Teen Backed for Causing a Scene at Family Dinner Over 'Lady Problems'

In a now-viral post, a teenager said she recently "caused a scene" at a family dinner over a comment her brother made about her "lady problems."

Posting in Reddit's "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) forum under the username u/perioditsperiod, the teen said her father and brother frequently blame her bad moods on her period. Feeling fed up, she decided to "embarrass" them in front of their extended family. The post has garnered over 11,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments backing the girl's outburst.

Blaming Moods on Periods

In 2015, Cosmopolitan asked several men why they may assume a woman is on her period when she's in a bad mood. One man told the magazine he believes it's "safest to assume" this so he knows to "take precautions" and not "get on her nerves." Another said men often use it as an excuse to "get out of certain situations."

But many women don't find these kinds of comments helpful or funny. In fact, several women told the magazine that having their emotions attributed to their periods is invalidating.

"It's a disrespectful way of throwing a woman's emotions in your face and making a joke out of it," one woman said. "It's a real thing. Girls have hormones. They go through menstrual cycles, so it's not something to laugh about."

According to Verywell Family, blaming a woman's heightened emotions on her menstrual cycle is one way in which period stigma—"the discrimination faced by people who menstruate"—manifests in everyday life.

"[P]eriod stigma results in a lower quality of life for those who are faced with it," the website said. "Menstruation is normal and natural, occurring monthly for about 40 years for those who have wombs, and the stigma around it serves no useful purpose."

'AITA'

In her post, u/perioditsperiod said her brother and father crack "jokes" about "that time of the month" whenever she's "upset" with them.

"For example, my brother ate a snack of mine that I was saving, and when I got mad he just joked, 'Oh no, is it that time [of the month] again' in a super annoying voice," she said.

Despite repeatedly telling her brother and dad that these comments are "offensive" and make her feel like they're "minimizing" her feelings, they still make the jabs.

"[On Wednesday] we had dinner with my whole family on my dad's side for my aunt's birthday. Before dinner, I got in a huge fight with my brother because he broke my iPad, and instead of apologizing he just said the whole 'time of the month' thing," she wrote. "I can admit that by the time we got to my grandma's house I was pretty p**sed."

When her cousin asked her why she was upset, her brother jumped in and said: "Oh it's just lady problems."

At that, u/perioditsperiod started "bawling."

"I can admit that I kind of went HAM on purpose to cause a scene, and it freaked my whole family out. My aunt asked my dad why I was so upset, and when he didn't know I told my aunt, 'It's just lady reasons according to dad and brother,'" she said.

Redditor u/perioditsperiod's aunt and grandma "reamed" her dad and brother out at the dinner table, and later that night, her dad and brother told her she was an "a**hole" for "embarrassing" them.

Redditors React

Redditors told u/perioditsperiod she had every right to react the way she did.

"NTA [not the a**hole]...They are literally using sexist demeaning bulls**t to belittle you and rug sweep," u/Senior-Term-635 wrote. "You needed help with their a**hole behavior and you got it. Good for you. Seriously. That was what was needed."

"NTA. You asked them to stop. They didn't. They needed to hear from others how out of line they were being. This is their own fault for being insensitive and sexist," u/elsie78 wrote.

Redditor u/yovakcans added: "If they are embarrassed about people finding out how they treat you, then they shouldn't treat you that way...NTA."

Newsweek reached out to u/perioditsperiod for comment.

Other Viral Moments

In May, Redditors backed a woman who called out her former school bully at a dinner with her father's business associates.

In February, commenters praised a woman who abruptly left her boyfriend at an upscale restaurant when he started making "an unbelievably absurd and annoying sound."

And in December, commenters applauded a woman for butting into another couple's argument at dinner.