Euphemisms in English Everyday Discourse Eufemismy V anglickém jazykovém prostředí

1.2.2.2 Menstruation Taboo
From the very beginning of humankind, menstruation was a subject to 
censorship, which might be seen in some religious communities that considerate a 
menstruating woman as unclean and there are even rules that allow or forbid a woman 
to do certain activities while menstruating. These restrictions are currently in our 
modern and equal society seen as outdated, however, there are still some orthodox 
groups of followers who practice them and menstruating women are thus strongly 
disadvantaged. For instance, according to tradition, women are not allowed to sleep 
with men in a bed during their period or move freely in a community. “Restrictions on a 
woman’s normal behaviour while she is menstruating are common across communities. 

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Tabooed behaviour includes: sexual relations with a man and entering sacred places or 
touching sacred and revered objects” (Allan, Burridge, 2006: 165). Menstruation used 
to be associated with purifying and blood was believed to be filled with evil spirits. This 
is the reason why menstruating women were for the period of their menstruation 
excluded from the society.
Since it is exclusively women’s issues, menstruation is tabooed especially by 
men and this avoiding of naming it directly led to the development of euphemisms. 
They are usually based on several characteristics of menstruation, such as a red colour – 
the Red Sea’s in, it’s a red letter, flying the red flag
or red 
devil
. A direct mention of 
blood is in expressions – 
bloody Mary
. The other euphemisms express an idea of illness 
or inconvenience – 
come sick, cramps, curse, feeling that way, female complaint and 
disorder
or 
indisposed
. 
Bad time, calendar time, full moon, that time, monthly blues
or 
wrong time of the month
are euphemisms created on the basis of periodicity. The other 
euphemistic expressions are through the idea of a visit – 
Aunt Flo has come, grandma’s 
here from Red Creek, little sister’s here.
Having the rag on, in the saddle, wearing the 
manhole cover
or 
riding the cotton pony
carries the characteristic of sanitary protection. 
The last but not least is a group of euphemisms that describe menstruation through 
sexual unavailability – 
ice-boxed, out of this world, today I’m a lady
. Other examples 
will be introduced in the practical part of the thesis as well as their formality and 
occurrence in press.
Creating of euphemisms can be dated back to the period of the Norman 
Conquest, when English became bilingual and there was an attempt to distinguish 
between a genteel and obscene vocabulary. According to Rawson (1981: 181) “that is 
why a duchess perspired and expectorated and menstruated while a kitchen maid 
sweated and spat and bled.”