I just read a piece about women at work with straw strewn about the floor of the factory to catch the drippings and such. When pads were introduced, the mothers of the girls complained that no man would want their daughter as they were accustomed to following the smell to learn that the woman could have children. Really?! I read also that through the ages women just bled into their clothing, mostly in seclusion but not always so. Some indigenous groups were accustomed to women having the "red streak down their legs," and thought nothing of it.
A place where women can complain in peace about their hateful periods to other people who won't be grossed out by the conversation. By other people I mean women.