挑戰傳統禁忌 傅園慧大方談論生理期參賽

BEIJING — The uninhibited Fu Yuanhui, the Chinese swimmer beloved for her over-the-top expressions, has made waves once again. On Saturday night in Rio, she freely discussed having her period while competing in the Olympics, breaking what has long been a taboo among female athletes. Thevideo of her poolside interview quickly went viral.

北京——因誇張的表情而備受喜愛的直率的中國游泳運動員傅園慧再次掀起波瀾。週六晚上，她在里約沒有顧忌地談到自己在月經期間參加奧運會的比賽，打破了女運動員中長期存在的一種禁忌。她在泳池邊接受採訪的視頻很快瘋狂傳播開來。

Ms. Fu’s remarks came after the Chinese women’s swimming team narrowly missed winning a medal in the 4x100-meter medley relay. In a post-race interview, Ms. Fu, who had already won a bronze medal for the 100-meter backstroke, could be seen crouching as her teammates were questioned one by one. As the commentator turned to her, Ms. Fu stood up, grimacing in pain. The commentator ventured a guess that Ms. Fu must be suffering from a stomachache, which Ms. Fu quickly corrected.

傅園慧發表這番言論之前，中國女子游泳隊剛剛在4x100米混合泳接力賽中以微小的差距錯失獎牌。此前，她在100米仰泳比賽中獲得了一枚銅牌。在視頻中可以看到，當其他隊員在賽後一個挨一個接受採訪時，傅園慧一直蹲在地上。記者轉向她時，傅園慧站起來，面部痛苦地扭曲着。記者大膽猜測她肯定是肚子疼，但傅園慧馬上糾正了這種說法。

“It’s because I just got my period yesterday, so I’m still a bit weak and really tired,” she said. “But this isn’t an excuse for not swimming well.”

“因爲昨天來例假了，所以還是會有點乏力吧，特別累，”她說。“但這也不是理由，還是我沒有遊好。”

Ms. Fu’s candor immediately attracted a deluge of comments online. On Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform, the hashtag related to the subject was searched more than half a million times by the end of Sunday, with many commenters expressing their support for Ms. Fu’s openness.

傅園慧的直率很快在網上引發洪水般的評論。截至週日晚，在中國類似Twitter的社交媒體平臺新浪微博上，與這個話題有關的標籤已經被搜索了超過50萬次。許多網民對傅園慧的坦誠表達了支持。

“Only those who have gotten their periods know how deathly painful it can be,” one wrote. “You are too awesome.”

“只有來例假痛經的人才知道，生不如死啊，”其中一位寫道。“你是最棒的。”

A male user wrote, “To compete during her period and still feel bad about placing fourth: Fu Yuanhui, you are amazing. You are our pride.”

一名男性用戶寫道，來月經了“堅持去比賽，得了第四名還特別內疚，傅園慧你真的很棒，傅園慧你是我們的驕傲。”

Female commenters also took to social media to dispute largely male-driven criticism that swimming in a pool while menstruating was unhealthy and unhygienic.

女性網民也開始在社交媒體上與大多由男性發出的一種批評聲音展開辯論。這些批評者認爲，月經期間在池子裏游泳有害健康，也不衛生。

“Don’t talk to me about staining the pool red or taking medicine to stop one’s period,” a female commenter wrote. “Haven’t you heard of something called a tampon?”

“不要再說會把泳池染紅或者怎麼不吃藥延遲經期的這種話了，”一位女性評論者寫道。“你們難道不知道有個東西叫衛生棉條嗎？”

In many parts of the world, menstruation is still regarded with shame and distaste, though that is changing. In the United States, creative hashtag campaigns on social media and online petitions have challenged the discomfort about period-related topics. Female athletes, including the former tennis star Annabel Croft of Britain, have criticized the silence surrounding menstruation in sports. In 2015, the American musician Kiran Gandhi ran the London Marathon during her period sans female hygiene products to protest period-shaming, crossing the finish line with bloodstains prominently on display.

在世界上許多地方，月經依然被認爲是一件讓人羞愧和嫌惡的事，不過這種情況正在發生改變。在美國，社交媒體上富有創意的標籤倡導運動和網上請願活動，對大衆的月經話題不適感發起了挑戰。包括英國前網球明星安娜貝爾•克羅夫特(Annabel Croft)在內的女性運動員，對人們在月經期運動問題上的緘默提出挑戰。2015年，美國音樂人基蘭•甘地(Kiran Gandhi)在來月經期間不帶女性衛生用品跑完倫敦馬拉松，以此抗議對月經的羞恥感。在她跨過終點線那一刻，可以明顯看到斑斑血跡。

Yet more open discussion about menstruation has been more slow to catch on in China. When talking about their periods, if at all, women still prefer to use euphemisms like “a visit from my aunt” or “taking a break.” Television ads for feminine hygiene products are banned during prime viewing times as inappropriate.

然而在中國，有關月經的更公開的討論出現得更慢。在談論月經時——如果她們會談起的話——中國女性仍然寧願使用“大姨媽來了”或“例假”等委婉說法。女性衛生用品的電視廣告以不合時宜爲由被禁止在黃金時段播出。

As a result, very few Chinese women use tampons, because it is widely, and falsely, believed that they can rob a woman of her virginity. This month, Chinese entrepreneurs plan to introduce the country’s first domestic tampon brand. All tampons sold in China have been imported, and most are sold online.

結果，中國女性很少使用衛生棉條，因爲人們普遍錯誤地認爲，這種東西會剝奪女性的童貞。幾名中國創業者計劃在本月推出中國首個國產衛生棉條品牌。此前，在中國出售的衛生棉條都是進口的，而且大多在網上銷售。

In February, Anhui Province issued regulations allowing women to take up to two days off for menstrual pain, provided they could procure a doctor’s note certifying their symptoms. However, critics feared the practice might have the unintended effect of discouraging employers from hiring women and pointed out that women might still elect to forgo a paid menstrual leave to avoid criticism from male colleagues.

今年2月，安徽省頒佈新規，允許女性因痛經每月請至多兩天的假，條件是她們拿到醫囑，證明自己受到這一問題的困擾。不過，批評者擔心這一舉措可能會產生意想不到的影響，導致僱主不願聘請女性。他們指出，女性可能還是會選擇放棄請帶薪生理假，以免受到男性同事的指責。

“Fu Yuanhui’s comments have raised awareness, because Chinese society still approaches menstruation indirectly, even considering it unlucky,” said Chen Yaya, a feminist activist and researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. “But there’s no need for this at all. The period is simply an everyday phenomenon.”

“傅園慧應該會引起關注，因爲我們社會對例假這個事還是很隱晦的，以前封建迷信還有覺得晦氣不吉利，”在上海社科院從事研究工作的女權活動人士陳亞亞說。“其實沒有必要，就是一種正常的生理現象。”