History Main / NoPeriodsPeriod

A subtrope of TheLawOfConservationOfDetail, No Periods, Period is the fact that unless there's a specific, plot-related reason to mention that a female character is menstruating, the subject will not be brought up. Periods do appear frequently for plot-related reasons; do not list those here.

Additionally, there are certain circumstances in which human menstruation will halt without medication. It can happen due to times of intense emotional and physical stress, and it's common for athletes under intense training regimens to stop menstruating. (This is due to the fact that experiencing such conditions is a signal to the body that now is ''not'' a great time to start gestating a baby.) However, even in such circumstances the lack of a period will still rarely be noted in fiction.

* In ''Manga/SevenSeeds'', with some girls casually mentioning that they are on their period at the moment. Natsu's period actually becomes a plot point in the ''Minor Heat'' arc, where [[spoiler: iron-eating bacteria starts to become active on an old, abandoned ship and starts chasing her, due to the iron in her blood]].

* ''FanFic/WalkingInCircles''. [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Evelyn]]'s friend, Keldra, once complains about having to deal with her stained clothes and her period being irregular and asks if Signy if she also needs to delivery her clothing for laundry too which the latter declines. Sometimes later, it's revealed that Signy [[spoiler: uses her period blood to practice blood magic instead of cutting herself as regular blood mages do]].

* [[PlayedForLaughs Hilariously]] averted in ''Film/BoratSubsequentMoviefilm''. During a [[https://time.com/5737250/debutantes-history/ debutante ball]], an event that symbolically celebrates womanhood and femininity, Borat and Tutar take to the dance floor to show off their traditional “fertility dance.” Guests start clapping along until [[spoiler: Tutar displays she's heavily menstruating]].

** There is never any mention of what the female tributes do when or if they get their period in the arena. Do sponsors send them tampons, or do the contestants receive treatment to stop their cycle? The latter would be unsurprising, given that male tributes ''do'' receive some kind of treatment to stop them from growing beards, so there's every chance female tributes receive something similar -- perhaps ratings have shown that female tributes menstruating wasn't very entertaining. This becomes fortunate in the second book when [[spoiler: Katniss is pretending to be pregnant -- if she had suddenly gotten her period, it would have been noticeable, given the amount of time the tributes spend in little clothing, and the entire plan would have been scuppered.]]

* ''Literature/PetalsOnTheWind'': Zig-zagged. The protagonist, Cathy, is malnourished after years of being kept in the attic. Understandably, her periods have stopped, although [[spoiler: her brother Chris raped her during their imprisonment, so she may also be pregnant]]. During a dance audition (and a very memorable scene), the floodgates open.

* ''Literature/NightWatch'': Averted for laughs. When Anton is forced to do a BodySwap with Olga, Olga comments that he is lucky they only have to keep it up for a week, or she'd have to teach Anton how to use a pad. Anton jokingly retorts that he's seen enough ads on TV to know what to do... or is there more to it than pouring some [[BlueLiquidAbsorbent blue liquid]] on it and giving it a squeeze?

* ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'': {{Averted}}. Rita and Serena take an uncomfortably keen interest when Offred's late since she's there to have a baby. [[spoiler: We later see the blood on Offred's panties when she finally gets her period.]]

* Averted in ''VisualNovel/ButterflySoup'' in an unexpectedly disgusting way. [[spoiler: Min almost strangles Akarsha upon first meeting her. Thinking quickly, Akarsha gets Min off of her by reaching down her own pants, covering her hand in period blood, and smearing it across Min's face. Not even minutes later do they decide to become friends.]]

* Played with in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': both times a woman has mentioned their period, they've been ''lying'' to deflect suspicion about something else. Haley claims an obvious bag of ill-gotten loot is actually feminine supplies, and [[SuccubiAndIncubi Sabine]] sneaks off to [[spoiler: report the Snarl's existence to her superiors]] under the pretense that "it's that time of the century... [[UnusualEuphemism the Red Knight is requesting lodging]]".

* ''Series/TheMagicians2016'': {{Averted}}. When a magical book needs [[BloodMagic blood to work]], Margo uses her... well, you know. Penny is unhappy at this. Margo notes they're lucky it was her time of the month.

* ''Manga/InsideMari'' deals with what happens when a man [[FreakyFriday switched with a girl]] starts menstruating. Isao is overcome by the pain and freaked out by the blood. He starts bawling and has an awkward time buying menstrual pads.

* In ''Literature/DrinkerOfBlood'', a period[[note]]Really?[[/note]] mystery set in AncientEgypt, Lord Meren's daughter is put under house arrest when Meren goes on the run, framed for attacking the pharaoh. Knowing her (male) guards' willingness to search outgoing parcels has its limits, she sends him a letter via her laundress, concealed in a basket of feminine blood-cloths.

* Most animals don't menstruate, the exceptions being humans and our closest primate relatives, elephant shrews, African spiny mice, and certain bats; even then, in their case, no PMS-like symptoms and difficulties are to be found. Likewise, some of these don't go through menopause either.

* Heather Coven in ''Webcomic/{{Rain}}'' plays the trope straight, leading to a very awkward situation when her younger sibling Ky got ''her'' first period while their mother wasn't home and Heather didn't know what was going on (with the result that she initially thought that Ky was dying). Justified, as Heather [[spoiler:is intersex, having been born with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_androgen_insensitivity_syndrome CAIS]], and, thus, has no uterus or ovaries]].

* Averted for the lulz in the soccer-meets-crime novel "False Nine" by Philip Kerr. The amateur detective hero is a soccer manager. He's the bigmouth type, and current unemployment doesn't make it better. So when Rafinha gets exchanged in a game, he twitters that the player probably was on his period. (His. Ahem.) Not everyone is amused, and the FA slaps him a 25000 quid fine. At the end of the book, it even turns into a [[BrickJoke Brick Period]] when a female CEO offers him a new job and dryly tells him that it's that time of the month and he better should decide quickly because she's very irritable now.

* An identical scenario is seen in ''The Fabulous Five'' series, which also focuses on a group of 13-year old girls, yet never has the topic come up. Again, it's highly unlikely that none of them would have reached menarche.

* Averted, however delicately and obliquely, in ''Awake in the Night Land'' by Creator/JohnCWright. The narrator tells the boy she is talking to that she was in a place for a month -- and refuses to explain how she knew that in the absence of all external indicators of passing time, citing his youth. When he's old enough to marry, his wife will explain it.

* Averted in Creator/JohnWyndham's ''The Trouble with Lichen'' in which a scientist develops a technique that will triple the human life expectancy and tests it on his grown-up children. His son realises that his body clock has been slowed down because he only has to shave every third day, but - until she drops a broad hint - doesn't understand how his sister has figured it out too.

* In ''Time Past'', the main character comes from a time period in which medical treatments are available to completely suppress menstruation. When she gets stuck in a slum in the past, she starts getting periods, and notes that she has tremendous newfound respect for her female ancestors, who had to deal with this every single month for most of their lives.

* In ''Drinker Of Blood'', a period[[note]]Really?[[/note]] mystery set in AncientEgypt, Lord Meren's daughter is put under house arrest when Meren goes on the run, framed for attacking the pharaoh. Knowing her (male) guards' willingness to search outgoing parcels has its limits, she sends him a letter via her laundress, concealed in a basket of feminine blood-cloths.

->'''Al''': You know who was a good woman? Veronica. You know, from ''ComicBook/ArchieComics''? Veronica never had a period.\\
'''Steve''': That's true. But she still had an attitude problem.\\
'''Al''': You're right. There are no good ones.

* Mentioned once or twice in ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', as female spellcasters lose power "that time of the month". Given the length of the series, it's surprising it only comes up once or twice with Lina, the first time as a minor plot point. Presumably, she is little affected most of the time, or maybe it only affects her and a small number of mages.

* In ''LightNovel/ReZero'' Rem leaves the kingdom with Subaru in ''Sloth IF'' in order to marry him and live with him. One day she is injured in an attack and the doctor finds that the injuries are minor, but also that she is three months pregnant. Rem herself had no idea about it. So one can assume that she does not have a period because she should have noticed her pregnancy by not having one. In fact, Rem is not even human, but an [[{{Oni}} oni]]. It is speculation that oni's bodies function differently than human's in this regard.

* In ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'' Season 3, Clementine has her first period in the fourth episode and asks Javi for advice. The player can find maxi pads for her in a medical center.

* ''Literature/SchooledInMagic'': In the first book, female students at Whitehall are instructed to turn over any of their clothing with blood on it to be destroyed at once so this won't get [[BloodMagic used against them]]. While not explicit, this clearly means from menstruation. Otherwise though, it isn't mentioned. Female students are also provided with potions to minimize both bleeding and discomfort related to their menstrual cycle. Menstruation is also repeatedly mentioned in relation to female fertility, [[spoiler: both regarding Alassa's possible infertility and the fact that imprecise and wasteful magic use in ''Past Tense'' causes infertility among magicians of the far past]]. No one is ever mentioned actually experiencing a period though.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': Played with. When Mei first turns into a giant Red Panda, her mother doesn't know and thinks that Mei started her period. It's also shown that Mei's mother has prepared a care package of ibuprofen, a hot water bottle, vitamin D and various different sanitary towel options just for this scenario. While Mei doesn't ''actually'' start her period, the entire movie can very easily be seen as a first period/puberty metaphor.
[[/folder]]

* Averted in ''Film/JupiterAscending''; Jupiter uses a maxi pad (for lack of anything else) as a bandage for Caine's wound, telling him to be thankful that the car they’ve stolen is owned by a woman - [[CriticalResearchFailure although she applies it sticky side down]].

* ''Anime/{{Toradora}}'' famously averts this when Ami declares to Minori: "Talking to you is like having a period."

* Played with in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': both times a woman has mentioned their period, they've been ''lying'' to deflect suspicion about something else. Haley claims an obvious bag of ill-gotten loot is actually feminine supplies, and [[HornyDevils Sabine]] sneaks off to [[spoiler: report the Snarl's existence to her superiors]] under the pretense that "it's that time of the century... [[UnusualEuphemism the Red Knight is requesting lodging]]".

-->"That's strange." Garnet said.
-->"I think it might be a human cultural thing?" Pearl pondered.

-->'''Evil Queen!Annie:''' We never have any fun anymore.
-->'''Alvy:''' How can you say that?
-->'''Evil Queen!Annie:''' Why not? You're always leaning on me to improve myself.
-->'''Alvy:''' You're just upset. You must be getting your period.
-->'''Evil Queen!Annie:''' I don't get a period! I'm a cartoon character.

* Most animals don't menstruate, the exceptions being humans and our closest primate relatives, elephant shrews and certain bats; even then, in their case, no PMS-like symptoms and difficulties are to be found.

* Oddly enough, ''WesternAnimation/{{Grossology}}'' doesn't mention periods in any of its episodes, despite one of the Grossologists being a female in junior high school. This is most likely so the show can keep its Y-7 rating.

* ''Series/PaperGirls'': In "A New Period" Erin goes to buy a tampon as she's got her period, discussing which kind to get and how it's used with the other girls (who have yet to get theirs). Erin is worried about removing the tampon afterward, especially the warning about toxic shock from it on the box.