, I didn't leak saliva from my salivary glands.

Bila saya makan, tiada pula air liur meleleh

When I went for a walk,

Apabila saya berjalan

I didn't leak fluid from my knees, "joint fluid."

tiada pula cecair sendi meleleh keluar dari lutut.

Why was menstruation so different?

Kenapa datang bulan ni, ia sangat berlainan?

I wanted answers to these questions

Saya menginginkan jawapan untuk kesemua soalan ini

but there was no one for me to ask.

tapi saya tiada sesiapa untuk bertanya

My mother knew nothing about menstruation

Ibu saya tidak mengetahui apa-apa mengenai datang bulan

except that it was dirty and shameful and I shouldn't talk about it.

kecuali yang ia kotor dan memalukan dan saya tidak patut bercakap tentangnya.

I asked girlfriends

Saya ada bertanya kepada kawan-kawan perempuan

and everybody spoke in euphemisms.

tapi semua orang berkias tentangnya

And finally, when I got the courage to go to the doctor

Akhirnya, apabila saya berani untuk berjumpa dengan doktor

and talk about my heavy periods,

dan beritahu dia tentang aliran haid yang banyak,

I was told to eat liver.

saya disuruh untuk makan hati

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

And when I went to the drug store to buy my menstrual products,

Dan apabila saya ke farmasi untuk membeli barangan datang bulan,

my 48-pack of super maxi pads,

Tuala wanita super maxi bersaiz 48 inci,

back in the day when they were the size of a tissue box, each pad --

yang dulu saiznya seperti kotak tisu bagi setiap satu--

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

You know what I'm talking about.

Anda tahu apa saya maksudkan.

You have no idea how far absorbent technology has come.

Bayangkan betapa canggihnya teknologi penyerapan pada masa ini.

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

I used to have to buy my menstrual products

Saya biasanya beli barangan datang bulan

in the feminine hygiene aisle.

di lorong bahagian penjagaan wanita.

And I remember standing there, thinking,

dan saya masih ingat yang saya berdiri di situ sambil berfikir,

"Well, why don't I buy toilet paper in the anal hygiene aisle?"

"Kenapa tidak pula saya membeli tisu tandas di lorong penjagaan dubur? "

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

Like, what's up with that?

Macam, apa kena semua ini?

Why can't we talk about periods?

Kenapa tidak boleh kita bercakap tentang datang bulan?

And it's not about the blood, as Freud would have you say,

dan ianya bukan sekadar darah seperti yang dikatakan Freud

because if it were,

kerana jika ianya begitu,

there would be an ear, nose and throat surgeon up here right now,

akan ada doktor bedah telinga, hidung dan tekak muncul di sini

talking about the taboos of nose bleeds, right?

bercakap tentang pantang larang hidung berdarah, betul?

And it's not even about periods,

Ia juga bukan sekadar tentang datang bulan,

because otherwise, when we got rid of our toxic, shameful periods

kerana jika tidak, apabila haid yang memalukan itu sudah tiada

when we became menopausal,

atau apabila kita putus haid,

we'd be elevated to a higher social status.

sudah pasti status sosial kita akan meningkat

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

(Applause)

(Tepukan)

It's just a patriarchal society is invested in oppressing women,

Ia hanya cuma budaya masyarakat patriarki yang menindas kaum wanita.

and at different points in our lives, different things are used.

Pada sesuatu tahap dalam kehidupan, berbagai-bagai pekara dijadikan alasan.

And menstruation is used

dan datang bulan digunakan

during what we in medicine call the reproductive years.

semasa kami panggil tahun akil baligh dalam istilah perubatan.

It's been around since pretty much the beginning of time,

Ianya sudah lama wujud,

many cultures thought that women could spoil crops

Menurut kebanyakan budaya, wanita boleh merosakkan hasil tuaian

or milk, or wilt flowers.

susu atau melayukan bunga

And then when religion came along,

Dan apabila datangnya agama,

purity myths only made that worse.

mitos kesucian hanya memburukkan keadaan.

And medicine wasn't any help.

dan perubatan juga tidak terkecuali.

In the 1920s and '30s

Pada 1920-an dan 30-an,

there was the idea that women elaborated something called a menotoxin.

ada pendapat mengatakan wanita menghasilkan menotoksin.

We could wilt flowers just by walking by.

Kita boleh melayukan bunga hanya dengan melintasinya.

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

And that's what happens when there's no diversity, right.

Dan apabila terjadinya tiada kepelbagaian, betul?

Because there was no woman to put her hand up and go,

kerana tiada wanita yang berani angkat tangan dan berkata,

"Well, actually, that doesn't happen."

"Sebenarnya, bukan itu yang terjadi"

And when you can't talk about what's happening to your body,

Apabila anda tidak boleh bercakap tentang apa yang berlaku kepada badan anda,

how do you break these myths?

bagaimana mitos ini akan hilang?

Because you don't even need to be a doctor

Anda tidak perlu menjadi sorang doktor

to say that periods aren't toxic.

untuk mengatakan yang haid itu tidak berbahaya

If they were, why would an embryo implant in a toxic swill?

Jika bahaya, bagaimana janin dapat tersemai dalam keadaan bertoksik?

And if we all had this secret menotoxin,

dan jika kita semua mempunyai racun menotoksin rahsia ini,

we could be laying waste to crops and spoiling milk.

tentu kita dapat merosakkan hasil tuaian dan susu

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

Why would we have not used our X-Women powers to get the vote sooner?

Kenapa kita tidak gunakan kuasa Wanita-X untuk mendapatkan undian dengan cepat?

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

(Applause)

(Tepukan)

Even now,

Sehingga kini,

when I tweet about period diarrhea,

apabila saya menciap tentang cirit-birit ketika haid

as one does,

seperti selalu,

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

I mention that it affects 28 percent of women.

Saya akan sebut yang ia mempengaruhi 28 peratus daripada wanita.

And every single time, someone approaches me and says,

Setiap kali seseorang mendekati saya mereka berkata,

"I thought I was the only one."

"Saya ingatkan cuma saya seorang sahaja"

That's how effective that culture of shame is,

Begitulah betapa berkesannya budaya malu

that women can't even share their experiences.

sehingga wanita tidak boleh berkongsi pengalaman mereka.

So I began to think,

Jadi, saya mula berfikir

"Well, what if everybody knew about periods like a gynecologist?

"Apa kata semua orang tahu tentang haid seperti pakar sakit puan?"

Wouldn't that be great?"

"Bukankah itu hebat?"

Then you would all know what I know,

Anda semua tahu apa yang saya tahu

you'd know that menstruation

Anda tahu yang haid itu

is a pretty unique phenomenon among mammals.

fenomena yang unik bagi mamalia

Most mammals have estrus.

Hampir semua mamalia adalah estrus (yang datang bulan)

Humans, some primates,

Manusia, sesetengah haiwan primata,

some bats,

sesetengah kelawar,

the elephant shrew and the spiny mouse menstruate.

tikus gajah dan tikus berduri juga mengalami haid

And with menstruation what happens is the brain triggers the ovary

Apa yang terjadi ketika haid adalah otak akan merangsang ovari

to start producing an egg.

untuk penghasilan telur.

Estrogen is released

Hormon estrogen akan dirembes

and it starts to build up the lining of the uterus,

dan mula membentuk lapisan dinding rahim

cell upon cell, like bricks.

sel-bersel seperti bata

And what happens if you build a brick wall too high without mortar?

dan apa terjadi jika dinding bata dibina terlalu tinggi tanpa dilepa?

Well, it's unstable.

Sudah tentu ia tidak stabil.

So what happens when you ovulate?

Jadi, apa yang terjadi ketika fasa ovulasi?

You release a hormone called progesterone,

Hormon yang dipanggil progestron akan dirembeskan,

which is progestational, it gets the uterus ready.

yang bersifat progestasional untuk menyediakan rahim.

It acts like a mortar and it holds those bricks together.

Ia bertindak seperti lepa yang melekatkan batu-bata.

It also causes some changes

Ia juga menyebabkan beberapa perubahan

to make the lining more hospitable for implantation.

supaya lapisan rahim lebih sesuai untuk pengimplanan.

If there's no pregnancy,

Jika tiada kehamilan,

(Whoosh)

(Whoosh)

lining comes out,

lapisan dinding rahim akan luruh.

there's bleeding from the blood vessels and that's the period.

Pendarahan berlaku di saluran darah dan berlakulah haid.

And I always find this point really interesting.

Saya selalu merasakan poin ini sangat menarik

Because with estrus,

Disebabkan dengan estrus,

the final signaling to get the lining of the uterus ready

isyarat terakhir untuk mempersiapkan rahim,

actually comes from the embryo.

sebenarnya datang daripada embrio

But with menstruation,

Tapi dengan haid,

that choice comes from the ovary.

pilihan itu datang dari ovari.

It's as if choice is coded in to our reproductive tracts.

Seolah-olah pilihan sudah diprogram dalam sistem reproduktif kita.

(Cheering and applause)

(Sorakan dan tepukan)

OK, so now we know why the blood is there.

Baik, sekarang kita sudah tahu kenapa adanya pendarahan.

And it's a pretty significant amount.

Dan jumlahnya agak signifikan.

It's 30 to 90 milliliters of blood,

30 ke 90 mililiter darah,

which is one to three ounces,

dalam 1-3oz,

and it can be more,

dan ia boleh jadi lebih banyak,

and I know it seems like it's more a lot of the times.

dan saya tahu ianya sering lebih banyak

I know.

Saya tahu

So why do we have so much blood?

Jadi, kenapa kita ada banyak sangat darah?

And why doesn't it just stay there till the next cycle, right?

dan kenapa ia tidak kekal di situ sehingga kitaran seterusnya, betul?

Like, you didn't get pregnant, so why can't it hang around?

Anda tidak mengandung, jadi kenapa tidak dibiarkan sahaja?

Well imagine if each month it got thicker and thicker and thicker, right,

Bayangkan jika setiap bulan ia menebal dan semakin menebal, betul,

like, imagine what tsunami period that would be.

haid anda tentu menjadi tsunami

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

We can't reabsorb it, because it's too much.

Kita tidak boleh menyerap semula kerana ia terlampau banyak.

And it's too much because we need a thick uterine lining

Dan ia terlalu banyak kerana kita perlukan lapisan rahim yang tebal

for a very specific reason.

untuk sebab yang sangat spesifik.

Pregnancy exerts a significant biological toll on our bodies.

Kehamilan mendedahkan diri kita kepada tanggungjawab dan risiko biologi.

There is maternal mortality,

Terdapat kadar kematian ibu,

there is the toll of breastfeeding

jumlah ibu menyusu

and there is the toll of raising a child until it is independent.

dan membesarkan anak sehingga mereka boleh berdikari

And evolution --

Dan evolusi--

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

That goes on longer for some of us than others.

Sesetengah orang ambil masa lama untuk faham

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

But evolution knows about risk-benefit ratio.

Tapi evolusi tahu tentang nisbah risiko dan manfaat.

And so evolution wants to maximize the chance of a beneficial outcome.

Maka, evolusi ingin memaksimakan peluang hasil yang bermanfaat

And how do you maximize the chance of a beneficial outcome?

dan bagaimana anda memaksimakan peluang itu?

You try to get the highest quality embryos.

Anda cuba dapatkan embrio dengan kualiti terbaik

And how do you get the highest quality embryos?

dan bagaimana cara untuk dapatkannya?

You make them work for it.

Anda membuatkan ia berusaha.

You give them an obstacle course.

Anda memberinya cabaran.

So over the millennia that we have evolved,

Setelah berevolusi untuk beberapa tahun,

it's been a little bit like an arms race in the uterus,

ianya seperti perlumbaan senjata di dalam rahim

the lining getting thicker and thicker and thicker,

lapisan dinding rahim semakin menebal

and the embryo getting more invasive

malah embrio pula semakin membesar

until we reach this détente

sehingga ia menjadi satu

with the lining of the uterus that we have.

dengan lapisan dinding rahim kepunyaan kita

So we have this thick uterine lining

Kini, kita ada lapisan dinding rahim yang tebal

and now it's got to come out,

dan tiba masanya untuk luluh

and how do you stop bleeding?

Bagaimana anda menghentikan pendarahan?

Well, you stop a nose bleed by pinching it,

Jika hidung berdarah, anda picit untuk hentikannya

if you cut your leg, you put pressure on it.

Jika kaki luka, anda menekannya

We stop bleeding with pressure.

Kita hentikan penderahan dengan tekanan

When we menstruate,

Ketika datang bulan

the lining of the uterus releases substances

dinding rahim akan mengeluarkan

that are made into chemicals called prostaglandins

bahan-bahan kimia yang dipanggil prostaglandin

and other inflammatory mediators.

dan pengantara keradangan yang lain

And they make the uterus cramp down,

yang menyebabkan rahim kekejangan

they make it squeeze on those blood vessels

dan penguncupan pada salur darah

to stop the bleeding.

untuk menghentikan pendarahan

They might also change blood flow to the uterus

Ia juga boleh mengubah arah aliran darah ke rahim

and also cause inflammation and that makes pain worse.

sehingga menyebabkan keradangan dan lebih menyakitkan

And so you say, "OK, how much pressure is generated?"

Anda mungkin bertanya "OK, berapa banyak tekanan dihasilkan?"

And from studies where some incredible women

Mengikut kajian di mana beberapa wanita hebat

have volunteered to have pressure catheters

telah sukarela dipasangkan kateter

put in their uterus

pada rahim mereka

that they wear their whole menstrual cycle --

untuk tempoh lengkap kitaran haid mereka

God bless them, because we wouldn't have this knowledge without,

Jika bukan kerana mereka, kita tidak akan mengetahuinya

and it's very important knowledge,

dan ianya ilmu yang sangat penting

because the pressure that's generated in the uterus

kerana tekanan yang dihasilkan di rahim

during menstruation

ketika datang bulan

is 120 millimeters of mercury.

adalah sebanyak 120 mililiter merkuri

"Well what's that," you say.

"Apa itu?", tanya anda.

Well, it's the amount of pressure that's generated

Ianya jumlah tekanan yang dihasilkan

during the second stage of labor when you're pushing.

ketika fasa kedua kelahiran iaitu semasa anda meneran

(Audience gasps)

(Audiens merengus)

Right.

Baik

Which, for those of you who haven't had an unmedicated delivery,

Bagi yang tidak pernah tidak dibius ketika melahirkan

that's what it's like when the blood pressure cuff

begitulah rasanya bila tekanan darah mencengkam

is not quite as tight as it was at the beginning,

ianya tidaklah sekuat awal-awal

but it's still pretty tight,

tapi tetap ketat

and you wish it would stop.

dan anda berharap yang ia berhenti.

So that kind of makes it different, right?

Jadi, ia membuatkan menjadi berlainan, betul?

If you start thinking about the pain of menstruation,

Jika anda mula terfikir tentang senggugut

we wouldn't say if someone needed to miss school

kami tak akan cakap yang seseorang kena ponteng sekolah

because they were in the second stage of labor and pushing,

sebab mereka sedang melalui fasa kedua kelahiran dan meneran

we wouldn't call them weak.

kami tidak akan panggil mereka lemah

We'd be like, "Oh my God, you made it that far," right?

Reaksi kami hanya "Awak berjaya lakukannya", betul?

(Laughter)

(Ketawa)

And we wouldn't deny pain control

Kita tidak akan menolak ubat tahan sakit

to women who have typical pain of labor, right?

untuk wanita mengalami sakit bersalin, betul?

So it's important for us to call this pain "typical" instead of "normal,"

Jadi, ia penting untuk kita panggil sakit ini sebagai "khas" berbanding "biasa",

because when we say it's normal, it's easier to dismiss.

sebab bila kita panggilnya biasa, ia senang diremehkan

As opposed to saying it's typical, and we should address it.

berlainan jika dipanggil "khas" dan kita patut panggilnya begitu

And we do have some ways to address menstrual pain.

Kita ada beberapa cara untuk mengetahui sakit sengugut

One way is with something called a TENS unit,

Salah satunya dengan alat TENS

which you can wear under your clothes

yang dipakai di bahagian dalam baju

and it sends an electrical impulse to the nerves and muscles

untuk menghantar impuls elektrik kepada saraf dan otot

and no one really knows how it works,

dan tiada siapa pun betul-betul tahu cara ia berfungsi

but we think it might be the gate theory of pain,

Kami rasa ianya mungkin berdasarkan teori 'gate control'

which is counterirritation.

yang bersifat mengurangkan kesakitan

It's the same reason why, if you hurt yourself, you rub it.

Sebab yang sama juga kenapa bila sakit, kita gosok

Vibration travels faster to your brain than pain does.

Getaran tersebar dengan lebih cepat ke otak berbanding sakit

We also have medications

Kami juga ada ubat-ubatan

called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications.

yang dipanggil ubat anti-radang bukan steroid (NSAID)

And what they do is they block the release of prostaglandins.

yang berfungsi untuk menghalang penghasilan prostaglandin

They can reduce menstrual pain for 80 percent of women.

Ia dapat mengurangkan senggugut untuk 80 peratus daripada wanita

They also reduce the volume of blood by 30 to 40 percent

dan mengurangkan isi padu darah kepada 30 ke 40 peratus

and they can help with period diarrhea.

juga membantu mengatasi cirit-birit ketika haid

And we also have hormonal contraception,

Kami juga ada pil hormon

which gives us a thinner lining of the uterus,

yang berfungsi untuk menipiskan lapisan dinding rahim

so there's less prostaglandins produced

supaya prostaglandin dihasilkan dengan sedikit

and with less blood, there's less need for cramping.

Dengan kurangnya darah, maka akan kurangnya senggugut

Now, if those treatments fail you --

Jika rawatan itu tidak berkesan kepada anda

and it's important to use that word choice,

Wajib anda gunakan ayat itu

because we never fail the treatment,

kerana kita tidak akan pernah menggagalkan rawatan

the treatment fails us.

Sebaliknya, rawatan yang gagal untuk kita

If that treatment fails you,

Jika rawatan gagal untuk anda,

you could be amongst the people

anda mungkin tergolong

who have a resistance to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories.

dalam kalangan yang mempunyai rintangan kepada ubat anti-keradangan bukan steroid

We don't quite understand,

Kita tidak begitu faham

but there are some complex mechanisms

tapi sesetengah mekanisme adalah kompleks

why those medications just don't work for some women.

Kenapa ubatan itu tidak berkesan untuk sesetengah wanita

It's also possible that you could have

Ia juga berkemungkinan yang anda mempunyai

another reason for painful periods.

sebab lain yang menyebabkan haid yang menyakitkan

You could have a condition called endometriosis,

Anda mungkin ada endometriosis

where the lining of the uterus is growing in the pelvic cavity,

iaitu lapisan dinding rahim tumbuh di rongga pelvis

causing inflammation and scar tissue and adhesions.

yang menyebabkan keradangan, parut dan lekatan

And there may be other mechanisms we don't quite understand yet,

Mungkin ada mekanisme lain yang kami belum cukup faham

because it's a possibility that pain thresholds could be different

oleh sebab tahap kesakitan yang berbeza-beza

due to very complex biological mechanisms.

disebabkan mekanisme biologi yang sangat kompleks

But we're only going to find that out by talking about it.

Kita akan tahu hanya dengan berbicara tentangnya

It shouldn't be an act of feminism

Ia tidak sepatutnya menjadi perjuangan feminisme

to know how your body works.

untuk mengetahui cara tubuh anda berfungsi.

It shouldn't --

Tidak sepatutnya--

(Applause)

(Tepukan)

It shouldn't be an act of feminism

Ia tidak sepatutnya menjadi perjuangan feminisme

to ask for help when you're suffering.

untuk meminta tolong ketika anda kesakitan

The era of menstrual taboos is over.

Era pantang-larang haid sudahpun berakhir

(Cheers and applause)

(Sorakan dan tepukan)

The only curse here

Sumpahan yang kini tinggal

is the ability to convince half the population

hanyalah kebolehan untuk meyakinkan separuh daripada populasi

that the very biological machinery that perpetuates the species,

yang ianya cuma mesin biologi untuk mengekalkan spesis

that gives everything that we have,

yang memberikan semua apa yang kita ada

is somehow dirty or toxic.

Ia mungkin dianggap kotor atau toksik

And I'm not going to stand for it.

tapi saya tidak akan membiarkannya

(Applause)

(Tepukan)

And the way we break that curse?

Dan cara untuk meleraikan sumpahan itu?

It's knowledge.

Ia ialah ilmu.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.

(Cheers and applause)

(Sorakan dan tepukan)