--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Birth is of course violent. Menstruation…" description: "\"Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and shot blood, we'd be hearing about the violen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_birth_birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation_166921.png" --- # Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust… ![“Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and shot blood, we'd be hearing about the violence of it.” quote by Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_birth_birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation_166921.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_birth_birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation_166921.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_birth_birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation_166921.png) > “Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and shot blood, we'd be hearing about the violence of it.” [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that natural bodily processes are violent, challenging societal perceptions of violence. **In simple terms:** Natural bodily functions can be violent. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect the inherent violence in biology. Themes biology violence gender perception Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - health education - gender studies - personal health Key Concepts physiological violence social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing bodily violence affect your view of health? - What societal attitudes stem from this perception? A Different Perspective Violence in biology is often normalized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Menstruation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/menstruation/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) ## Related quotes > [People were like, "Someone who made a song like this, there has to be more to them. I'm interested in hearing how they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/people-were-like-someone-who-made-a-song-like-this-there-has-to-be/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [“Women's regular bleeding engenders phantoms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/women-s-regular-bleeding-engenders-phantoms/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [“The great mother whom we call Innana gave a gift to woman that is not known among men, and this is the secret of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diamant/the-great-mother-whom-we-call-innana-gave-a-gift-to-woman-that-is-not/) [Anita Diamant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diamant/) > [Precisely what menstruation is, is not yet very well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/precisely-what-menstruation-is-is-not-yet-very-well-known/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is better for a girl to marry in such a time when she would begin menstruation at her husband's house rather than her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruhollah-khomeini/it-is-better-for-a-girl-to-marry-in-such-a-time-when-she-would-begin/) [Ruhollah Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruhollah-khomeini/) > [“So I was forced to go to school wearing a menstrual pad belt that had been in our first aid drawer since approximately 1961.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-west/so-i-was-forced-to-go-to-school-wearing-a-menstrual-pad-belt-that-had/) [Lindy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-west/) > [“Menstruation annoys the most females who lack the desire to someday fall pregnant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/menstruation-annoys-the-most-females-who-lack-the-desire-to-someday/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I was doing some research on menstruation for a column. I read about Arunachalam Muruganantham's life and work, and his story gripped me, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twinkle-khanna/i-was-doing-some-research-on-menstruation-for-a-column-i-read-about/) [Twinkle Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twinkle-khanna/) > [She got to you, too, huh?" I said, sliding onto the bench seat across from him. "Actually, I called her." Luca grinned. "I'm vomiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/she-got-to-you-too-huh-i-said-sliding-onto-the-bench-seat-across-from/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [The taboo regarding menstruation exists across the world, even among the educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunachalam-muruganantham/the-taboo-regarding-menstruation-exists-across-the-world-even-among/) [Arunachalam Muruganantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunachalam-muruganantham/) > [It's not easy to diagnose because depending where the endometrial deposits are, the symptoms can be quite different. It's an unrecognized problem among teenage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/it-s-not-easy-to-diagnose-because-depending-where-the-endometrial/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [It's okay to talk about birth, okay - then menstruation. I first started my advocacy for women's health in the field of reproductive freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/it-s-okay-to-talk-about-birth-okay-then-menstruation-i-first-started/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [I understood that menstruation - the indication that you're a real woman - stopped if you grew weak from illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aya-kito/i-understood-that-menstruation-the-indication-that-you-re-a-real/) [Aya Kito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aya-kito/) > [I'm the guy with the good attitude towards menstruation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-foley/i-m-the-guy-with-the-good-attitude-towards-menstruation/) [Dave Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-foley/) > [“Leaders bleed, period.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvia-young/leaders-bleed-period/) Silvia Young ## More by Lidia Yuknavitch > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“This man was gorgeous. I'm mentioning this because women live their lives secretly waiting for their lives to become movies. We act like men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-man-was-gorgeous-i-m-mentioning-this-because-women-live-their/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We'd cry great waves of love and rage for this young woman, whose resistance made our own lives look empty as nadless ball sacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-d-cry-great-waves-of-love-and-rage-for-this-young-woman-whose/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We consumer and become exactly what we create. In all times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-consumer-and-become-exactly-what-we-create-in-all-times/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [The WRITER of memoir gets incoming weirdness in very odd ways. I was recently talking to a memoir writer whose work just went meteoric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/the-writer-of-memoir-gets-incoming-weirdness-in-very-odd-ways-i-was/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I just want my stories to be mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-just-want-my-stories-to-be-mine/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Everyone’s last wish turned out to be love: may I be consumed by the simplicity and purity of a love story, any love, base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/everyone-s-last-wish-turned-out-to-be-love-may-i-be-consumed-by-the/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“Words from my whole body, my entire life, or the lives of women and girls whose stories got stuck in their throats came gushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/words-from-my-whole-body-my-entire-life-or-the-lives-of-women-and/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“We are what happens when the seemingly unthinkable celebrity rises to power. Our existence makes my eyes hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/we-are-what-happens-when-the-seemingly-unthinkable-celebrity-rises-to/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Worse, the bodies of women, minorities, children, disenfranchised bodies (prisoners, so-called nut cases, etc...) and their truths don't "count" as either present and important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/worse-the-bodies-of-women-minorities-children-disenfranchised-bodies/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [It may be true too that I would not have encountered the most important books and art and ideas of my life had I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/it-may-be-true-too-that-i-would-not-have-encountered-the-most/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [I might think that equality has been achieved, there is no power relation going on in terms of class, race, or gender, I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-might-think-that-equality-has-been-achieved-there-is-no-power/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [“That image of Joan of Arc burning up in a fire burned inside me like a new religion. Her face skyward. Her faith muscled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/that-image-of-joan-of-arc-burning-up-in-a-fire-burned-inside-me-like/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [This is something I know: damaged women? We don't think we deserve kindness. IN fact, when kindness happens to us, we go a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/this-is-something-i-know-damaged-women-we-don-t-think-we-deserve/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [One of the reasons I love language is that concerning semiotics, language is an arbitrary sign system, which means the signs within it are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/one-of-the-reasons-i-love-language-is-that-concerning-semiotics/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) [Explore all 111 Lidia Yuknavitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and shot blood, we'd be hearing about the violence of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lidia Yuknavitch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation-is-violent-trust-me-if-men-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation-is-violent-trust-me-if-men-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_birth_birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation_166921.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_birth_birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation_166921.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/lidia-yuknavitch-3991_birth_birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation_166921.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Birth is of course violent. Menstruation is violent. Trust me, if men's penises opened up once a month and…” — Lidia Yuknavitch", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lidia Yuknavitch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Birth is of course violent. Menstruation...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation-is-violent-trust-me-if-men-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/birth-is-of-course-violent-menstruation-is-violent-trust-me-if-men-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```