#pmdremembranceday

[pandoramsbox]

#pmdawarenesschallenge Day 27: Remembrance. According to today's post from @iapmdglobal , "April 27th is #PMDRemembranceDay. This is a day where we pause to remember and honor those who have been lost to premenstrual disorders over the years." I do not personally know anyone driven to an early death by premenstrual disorders. Instead I am going to talk about an icon who has a related affliction. When I started getting into classic cinema in my early teens, I sought out the films that were heavily referenced in pop culture. Amongst other works, this hunt led to me seeing Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch" (Dir. Billy Wilder, 1955). Glamorous, funny and undeniably charismatic: Monroe was a delight to watch. Over the years I saw more of her films, learned more about her life, and eventual tragic demise. Yet, it wasn't until I was listening to an episode of @youmustrememberthis about Monroe that I learned that she was plagued by menstrual problems, specifically endometriosis. In fact, Lois Banner's "Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox" notes that "[Monroe] had a clause in her contract stating that she didn't have to perform if she had her period." While Gloria Steinem's biography of the actress, "Marilyn: Norma Jeane," explains, "This extreme monthly pain ... may have been the initial reason for her reliance on drugs. A reporter who gained entry to her studio dressing room in the 1950s counted fourteen different boxes of prescription pills, apparently all of them given by doctors to numb menstrual pain." Monroe's official cause of death, at the age of 36, was a barbiturates overdose. Other familial, professional and cultural factors contributed to the actress's mental and physical health issues too, but knowing that she had menstrual issues makes a lot of her personal troubles make a lot more sense. Did Monroe also have premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or premenstrual exacerbation? I have insufficient data to say either way. I felt less alone in my PMDD when I learned she also had menstrual problems though. For that reason I invoke her memory today. #pmdawarenessmonth2022 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc4WTaGLL8N/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=