Radical Menstruation

(oh, xpost. apologies for not being snarky! i actually think it's kind of cool.)

It's not embarrassing or scary, but honestly. Secret is good. As is convenient. There are lots of body functions I don't boast about, but I don't feel conflicted or ashamed of.

Hahahaha....mondo!

Tampon adverts don't bother Us so much as douche adverts do.

Seriously, if these hippies had health issues causing them to have a nonstop period for six months, they wouldn't be quite so proud of themselves for, you know, a normal biological function???!

also, that secrecy doesn't always jibe with the idea of convenience. or have you never been in a so-called ladies' bathroom that has zero feminine products when you're in a 'oh, shit, i'm three days early' jam? (cue 'if men could menstruate' by gloria steinem here.)

I think greater awareness of women's health issues in general would be a good thing - and all of this needs to be free of corporate sponsorship. I didn't realise things had got to be so bad in the States. But, as usual, most of Ladyfest UK addresses things in such a ludicrously cack-handed approach that no one can take it seriously.

Especially awareness by men.

EEEWWWWWWWWWW...

haha ally, yeah the workplace where the ladies' room had the highest number of tampons available was also the one where there weren't many women at all.

also, the other thing i just have to add here is like a public service announcement: women, womyn, ladies, PLEASE do not ever ever ever dispose of your feminine hygiene products in the toilet/bathroom drains if you live in an old apartment building, since this WILL very probably cause the entire building's toilets to fuck up and get stuck and then explode the plumbing system ETCETERA...especially if you are living at 909 West 30th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90007

just trust me here.

I consider myself a feminist, but being around people like my mom for years and years has made me develope quite a sense of humor about this sort of thing.

I went to a couple of workshops, not about menstruation, and they were fascinating.

Men never really get to know abt the full cycle, which is a shame.

At the risk of sounding like a TOTAL idiot, is it true that sometimes the cycle gets linked to the moon? I read it on a quite believable website, but it seems a bit unlikely.
Seriously, I don't know!

Generally, womens' menstral cycles tend to just synch up to whatever woman they spend the largest amount of time in close proximity to. Unless they're on the pill. Selfish women, going on the pill and wrecking havoc with their sisters' cycles!

People's reactions to the extreme (including my own dislike of Womyn etc.) is rather tempered by the idea that many of the more moderate ideas of feminism have already been accepted into the mainstream.

At last a legit context for me to shout "MENSES FIGHT"!

(ew)

I had a look at the Manchester Ladyfest website but the kinds of bands and workshops didn't appeal, so I didn't check it out.

My sex ed classes in 1980s Toronto were ok - we definitely went through everything in a lot of detail. The boys were made to sit through it too, although they were banned from the breast self-examination film (but were peering desperately through the door when it was screened!)

I do think pads/tampons should be a lot cheaper, but I especially think that condoms, pregnancy tests, the pill etc. are insanely overpriced - and I mean as in Boots or Superdrug, as not many people are likely to travel to the family planning clinics that dish stuff out for free or nearly free. Younger peeps with limited spending money are not going to fork out £6.99 for 12 condoms (about the cheapest you can do from Boots)

Most boys are not so OK with feminine products. I knew it was love when HSA actually went out early one Sunday morning to get a pack of Always for me when I was caught out early!

(Though I do know girls who feel awkward and uncomfortable purchasing condoms, as well.)

Best purchase ever: a bottle of vodka, a box of condoms and a jar of vaseline. (All for totally unrelated purposes, but it did make the counter girl at Sainsburys stare.)

I don't know if the bf would be embarassed to buy me tampons, because it hasn't come up yet. I keep such a huge stash that I rarely run out, and just tend to stock up whenever they're on sale. I'm like a squirrel, me.

Now for my own horror story, which I'm sure I've mentioned before as it's so traumatic. My exboyfriend snuck up behind me in the hall between classes in 7th grade, opened my bookbag, and found my pads. He immediately started throwing them all over the hall and saying, "Hey! Look everyone!" But then I guess he realized no one cared and he slunk off.

You make this sound like it happened in the jacuzzi.

I don't have a problem talking about stuff like that with the boyf either, of course he is just humouring me and could care less about the new "cotton like" topsheet...

On a shopping expediton for various girlie things for me the checkout lady asked him if he was leading a double life and sniggered, he was tres embarrassed!

Oh hey, we must have synchronized. No, wait...

> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2003 06:19:30 -0800 (PST)
> From: heather webster
> Subject: radical menstruation>?
>
> well.. I'm kinda glad you asked what radical menstruation is.. It's actually pretty broad and such a general term that it's open to individual interpretation.
>
> However, what I can answer is what is radical about menstruation? Tampons are made out of cotton./rayon fibers (unless you buy organic only cotton). In the US cotton is one of the most pesticide -ridden crops. Rayon is a synthetic fiber derived from wood pulp, and in the processing of rayon Dioxin is produced ( a harmful chemical linked to cervical cancer, endometriosis, tss, yeast infections, low sperm count (for guys who interact with a dioxin-tainted vagina), cuts in the vaginal walls, and birth defects. We are concerned about thoes chemicals being absorbes through our vaginal walls and fucking us up BIG time. So...We started a womyn's health and sexuality collective and the first thing we focused on was the health of menstruation. We did a lot of work and research on these chemicals and alternatives to tampons (like the keeper, homemade cotton or flannel pads, organic tampons, and stuff like that). We also looked at the impact tampons have on the enviorment- as a form of waste
> and as a chemical hazard, and the shame surrounding OUR BLOOD.
>
> So, currently we carry 8 or so zines about having a healthy period, practicing non-invasive birth control (fertility awareness through tracking your ovulation cycle (for more info see Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler)).. We also distro homemade pads, speculums, we give away info on making your own pad, and stuff like that..
>
> So, what I mean by Radical Menstruation is Menstruation Activism, tampon's are'nt healthy and if you do reaserch on them and still wanna use 'em that's fine. But I'm pretty angry that I was never told how harmful they can be. And I think it's importnat to get the word out there so menstruators can make informed decisions about thier health.
>
> if anyone wants more info.. I'd be happy to send zines and good stuff.. I'd just want $$ for shipping..especially cause most of y'all are in the UK...Wait, not necessarily- I'm actually visiting London from Nov 22-29 if there's someplace I could leave info??
>
>

(nb obv i like "womyn" coz it's a funny spelling, actually it's my favourite funny spelling)

alarm bells there...

Wow, that never occurred to me!

I don't remember learning anything at all in sex-ed about the fertility cycle, just that girls get periods and wear sanitary napkins during them so as not to make a mess. What a joke!

I also think the idea of menstrual cycles synching-up is fascinating (though there has been some scientific suggestion that this can be explained by mere random coincidence). I hopefully imagine that there is a good deal of behavior-mediating chemical communication going on between individuals that we haven't yet learned to recognize. And of course, the less physically shielded we are from each other, the more influence these things have.

If "radical menstruation" (a perverse name, obviously) is the response to our mindlessly commercial, interventionist health care system and paranoia-inducing health education strategies, then bully for it.

Okay why has my period been going on for five weeks?

It's getting A-SPENSIVE.

i read this as racial menstruation :/

Be colorblind, don't be so shallow.

http://members.shaw.ca/revchu/stuff/men2zb.gif

Buy some cheap red t-shirts to cut up and use as supplemental pads?

why isn't there a menstruation emoji

I just use the volcano emoji.

well, then what do you use for volcanos

The dancing lady.

lol