4 ms·

So you agree that most animals don't menstruate... what's wrong with the article's title? EDIT: Oh, I think I get it now. "Period" in this context does not ref

So you agree that most animals don't menstruate... what's wrong with the article's title? EDIT: Oh, I think I get it now. "Period" in this context does not refer to the general fertility cycle. It is specifically a euphemism for menstruation. That is why you'll hear people saying things like "I'm on my period", "my period started late/early", etc. These phrases would not make sense if it referred to the fertility cycle in general, since from puberty to menopause, most healthy women are in some phase of a fertility cycle.

acqq 11y ago
Yes, and even if the topic is just bleeding, humans aren't special, so it still shouldn't be "why do women bleed" but "why just primates, bats and one kind of shrew bleed during estrous cycle." Humans simply aren't special in that regard. And the whole "mystery" doesn't appear so dramatic anymore. It becomes obvious that that "optimization" developed more than once.