Chinese swimmer and Olympic medallist Fu Yuanhui initially made headlines for her playful and amusing expressions, but she’s also done something even more significant.
When she finished fourth in the women’s 4×100 metres medley relay on Sunday, a reporter found her crouching and asked if she was in pain.
“Actually, my period started last night, so I’m feeling pretty weak and really tired, ” she told the reporter in Mandarin. “But this isn’t an excuse. At the end of the day, I just didn’t swim very well.”
Menstruation has always been a taboo in sports, especially during an event as crucial as the Olympics, and Fu’s comment also shed light on shifting Chinese attitudes toward menstruation.
More often than not especially in many Asian countries, menstrual blood is associated with negative connotations as it is commonly established as something dirty, polluted, and shameful.
The silence around the subject is further reinforced in sports as hygiene then comes into play. For instance, will Fu’s period blood stain the pool red?
Periods are something so physiologically normal, so why should we be embarrassed to even talk about it?
