New research suggests premenstrual syndrome is a myth

I grew up in the 60's before anyone ever mentioned PMS, so none of us had it.  I've always thought it was a terrible thing for the women's movement - if you want to be treated equally you shouldn't look for excuses to be bitchy several days each month.

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Women who feel grouchy before getting their periods shouldn't blame it on their hormones directly, according to researchers at the University of Toronto.

Women's menstrual cycles are mythologized as a time of the month of low mood and irrationality.

"Taken together, these studies failed to provide clear evidence in support of the existence of a specific premenstrual negative mood syndrome in the general population," Gillian Einstein, a professor in the psychology department at the University of Toronto and her co-authors concluded in the journal Gender Medicine.

"This puzzlingly widespread belief needs challenging, as it perpetuates negative concepts linking female reproduction with negative emotionality."