Monthly Archives: December 2012

FOX News and Menstruation

When looking for a topic for my next blog post I googled “menstruation news” – first on the list was Menstruation News and Video – FOX News Topics.

Curious what conservative FOX News might post concerning menstruation I clicked on the link.

On the upper left in small print I found a brief definition of menstruation (via Wikipedia). In the center was a large picture of a woman’s mouth with an inhaler between her parted lips and below it was written “Asthma symptoms may vary during menstrual cycle.” And on the left in small print – a teaser for Endometriosis Marked by Pelvic Pain, Heavy Menstrual Bleeding.

So far, so good.

Below the teaser for the Endometriosis article was another teaser for…Belly Button Bacteria: What’s Living in Your Navel?

Now, I can understand the picture of the woman using the inhaler – the article deals with asthma and the menstrual cycle. It’s not about menstruation but does touch very briefly on something that happens to some women when menstruation begins.  But, the belly button biodiversity article (though extremely interesting) didn’t even mention menstruation – or women.

So…why was it on a page about menstruation?

As I paged down through the non menstruation articles offered I wondered who had tagged them “menstruation” and why.  And, I wondered if that individual simply didn’t understand that “women’s health” or “menstrual cycle” does not equate “menstruation.”

Hidden way down at the bottom of that first page was a teaser for a piece entitled: Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Aid Menopause and in that teaser, a statement:

All women after a certain age will experience menopause.

I clicked on the link and found a sufficient and positive overview of menopause – and as promised a brief list of suggested lifestyle changes (regular exercise, eating healthy foods, sleep, relaxation). But, I found not a word about menstruation, unless I consider the following mention of “periods”:

However, a hysterectomy that also removes the ovaries will cause menopause immediately. Once a woman’s ovaries are removed, her periods stop, and she will most likely experience the symptoms related to menopause.

Fact. If the uterus is removed (hysterectomy) a woman stops menstruating – no uterus, no menstruation (periods). When ovaries are removed (oophorectomy), the menstrual cycle stops – no ovaries, no menstrual cycle.

“Menstrual cycle” and “menstruation” are not interchangeable.

It’s no wonder so many girls and women are confused. Just the simple act of googling “menstruation” left me confused and scratching my head.

Be period wise.

What’s a girl to do?

What do you do when you wake to find your period’s started?  You do what many do and reach for your supplies.

And, if you forgot to purchase more, you look around and find a pad or tampon in your purse or backpack, knowing it will hold you long enough to get to the store where you can buy more.

But what if you don’t have easy access to a store?  What if you don’t have transportation?  What if you don’t have $$ to purchase what you need? What if you’re homeless? What if you’re dependent on others to provide for your menstrual needs and you’re too embarrassed to ask? What if there are no menstrual supplies available – at all?  What if your clothing is limited and you are unable to wash out your clothes each day?

What would your first day of menstruation be like?  How would you cope with the next 7 or so days of menstruation? Would you be able to attend school? Would you be able to work?  What would you do?

Millions of girls and women find themselves in this situation period after period, month after month, year after year, using leaves, moss, paper and old rags to absorb their flow.

Girls can’t can’t attend school on the days they are menstrual if they don’t have adequate menstrual supplies.  It’s true here in the U.S. and it’s true in developing countries as well.  Imagine yourself as girl who wakes up excited about the school day only to realize that she won’t be able to attend ALL WEEK because the newspaper or toilet paper she lines her panties with isn’t sufficient to prevent her from leaking through to her clothes.  And, then imagine how far behind the others you would become if you missed a week of school EVERY month.  What’s a girl to do?

I recently heard from an advocate for homeless women who said homeless shelters for women must ration what meager supplies they have.

Imagine being given two pads or two tampons each day, knowing they won’t last more than a couple of hours…knowing that you have a job interview…knowing that when you bleed on your clothes you will be unable to wash them for a week…knowing that you will bleed all over your cot that night, and yourself…knowing that there’s no $$ to purchase what you need…knowing that everyone will be aware that you are on your period because it will be visually obvious to everyone…knowing that whatever you find to line your panty with will most likely be less than sanitary and certainly will not be sufficient for your needs…and, knowing homeless shelters usually require that you are outside during the daytime and inside only for sleep.  What’s a woman to do?

For those interested in making a difference in the menstrual lives of others:

  • Four sites come to mind as examples of what can be done and opportunities that exist for assisting girls and women in meeting their menstrual needs: Lunette   Pads4Girls   Days for Girls   GladRags

 

Stop TSS Now – Period Talk

Toxic Shock Syndrome is something everyone needs to know about.  In a guest post for Be Prepared Period, I wrote:

It’s not enough to know about TSS.  We must be able to talk about it. Tampon users must be comfortable enough to say: “Hey, I’m on my period and I’m using tampons and I think I might have TSS – I need help!”  And, we all must be willing to initiate period talk, if only to raise awareness about TSS.

Be sure to check out the rest of this important post, which I wrote in support of this month’s #PeriodTalk. Also, consider yourself invited on Friday, December 14, 2012 at 2 pm ET when three nonprofits (Pads4Girls, Days for Girls, and You ARE Loved) will share their vision of a world where menstruation is no longer a taboo topic and what they are doing to assist women and girls with menstrual needs.

“Really really comfortable and really really awesome”

That’s how Kati, an 11 year old who recently experienced her first two periods, describes cloth menstrual pads.

Kati used disposable pads for her first period and experienced leaks, along with the need to change her pads every 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Kati’s mom interviews her in this YouTube video and asks her if she would ever use disposable pads again.  Kati’s immediate response is “NO” and she goes on to say that in an emergency she would find a wash cloth or a shirt to use instead of accepting a disposable pad.