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Posts Tagged “
periods
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we ask, you answer
(not) bloody hell
Some Old-Tyme Period Practices Were Kinda Fun
Different cultures have different ways of treating menstruation, and reading Narayani Ganesh's recollection of her mother's "monthly three-day vacation" in the Times Of India makes having your period sound awesome. "She would read magazines and novels in a supine position, her head resting on a block of wood fashioned like a pillow," writes Ganesh. "[She] looked so relaxed, unhurried and undisturbed. She wouldn’t take part in household activities nor go out shopping or attending functions." More »
Would you like to "give people in your life a heads-up of when you might be feeling a bit irritable without having an awkward conversation"? Try PMSBuddy — the web applicationthat supposedly alerts up to five men that women "are closing in on "that time of the month" - when things can get intense for what may seem to be no reason at all." PMSBuddy even has a Facebook page, on which a satisfied customer with the name of Lkjv Vlk writes, "I wont have to ask my wife 'are you having PMS' ever again!" We'd disemvowel Lkjv just for shit n' giggles if we could but it seems someone already beat us to it.
bloody hell
Feminine Hygiene Commercials Are Rarely Genius
Over on AdAge, there's a commercial for a company called Libra. In the spot, a woman on a rooftop rocks out on guitar as video game shapes fall from the sky. The licks are hot, the chick is cool, and the tagline is: "Play with patterns." The product? Tampons. Because having your period rocks! Actually, the ad's not bad — at least there's not blue mystery liquid being squeezed from an eyedropper or a beaver involved. As AdAge's Charlie Moran points out: "We like rock 'n roll as a source of female empowerment, but doesn't such a contrived packaging gimmick like this play into stereotypes about the frivolity of those same young girls?" Ugh. Why is "feminine hygiene" such a tough product to sell? Women menstruate. They need tampons. So how come tampon commercials rarely hit the mark? More »
period dramas
The Importance Of Being Able To Change Your Period Products In "Public"
Sharing experiences of certain bodily functions are milestones in intimacy with significant others, like pooping while they're in the house, vomiting on them when you're sick, or farting in from of them. Once you can do that shit (literally), you know that you're comfortable in your relationship. But there's one final frontier of unpleasantness that means you're really close: changing your pads and tampons in front of your boyfriend. (I say "boyfriend," because I'm assuming this isn't as much of an issue in lesbian relationships.) Some guys are apparently squeamish about this sort of thing, probably the same ones who are weird about period sex. But can you really have a lasting relationship with someone if you have to hide bloody cotton from them? More »
Hot News Flash
Several new studies have researchers more confident that hormone replacement therapy is a beneficial treatment for symptoms of menopause. Estrogen was once widely prescribed to menopausal women, but the treatment fell out of favor after a 2002 federal study suggested it may increase the risk of breast cancer and stroke. Now new research has prompted the North American Menopause Society to recommend that if women start hormone therapy around the time their periods end it may minimize the risks presented in the 2002 study and increase the benefits. Their position is supported by a new study published in the British Medical Journal, which found that women given hormone replacement therapy experienced fewer menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, aching joints and muscles, insomnia and vaginal dryness. [Newsweek]
Periods are awesome! A new study has found that circulation-blocked mice, when injected with cells obtained from menstrual blood (called endometrial regenerative cells) their circulation and functionality were restored. This means that people suffering from critical limb ischemia, as advanced form of peripheal artery disease that causes 150,000 amputations a year, may be able to be treated with ERCs. The cells are good because they don't requite matching, complex equipment, can be delivered to the point of care, and are capable of forming 9 different tissue types. [Science Daily]
Tampax has announced that it will launch a group called the "MonthlyGiftClub" (as in a menstrual period is a "monthly gift") for the tween social networking community Stardoll. For those of you over the age of, oh, 13, Stardoll is basically just a really watered-down version of Second Life, where girls can create avatars and join clubs. Anyway, the MonthlyGiftClub will provide members with white clothing (taking a "visual cue" from tampon ads that signal that a brand's products are "safe and absorbent") and members can sign up to receive free samples of Tampax Pearl tampons. Sounds okay, but maybe a better "visual cue" would be to give non-members sweatshirts to wrap around their waists and eventually have one girl run to the locker room in tears after some idiot boys point out spots on her backside? [Brand Week]
r.i.p.
Chef Sings A Song About Menstrual Cycles
As you probably already heard, singer/actor Isaac Hayes died yesterday at his home in Memphis, TN at the age of 65. The baritone singer/composer was probably most well known for creating the theme song for Shaft…that is, until he voiced the character Chef on South Park. He was killed off the show after Hayes became angry with an episode that made fun of his brother in Scientology, Tom Cruise. But before that nastiness, he had a great run of things and contributed lots of sexy songs, including this one, in which he explains the menstrual cycle to Stan. More »
Go With The Flow
Naomi Matsushima, a Japanese comedienne, wanted that time of the month to be more fun. So she invented Whisper pads: brightly colored, patterned pads featuring stars or camouflage print. Silly? Maybe. But Proctor & Gamble liked Matsushima's ideas enough to put the pretty pads into production. While you can only get 'em in Japan right now, don't you think cheering up Aunt Flo is really an admirable task, period? [Inventor Spot]
