Premenstrual syndrome is something Dan Conner knows all about. The beleaguered blue-collar spouse on television`s ”Roseanne” treads lightly when his mate nears menstruation.
Charlie Erland knows all about PMS, too. Erland claims his wife, Carolyn, is the original PMS poster woman, not Roseanne.
”She`ll ask you very nicely if you want something,” says Erland of his wife`s mood swings and short temper. ”But, heaven forbid, you say yes, then it`s like, `What do you think, I have three arms? Get it yourself.”`
Erland, 37, an Oregon contractor married six years, thought it high time that male victims of PMS got their due. So he and brother-in-law Steve Roseland, 39, founded the Male Premenstrual Victims Association or MPMVA.
Their credo, plastered on MPMVA T-shirts reads: ”If women suffered PMS in silence, there would be no male victims.” Or, as Erland adds for clarification, ”He who lives with the afflicted also suffers.”
The MPMVA sees its struggle as a men`s rights issue. ”We are not putting women down,” Erland insists. ”But people think it only affects women, forgetting that husbands and boyfriends who are in tune with a woman`s life cycle are also greatly affected.”
The two say that 70 to 80 percent of the membership requests come from women for their mates. ”Their attitude is, `Hey, it`s my time. You go wear your T-shirt,”` says Roseland, who insists his ex-wife`s PMS contributed to his divorce.
Members run the gamut from bikers to CEOs. One woman wanted the words
”gunshot victim” substituted for her husband`s name on a membership card.
”Right then I knew this guy`s wife suffered really badly,” Roseland says.
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The one thing the guys bristle at is what they perceive as preferential treatment afforded women during their menstrual cycles.
”They expect tolerance for whatever they`re going to throw at you,”
says Erland. He`s steamed because men don`t get testosterone pardons-time to guzzle a few brews with the compadres because they`re feeling a little puffy and cranky. ”My wife would never allow it,” says Erland.
The brothers-in-law admit they aren`t experts on PMS. What they try to do is deflect some of the tension that permeates the households each month.
”PMS is not a joke, believe me,” says Roseland. ”But it goes faster if you lighten up.”
A membership is $17 (plus $2.50 postage & handling) and includes a T-shirt and membership card. Write to: MPMVA, P.O. Box 571, Canby, Ore. 97013, or call 503-263-6650.