Jezebel: the crimson tide

Is Menstruation A Girls-Only Gift Or A Modern Inconvenience?

mcarpentier — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST

Menstruation usually sucks, except when you think you might be accidentally up the stick. But take the annoying physicality of expelling uterine tissue out of your vagina, add in cramps, bloating, headaches, mood swings, ruined underwear and the occasional odor and you've got a recipe for a major monthly headache. But would you ever want to eliminate your periods entirely? Salon is just the latest media outlet to pose that question, motivated by the sales pitches accompanying Lybrel, a pharmaceutical intended to allow women to avoid menstruating altogether. (Seasonale, a birth-control pill that reduces a woman's periods to 4 times a year, became available to American women in 2003...with Sex And The City writer Candace Bushnell as spokeswoman).

Although the marketing behind both Lybrel and Seasonale suggests that, without her period, a woman can be more productive, "in control" or desirable, the question, of course, is whether exerting (pharmaceutical) control over our reproductive systems is the ultimate expression of feminism or the ultimate betrayal of it. Salon's Tracy Clark-Fiory describes the shilling behind Seasonale thusly: "The pink pill, tag-lined 'Fewer Periods. More Possibilities,' was promoted as a lifestyle choice. The drug's current Web site offers a period planner allowing women to schedule their cycle around 'vacations, business travel, romantic encounters, and family reunions.' In other words, there is no need for public premenstrual breakdowns, missing a meeting because of debilitating cramps or dampening a sexual flame by having to bashfully explain it's 'that time of the month' The take-away marketing message: A woman in control has menstruation under control."

Clark-Fiory also quotes Mary Vavrus of the University of Minnesota, who likens menstruation-suppression to cosmetic, "objectifying" procedures such as breast implant surgery and describes it as a step backwards for post-pubescent women: "It's infantilizing, [the message that] you don't have to go to that next stage of maturation, you can hover in this liminal state between childhood and mature adulthood." Adds Karen Houppert, author of The Curse: Confronting the Last Unmentionable Taboo: Menstruation: "The problem is the 'welcome to womanhood' idea is not such a welcome thought to [young girls]. It's viewed as a restrictive role. It means girls who are 12 and 13 are leaving their childhood aside for other concerns that have to do with appearance, boys and weight."

The End Of Menstruation [Salon]

[Illustration by Cristy Road]

Is Anyone Still Scared Of Toxic Shock Syndrome?

Jennifer — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:30:00 EST

Helena Holmes, a 17-year old girl from Hull, England, came down with a devastating case of Toxic Shock Syndrome and subsequently went bald. But while bald, Helena was spotted by a modeling agent, who then signed her to a 3-year contract. (Thanks, Tampax!) Here's a question: Although most of us born before 1985 were duly warned about the dangers of TSS with regards to tampon-use, we haven't heard about it in years, nor known a woman who has suffered from it. (Apparently there was an outbreak of cases in the 80's, but things cooled down after that.) Anyway, in the interest of public service — and because, well, today is a reeaalllly slow news day — we've decided to ask the question: Does the fear of Toxic Shock Syndrome send you running to the Always aisle? (Side note: Maybe the easiest way to avoid TSS is to acquire a fashion-industry-mandated eating disorder and stop menstruating altogether!) Let us know after the jump.

Bald Toxic Shock Girl's Misery Turns To Joy After Winning Three Year Modelling Contract [Daily Mail]
Toxic Shock Syndrome [Kids Health]
Toxic Shock Syndrome [Mayo Clinic]

What Should Be In A First Period Kit?

dodai — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:00:00 EST

The first time they get their periods, many girls are simply unprepared. Which is why Kathy Pickus and Terri Goodwin, sisters from Seattle, created Dot Girl's First Period Kit. Kathy's period debuted during a family vacation, and even though their mother was a nurse, Kathy hadn't yet been given "the talk." "I honestly thought, 'OK, I'm dying,' " Kathy says. "It took a full day to tell my mom." Terri didn't have a dialogue either — their brother died in a car accident the week before she started menstruating and her mother was too grief-srticken to communicate. Now Kathy has a daughter of her own, and the sisters launched Dot Girl last December. The $18 kit is a zippered bag with an information booklet, a menstrual calendar, a gel-filled heat pack to ease cramps, hand wipes and three sanitary pads in two sizes. It comes in two colors: Sky blue and (the more popular) peppermint pink.

Dot Girl isn't the only first-period kit out there, but it is the most mainstream and affordable: The $80 New Moon Kit comes with organic cotton washable pads and Divine Goddess Naturals Moon Tea; the $145 Deluxe Birth With Sol kit includes a Menstrual Goddess candle; a $49 "Coming Of Age" kit from Woman Wisdom includes a DVD.

A "my first period" kit is a great start, but why stop there? Wouldn't it be nice if there was less weirdness, embarrassment and trauma around the first period — but more celebrating and chocolate? We went to school with someone who got a tiara and a "Girl, You're A Woman Now!" cake when she first got her period. Personally, we would have liked a period kit that came with Advil, a Snickers and a "Please Don't Talk To Me Today" button, which we would've pinned to our bookbag. What else do young women need?

First-Period Kits Like Dot Girl Help Tweens Come Of Age With Confidence [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Walt Disney's 'The Story Of Menstruation'

Tracie — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:00:00 EDT

Above is a clip of the animated short The Story of Menstruation, a joint Disney/Kotex production intended for educating girls about their bodies. Released in 1946, this film is surprisingly frank in its description of why we get periods and how to deal with it when we do. It also debunks false "taboos" regarding stuff one can and can't do when on the rag, like exercising and bathing. (Ew! Did chicks really think they shouldn't bathe while bleeding? They must've smelled delightful!) The lady who narrates the film has the best accent in the world, one that could really only be categorized as "mid-century." Also, we like the hidden suggestion that you can dance with a boy, but "don't get carried away." Translation: Don't have period sex! (Frig that! We're extra horny when we get our period.)

The Menstruation Story [YouTube via NY Mag]

Period Sex: A 'Do' Or A 'Don't'?

Moe — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:05:01 EDT

Yesterday we decided to get "surprising" and poll our buddy list as to whether they believed in God. Now, that's not the sort of question that you ask our sort of buddy list without couching it in something totally smutty and gross, which is why we phrased the question, "Do you believe in God? And what about period sex?" Our inspiration was the August Cosmo, wherein we found a story that professes that periods and sex actually go together like um, Catholic school and plaid skirts.

Not only can climaxing relieve cramps, but the concentration of blood down below can trigger extra-intense orgasms for women.

['Cheap Cat Toy' photo via AllThinks, via Flickr]

Judging from our friends' anecdotes, period sex can be a almost religious experience! As one agnostic male put it: "People who get grossed out by period sex hate women, themselves, sex, happiness, and existence." We believe in all of those things! It's almost as good as believing in an afterlife.

One thing we learned from our resident pornography expert is that period sex is one sexual frontier that is not often fetishized in (non-Japanese) porn — probably because it feels, in the words of a friend's ex-boyfriend, "nice and gooey and warm" but looks, in the words of one of our ex-boyfriends, "like a crime scene." Of course, our friend Don (classic line: "Is your clitoris bleeding?") always used to say he liked the sight of blood. "It's like my dick killed something!" [Ugh. -Ed.] Still, as "gooey and warm" period sex lover points out, "no one likes uterine lining on the pubes." Indeed!

All told, the guys seemed more into the period sex than the ladies, which we found weird but then realized most of our guy buddies are the types of dudes who would, you know, hypothetically) fuck us, whereas most of our ladyfriends are just nice, tolerant, good-hearted, non-judgmental women. A fellow Jezebelle said she was "shy" about period sex, but that it was a huge turn-on when a guy was into it. "Like when he yanks out your tampon and just sticks it in a sock or something, like 'fuck it, we're doing this now'... that's hot," another woman elaborated. (Although, note to dudes: Taking it out with your teeth is comically gross enough to be a worthwhile story, but not something anyone wants to happen to her twice.)

Another blogger we know claimed her body went into a kind of weird shock when it "knew it was going to get laid" whereby the bleeding stopped. "Isn't that, like, just smart evolutionary normalness?" she asked. To which we said, ummmmm, yeah, if so, Darwin is probably trying to tell us something! Yet another girlblogger agreed with Cosmo: "I think period sex fuck yeah. more please! I am so horny on my period. And to be TOTALLY honest I like the down 'n' dirty aspect of it. And I think guys who can't get into it have body shame issues they need to work through or are gay." Yeah, whereas girls who can't get into it are either worried about the mattress or annoyed that they're being forced to do it in the shower!

Someday We May All Be Bloodless, 60-Year-Old New Mothers

Anna — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:25:13 EDT

More on the issue of new technologies that delay or do away with menstruation altogether. Writing in today's USA Today, Kim Painter reports on the opposition to period-less womanhood, singling out health experts, a documentary filmmaker, and a SF-based artist who has created paintings made of her menstrual blood ("I wanted to make something beautiful out of something that is usually thought to be disgusting," says Vanessa Tiegs).

But wait! Today also sees the news that fertility experts are working on a pill-based method to delay the onset of menopause and allow women to bear children at later and later ages. Hey, we have an idea! Why don't they just combine the two pills? And, while they're at it, maybe they can add in some sort of toxin that makes women stop growing pubic hair!
Menstruation: Cycle Of Pain Or Creativity? [USAToday]
Pill May Help Delay Menopause [Guardian]
A Journal Of The Monthly Renewal Process [LiveJournal]
Earlier: Women Learn To Make Menopause Jokes. But The IT Guy Isn't Laughing!
Period Panties No More!

Period Panties No More!

Anna — Mon, 21 May 2007 10:30:41 EDT

Having successfully convinced women of the filthiness (and, by extension, irrelevance) of their natural odors, curves, and body hair, it's not surprising that the patriarchy is going onward (and upward) with its assault on the female body. In the sights (and freshly arrived in our RSS feed): Women who menstruate! (What's next? Women who don't shit? -Ed.) Today brings news that the FDA is about to approve Lybrel — "a name meant to evoke 'liberty'"! — a birth control pill that stops menstruation completely.

Gynecologists say they've been seeing a slow but steady increase in women asking how to limit and even stop monthly bleeding. Surveys have found up to half of women would prefer not to have any periods, most would prefer them less often and a majority of doctors have prescribed contraception to prevent periods.
"I think it's the beginning of it being very common," said Dr. Leslie Miller, a University of Washington-Seattle obstetrician-gynecologist who runs a Web site focused on suppressing periods. "Lybrel says, 'You don't need a period."'

Well then! Looks like the feminine-hygiene industry doesn't need a lobbyist in Washington either!

First Birth Control Pill Meant To End Periods Poised For Approval [ABCNews]