Of Menstruation and Empowerment
I want to talk for a moment about the importance of bio-Fem. I'm not sure if that's an actual name for an ideology, but it should be, because science and medicine haven't always been kind to women. Once upon a time, so-called science was used to justify oppression of all flavors, which I mention also because I read this really rad article by Avory at Radically Queer about how Feminism cannot continue to exclude race from the ongoing dialogs of change. It was written specifically in response to New York's Slut Walk, where a presumably non-female of color held up a sign declaring "Women are the N of the World."
Most of my friends are smart enough to understand why this isn't acceptable, so I don't need to go into detail about it. I have some conflicting feelings on Avory's article, even though I overwhelmingly support her bottom line, and I hope you'll take the time to read it, as well.
I mean, there are any number of products stocking shelves convincing us that being a woman, at its base physicality, is wrong and disgusting. Societal conditioning has convinced us that we need to be hairless to be sexy, that we need to inject harmful chemicals so our natural odor doesn't offend our (obviously, heteromale) partners, when we get blue we just need to spruce the ol' girl up with a good Vajazzling, and that when we menstruate, we need to do so on products designed by men who will never actually menstruate themselves. That kind of explains why there's so much "shaming" involved, with a market that focuses on selling the "discreet" upside of tampons and pantyliners.
I could spend an entire afternoon ranting about the ways in which culture tells us to be out of touch while also condescendingly branding menstruation as this overly pink saturated, free-spirited experience of wrappers doling out wisdom like tea bags. Except that my awesome colleague Sayantani DasGupta already did that, so what I'll say instead is that menstruation is not something that should be commodified for corporate greed, because it's a complex experience that is the key to liberation.
It sounds dramatic, but fertility cycles were once considered indicators of great power. This was back in matriarchal cultures, when fertility, pregnancy, and menstruation were not completely understood and the ability to create life granted authority to whomever could do it. Of course, in the centuries since, with those experiences demystified, periods remain the source of giggles among school children and rampant misogyny (and racism) in advertising.
I grew up in a home where periods were NOT talked about, except to the extent of shaming me for displaying emotions or displaying the flippancy of a teenager (which I was). In other words, it was acceptable for people (read: the men in my household) to blame my cycle if they didn't agree with me or my emotional display, but it wasn't something that they wanted to hear about. And since my mother herself wasn't a Feminist, figuring out what menstruation meant for me on both a biological level and an ideological one wouldn't come for years.
I wish I could pinpoint the day or even the source that made realize things needed to change in terms of how I managed my cycle, but since I can't, I can only offer that I do remember spending hours researching the issue in college. It wasn't long before I came across the statistic that up to 30 percent of what takes up space in landfills is due to disposable feminine hygiene products. I also thought about how the advertising and marketing fields are dominated by men, disproportionately selling products to a demographic they aren't part of, creating campaigns which emphasize the need for discretion because the basic biological experience makes you weak.
I do also recall a presentation in my speech class by a peer who spoke about the importance of abandoning tampon use, especially for Rayon blend tampons, which account for up to 99 percent of all Toxic Shock Syndrome cases around the world. I was so compelled by her topic, that although I had abandoned my search for something better than Tampax Pearl, I resumed it the very next day.
Eventually, after several months of research, I settled on the DivaCup in 2008. I loved the reviews about the Lunapads company, a female start-up delivering women-centric products for menstruation with empowerment, love, and sassy designs. I selected the DivaCup in particular, a silicone catcher that was said to not only be eco-friendly, but dish-washer safe, because I admit that one advantage tampons had over pads (for me) was that I didn't need to worry about overheating between my legs.
It was a bit of a learning experience, as far as properly inserting it the first time, but never once did I have to deal with chafing or a fear that not changing it in between classes might lead to Toxic Shock Syndrome. I could even sleep with it and not worry that I'd wake up with leaks on my clothes. I also began charting my cycle, no longer feeling that the experience was something to dread, looking forward to likewise charting my experience and sharing it with my female friends. That year, most of my girlfriends were given a DivaCup for their own periods.
It might sound inauthentic to say a certain product transformed the way I experience a routine biological process, but that's exactly what happened with me. Coming from a background where women are shamed simply for being female, it's impressive I became a Feminist at all, let alone one who sees menstruation as critical to moving up and out.
Since then, Lunapads has impressed me with their commitment and dedication to helping women across the world. They sponsor menstrual kits for women in Africa who don't have access to any hygiene products for their menstruation. And when we had the fundraiser at the Birth Center last spring, they donated two different kits for patrons. They're by women, for women, and all about women.
That's why I also want to share with the awesome women on my blog that there's a $50 Lunapads giveaway going on right now for Lunapads through a blog I read occasionally called Retro Housewife Goes Green. All you need to do is post a reply with your e-mail address and what you'd do with the $50. I posted that I want to use the gift certificate to buy a Lunapads teen intro kit for my sister; what would you buy?
Most of my friends are smart enough to understand why this isn't acceptable, so I don't need to go into detail about it. I have some conflicting feelings on Avory's article, even though I overwhelmingly support her bottom line, and I hope you'll take the time to read it, as well.
I mean, there are any number of products stocking shelves convincing us that being a woman, at its base physicality, is wrong and disgusting. Societal conditioning has convinced us that we need to be hairless to be sexy, that we need to inject harmful chemicals so our natural odor doesn't offend our (obviously, heteromale) partners, when we get blue we just need to spruce the ol' girl up with a good Vajazzling, and that when we menstruate, we need to do so on products designed by men who will never actually menstruate themselves. That kind of explains why there's so much "shaming" involved, with a market that focuses on selling the "discreet" upside of tampons and pantyliners.
I could spend an entire afternoon ranting about the ways in which culture tells us to be out of touch while also condescendingly branding menstruation as this overly pink saturated, free-spirited experience of wrappers doling out wisdom like tea bags. Except that my awesome colleague Sayantani DasGupta already did that, so what I'll say instead is that menstruation is not something that should be commodified for corporate greed, because it's a complex experience that is the key to liberation.
It sounds dramatic, but fertility cycles were once considered indicators of great power. This was back in matriarchal cultures, when fertility, pregnancy, and menstruation were not completely understood and the ability to create life granted authority to whomever could do it. Of course, in the centuries since, with those experiences demystified, periods remain the source of giggles among school children and rampant misogyny (and racism) in advertising.
I grew up in a home where periods were NOT talked about, except to the extent of shaming me for displaying emotions or displaying the flippancy of a teenager (which I was). In other words, it was acceptable for people (read: the men in my household) to blame my cycle if they didn't agree with me or my emotional display, but it wasn't something that they wanted to hear about. And since my mother herself wasn't a Feminist, figuring out what menstruation meant for me on both a biological level and an ideological one wouldn't come for years.
I wish I could pinpoint the day or even the source that made realize things needed to change in terms of how I managed my cycle, but since I can't, I can only offer that I do remember spending hours researching the issue in college. It wasn't long before I came across the statistic that up to 30 percent of what takes up space in landfills is due to disposable feminine hygiene products. I also thought about how the advertising and marketing fields are dominated by men, disproportionately selling products to a demographic they aren't part of, creating campaigns which emphasize the need for discretion because the basic biological experience makes you weak.
I do also recall a presentation in my speech class by a peer who spoke about the importance of abandoning tampon use, especially for Rayon blend tampons, which account for up to 99 percent of all Toxic Shock Syndrome cases around the world. I was so compelled by her topic, that although I had abandoned my search for something better than Tampax Pearl, I resumed it the very next day.
Eventually, after several months of research, I settled on the DivaCup in 2008. I loved the reviews about the Lunapads company, a female start-up delivering women-centric products for menstruation with empowerment, love, and sassy designs. I selected the DivaCup in particular, a silicone catcher that was said to not only be eco-friendly, but dish-washer safe, because I admit that one advantage tampons had over pads (for me) was that I didn't need to worry about overheating between my legs.
It was a bit of a learning experience, as far as properly inserting it the first time, but never once did I have to deal with chafing or a fear that not changing it in between classes might lead to Toxic Shock Syndrome. I could even sleep with it and not worry that I'd wake up with leaks on my clothes. I also began charting my cycle, no longer feeling that the experience was something to dread, looking forward to likewise charting my experience and sharing it with my female friends. That year, most of my girlfriends were given a DivaCup for their own periods.
It might sound inauthentic to say a certain product transformed the way I experience a routine biological process, but that's exactly what happened with me. Coming from a background where women are shamed simply for being female, it's impressive I became a Feminist at all, let alone one who sees menstruation as critical to moving up and out.
Since then, Lunapads has impressed me with their commitment and dedication to helping women across the world. They sponsor menstrual kits for women in Africa who don't have access to any hygiene products for their menstruation. And when we had the fundraiser at the Birth Center last spring, they donated two different kits for patrons. They're by women, for women, and all about women.
That's why I also want to share with the awesome women on my blog that there's a $50 Lunapads giveaway going on right now for Lunapads through a blog I read occasionally called Retro Housewife Goes Green. All you need to do is post a reply with your e-mail address and what you'd do with the $50. I posted that I want to use the gift certificate to buy a Lunapads teen intro kit for my sister; what would you buy?