Zelman, Cynthia : Our Menstruation

Literature Annotations

Genre	Short Story
Keywords	Adolescence, Menstruation, Women's Health
Summary	This is the story of Vicky, a metaphorical figure, who was both outsider and larger-than-life, and who was first on her junior high school softball team to start her period. She does so in the midst of a game, with boys and girls looking on, bases loaded, Vicky herself at bat. When she lifts her left leg during a swing, a large patch, a "sea of red" is visible in her crotch. Made aware of what has happened by the urgent cries of some of her girlfriends, Vicky looks down, shrugs, and continues her run around the bases: a home run. Vicky, big as an earthquake, comes to symbolize womanhood for these girls, moving them to some slightly higher plateau of understanding about being women, and being together.
Source	Feminist Studies 17(3):461-467 (1991)
Annotated by	Wear, Delese
Date of Entry	12/08/93
Last Revised	05/17/06