A 26-year-old California woman's Instagram account is going viral — because it features photos of the woman, Demetra Nyx, smearing menstrual blood all over her face because it's "magical" and "powerful."

What are the details?

According to The Sun, Nyx, a "sex coach" who lives in Los Angeles, had her first menstrual cycle when she was 12 years old, and she'd been embarrassed and ashamed of it ever since.

The article noted how Nyx would try to hide the very normal fact that she had a monthly period and would obsess over her period to the point of journaling about it.

"I was simultaneously embarrassed and fascinated by my period," she admitted. "I felt apologetic about it a lot and tried to hide it from boyfriends."



Nyx blamed the way she felt on society.

"Our society teaches us that periods are dirty and inconvenient," she explained. "Ads about menstrual products talk about smelling 'fresh' or making us cleaner, implying that our bodies' natural functions are gross."

Nyx said that an experience with implantable birth control turned her perspective on its head.

After she discarded the invasive method, she decided that her period was going to be "magical" from then forward.

"Sharing pictures of blood on my face and body was just an impulse," Nyx explained. "I was creating a series to help women connect with their menstrual cycle, and I thought it would be fun."



"We can also do things like paint with it, or pour it into the earth," she added. "I believe it's a beautiful thing to get comfortable with touching your own blood."



Nyx shared a video in January and captioned it:

Just a reminder that some days are so painful that all you do is cry and lie in bed but then some days you can cover yourself in blood and dance around the house and are about to launch your podcast and have moved to Southern California where it almost never rains and are making thousands of dollars talking to people about topics that freak most of humanity out and LIFE IS SO GREAT! (That is my reminder to myself. My reminder to you is that you can be whoever you want. And the people who love you will find you always. And the people who don't will leave. And you can say bye forever because it is way more fun being true to yourself!!!)

She also shared a graphic photo, her face covered in blood, explaining why she loves smearing her face with menstrual blood.

Vowing to continue sharing such photos on a monthly basis, Nyx said that she aims to normalize menstrual cycles.

"I will do it until little girls stop being taught that the natural functions of their bodies are disgusting and unclean," she wrote. "I will do it until women stop feeling like they can't have sex on their period because it is gross."

She added, "Also, it's fun and I like it."

Nyx told the outlet that even though she gets a lot of flak for sharing such disturbing photos, she isn't discouraged.

"My blood to me has become fun, beautiful, and powerful, and playing with it brings me closer to myself," she explained. "A really common comment I get is, 'Oh, you should just wipe poop all over your face then, it's the same thing.'"

Even though she receives negative feedback from both friends and family, she won't stop.

"That encourages me to keep posting [the photos] – if it wasn't having a necessary impact, people wouldn't be so bothered by it," Nyx shrugged.