--- description: We're officially one menstrual cycle away from Election Day in a campaign where periods become a flashpoint. title: We Are One Menstrual Cycle from Election Day image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68df43d4c91da043/6988a9938e0601804a467ce9/menstrual-cycle-election-day.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # We Are One Menstrual Cycle from Election Day  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 11, 2016 7:36 PM CUT  Tampon on pink background Tampon on pink backgroundGustaf Brundin—Getty Images  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 11, 2016 7:36 PM CUT We’re officially [one menstrual cycle](https://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/menstruation.html "undefined") away from election day. Many women have spent the past few years fighting [to de-stigmatize menstruation](http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/31/460726461/why-2015-was-the-year-of-the-period-and-we-dont-mean-punctuation "undefined"), which has historically been seen as a taboo or uncouth topic. But this presidential election has proved that those activists only have more work to do: [period shaming](http://motto.time.com/4450581/shame-free-periods-lola/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") has popped up the biggest moments of the election, which pits Democratic nominee [Hillary Clinton](http://motto.time.com/4441297/hillary-clinton-first-lady-president/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined"), the [first female presidential nominee of a major party](http://motto.time.com/4361320/hillary-clinton-democratic-nomination-women/?iid=sr-link9 "undefined"), against Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has been [repeatedly criticized](http://motto.time.com/4524857/donald-trump-consent-definition/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") for [his treatment of women.](http://motto.time.com/4524264/donald-trump-women-sexual-assault-stories/?iid=sr-link8 "undefined") [_Follow Motto on Facebook_](https://www.facebook.com/mottoworkplaylive/ "undefined")_._ **‘Blood coming out of her wherever’** The most prominent menstrual moment came early on in the election before Trump had secured the Republican nomination. During one of the earlier Republican primary debates last August, Fox News anchor [Megyn Kelly](http://motto.time.com/4203136/megyn-kelly-deal-with-haters/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") pressed Trump on his record on women, which includes insulting them based on their looks. Trump accused Kelly of asking him an unfair question. During an interview [with CNN after the debat](http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/08/politics/donald-trump-cnn-megyn-kelly-comment/ "undefined")e, Trump continued his criticism of Kelly—and appeared to allude to her menstrual cycle. “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes,” Trump [told CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/08/politics/donald-trump-cnn-megyn-kelly-comment/ "undefined"). “Blood coming out of her wherever.” Trump later said “blood coming out of her wherever” meant to refer to Kelly’s nose or ears. But many women interpreted it differently, tweeting to Trump that [#PeriodsAreNotAnInsult](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dear-donald-trump-periods-are-not-an-insult%5Fus%5F55c8a80fe4b0f73b20b9d728 "undefined"). “Women understood that comment. And yes, it is offensive,” Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and one of Trump’s opponents in the Republican primary, told [CNN in an interview](http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/09/politics/carly-fiorina-donald-trump-blood-comment-response/ "undefined"). “I started out as a secretary. And as I made my way up in the business world, a male-dominated business world, I’ve had lots of men imply that, um—I was unfit for decision-making because maybe I was having my period. So I’ll say it, OK?” **#PeriodsforPence** Many women were outraged when Trump chose Indiana Governor [Mike Pence](http://motto.time.com/4406521/mike-pence-periods-abortion-law/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") as his running mate in July because of Pence’s staunch anti-abortion stance. But Pence was making headlines before he even joined Trump’s ticket as women protested after he signed one of the country’s strictest anti-abortion laws, which included a provision that required miscarried or aborted fetuses be cremated or interred, in April [with “a prayer](http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?fromdate=3/21/2016&todate=4/28/2016&display=Month&type=public&eventidn=244247&view=EventDetails&information%5Fid=240077 "undefined").” Their form of protest? Send Pence [explicit details about their period](http://motto.time.com/4406521/mike-pence-periods-abortion-law/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"). The campaign, titled [#PeriodsforPence](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/us/periods-for-pence-campaign-targets-indiana-governor-over-abortion-law.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined"), saw thousands of women contact Pence’s office with specifics about their flow, arguing that if he wanted to be involved with their reproductive health, he deserved to know all of the bloody details. > [](https://twitter.com/addielibrarian/status/720691598120652800) **The tampon tax debate** After a concerted push from women across the country, many states proposed [new legislation to end the “luxury tax” — taxes imposed on items that aren’t deemed necessities — on tampons](http://time.com/4355164/tampon-tax-ends-in-states-after-year-of-the-period/ "undefined"). Donald Trump hasn’t shared his stance on the “tampon tax” debate. Clinton, who represented New York during her tenure as a U.S. Senator, celebrated New York’s [legislation](http://motto.time.com/4291472/new-york-state-senate-tampon-tax/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") after it passed over the summer. > [](https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/746120796750360576) But it’s not an issue that appears to be going away soon. California Governor Jerry Brown [vetoed a bill](http://motto.time.com/4490197/california-veto-tampon-tax/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") that would have ended the state’s tampon tax last month, and women are continuing to push for similar legislation across the country. **‘Sometimes you get there by mistake’** After [the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-recorded-having-extremely-lewd-conversation-about-women-in-2005/2016/10/07/3b9ce776-8cb4-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4%5Fstory.html "undefined") leaked a 2005 tape of Donald Trump saying he could do anything he wanted to women on Friday, CNN unearthed more eyebrow-raising [audio clips](http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/08/politics/trump-on-howard-stern/index.html "undefined") of Trump’s comments on women during his numerous appearances on the Howard Stern Show. In one of the audio clips, from a 1997 interview, Stern pressed Trump on whether he’d have sex with a woman while she was on his period, seemingly implying that it would be gross. “Donald, seriously, you would not, right, am I correct?” [Stern asked.](http:// "undefined") “Well, I’ve been there. I have been there Howard, as we all have,” Trump responded. “Well, sometimes you get there by mistake.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4526956/menstruation-election-day/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4526956/menstruation-election-day/"},"headline":"We Are One Menstrual Cycle from Election Day","datePublished":"2016-10-11T19:36:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:34.476Z","description":"And periods actually came up during this campaign—a lot","url":"https://time.com/4526956/menstruation-election-day/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68df43d4c91da043/6988a9938e0601804a467ce9/menstrual-cycle-election-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt68df43d4c91da043/6988a9938e0601804a467ce9/menstrual-cycle-election-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tampon on pink background","caption":"Tampon on pink background","creditText":"Gustaf Brundin—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4526956/menstruation-election-day/","name":"We Are One Menstrual Cycle from Election Day"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Donald Trump Addresses 'Blood' Comments","description":"Donald Trump hit the morning show circuit Sunday morning to explain his comments, but he issued no apology.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/4LiQTcn4/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-09T16:08:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4LiQTcn4.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4526956/menstruation-election-day/","duration":"PT53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4526956/menstruation-election-day/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```