Finally, a Frank Conversation About Women's Health

Women’s health is rarely discussed, and doing so frankly is a feminist act. Periods? Gross! society tells us. Vaginal discharge? No thanks. But finally, The Atlantic has published a piece that speaks openly and accurately about women’s health. Here are some of the most relevant quotes about what it’s actually like to be a hag in today’s society:

Typically, a hagfish will release less than a teaspoon of gunk from the 100 or so slime glands that line its flanks. And in less than half a second, that little amount will expand by 10,000 times—enough to fill a sizable bucket. Reach in, and every move of your hand will drag the water with it.

The slime looks revolting, but it’s also one of nature’s more wondrous substances, unlike anything else that’s been concocted by either evolution or engineers.

“It looks like a bunch of mucus that someone just sneezed out of their nose,” he says. “That’s not at all what it’s like.”

Being extremely soft, the slime is very good at filling crevices, and scientists had long assumed that hagfish use it to clog the gills of would-be predators.

His colleague Sarah Boggett showed that the answer lies in their skin. It’s exceptionally loose, and attaches to the rest of the body at only a few places. It’s also very flaccid: You could inject a hagfish with an extra 40 percent of its body volume without stretching the skin. The animal is effectively wearing a set of extremely loose pajamas, Fudge says.

They can also eat by simply sitting inside a corpse, and absorbing nutrients directly through its skin and gills.

At long last, an article that speaks to what’s really going on with us down there.