The Curse examines the culture of concealment that surrounds menstruation & the devastating impact such secrecy has on women's physical & psychological health. The author combines reporting on the potential safety problems of sanitary products - such as dioxin-laced tampons - with an analysis of the way ads, movies, young-adult novels & women's magazines foster a "menstrual etiquette" that leaves women more likely to tell their male colleagues about an affair than brazenly carry an unopened tampon down the hall to the bathroom. From the very beginning, industry-generated instructional films sketch out the parameters of acceptable behavior & teach young girls that bleeding is naughty, irrepressible evidence of sexuality. In the process, confident girls learn to be self-conscious teens. And the secrecy has even broader implications. The author argues that industry ad campaigns have effectively stymied consumer debate, research, & safety monitoring of the sanitary protection industry. By telling girls & women ho