Woman posts ‘period selfies’ to show its beauty and power

• A woman sex coach divided the Internet after sharing pictures of her smeared in her period blood to promote beauty and power
• The young feminist draws attention to her Instagram posts with ‘selfies in period blood’ as subject
• Nyx said she will continue to do ‘period selfies’ until women try to reconnect with their bodies

A woman who works as a sex coach in California shared advocacy images to Instagram in an effort to combat the stigma around periods, which is often portrayed as revolting by the public.

Demetra Nyx, 26, got her first period when she was twelve but was ashamed of it and thought it was disgusting, which led her to try and hide it.

She had an IUD fitted but the device gave her heavy, painful periods which did not allow her to do her daily activities.

After a year, the young feminist had the coil removed and from then on she started getting more in tune with her menstrual cycle. Her opinion towards periods eventually changed, calling it “beautiful” and “magical” and then began freely speaking about her cycle on social media.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlF-C0vHyJP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

“Sharing pictures of blood on my face and body was just an impulse – I was creating a series to help women connect with their menstrual cycle, and I thought it would be fun,” Nyx wrote on Instagram.

“We hold so much shame in our bodies, and most of us do not realize it until we intentionally explore it. Our periods are an incredibly magical time of month that holds immense power, and our society keeps us away from that as much as possible…”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiyzDNenjHE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

One photo of hers showed the word “Shameless” written in blood across her leg.

Her caption explained it as: “I used to spend my time worrying about what other people thought of me… And yet. It turns out none of that was ever necessary.  I don’t do anything I do now for anyone’s approval… Because what I have gained on this journey, finally, is the deepest love and total approval of my Self. What if you deeply, truly loved and *approved* of yourself? That is why I post my blood. It is a little to liberate other women and a lot to please my Self. I get so much pleasure from this ritual and I love feeling so free to share it and I love not caring what the reactions will be.”

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I used to spend my time worrying about what other people thought of me. I used to keep lists as a 12-year-old: what are all the ways in which I could be more attractive? What are all the ways in which I could make that person like me? How could I make my body more acceptable? How could I hide my blood, my skin, my wrinkles, my fat? In my twenties, the focus on my appearance shifted, but the root of where I spent my energy was the same. It was still spent on forming an image that would make other people approve of me. The one with the strongest body. The one that was peaceful and positive. The one who was a good student, the one who was a good teacher, the one who was fun and bubbly but not too loud. The one who could hold all of her emotions and was always working to get rid of her bad feelings. You have it too, don’t you? The one who is a good mom. The one who is a good daughter. The one who eats the healthiest. The one who is a good person. The one who has the most money. It was the same, though. The focus was different but it was still the same. It was still: how could I make sure the people whose opinions I cared about approved of me? And yet. It turns out none of that was ever necessary. I don’t do anything I do now for anyone’s approval. I don’t care about being seen as strong or successful or pretty or important. I also do not care if I am seen as jealous or angry or insecure or hurt or selfish or loud. Because what I have gained on this journey, finally, is the deepest love and total approval of my Self. What if you deeply, truly loved and *approved* of yourself? That is why I post my blood. It is a little to liberate other women and a lot to please my Self. I get so much pleasure from this ritual and I love feeling so free to share it and I love not caring what the reactions will be. That is how I live my whole life, now. If you want to heal in this way. If you want to learn this. SHAMELESS – my 6-week one-on-one coaching program for women is open for registration from now until November 27th. There are 3 spots available. Are you brave enough to claim yours? Message me xx

A post shared by Demetra Nyx (@demetra_nyx) on Nov 21, 2018 at 9:42am PST

Nyx has been sharing such selfies and photos for almost a year.

“I will do this every month until people are no longer shocked by it. I will do it until little girls stop being taught that the natural functions of their bodies are disgusting and unclean. I will do it until women stop feeling like they can’t have sex on their period because it is gross,” she declared.

Her online posts have been met with mixed reactions by some calling her ‘disgusting’ and ‘sick’ while others supported her message and called her ‘awesome’.