Tag Archives: menstruation

The Hippy Gardener Trashes Sposies, Goes Cup Wild

I received an email from Heather O’Cain, The Hippy Gardener, in which she stated:

I am getting ready to review a number of menstrual cups and would love to get more followers and hope others will spread the word about my project.  My blog has many other topics on it, but this project is my main focus at the moment and will continue over the next few months to a year.

Curious as to what brought about this interest in menstrual cups, I asked Heather.
Upon receipt of her reply, I asked for her permission to post it here for you to read.  Heather has graciously permitted me to post it in entirety.

Hello Suzan,

What prompted me to start this project is three-fold.
1. I’m honestly disgusted by our modern disposable society.  And I guess the natural progression towards kicking trash from coming into our lives to begin with led me to all the trash created just because of my cycle.
2. I don’t believe that life has to be so expensive!  It’s gotten out of hand how many things “they” want us to spend our money on.
3. I’m concerned about what we are doing to our bodies.  There are too many fake products (food included), that we are putting in and on ourselves, that is slowly killing us.
I purchased a DivaCup years ago and have struggled with it ever since not knowing there were other options out there.  This past month we could barely afford to buy my “girlie things” so I pulled the cup out again.  This time I really thought about what was going wrong and also started searching online.  I found that there are so many brands of cups out there it’s mind-boggling.  So I’ve made it a goal to help spread the word.  Since I already have a blog I’ve been working on for years ~ I figured why not do some reviews and share what I learn with others.  So, yeah I just started sending out emails almost before I thought too much about it.
Thanks for checking out my blog and all the mentions on Twitter.  I greatly appreciate your interest in this project and your help talking about it.  I think it’s going to be fun and hopefully I win some people over from disposables.
I checked out your Periodwise blog and I love what you have going on there!  Part of me can barely believe I’m even bringing up such a subject on my blog.  I grew up learning that we just don’t talk about our periods and it was very subtly hinted at that it was something to be ashamed of.  I’m 41 years old and I am just now getting to the point where it doesn’t embarrass me for someone to know I’m bleeding.  That’s ridiculous in my mind.  Girls should not be taught to be ashamed of what their body does.  It’s wonderful to find people like you who are reaching out.  I’ve been following The Red Tent documentary happenings on Facebook for some time and I’ve seen Be Prepared Period’s website before.  I think it’s definitely time for me to be a voice in this movement as well.
Thanks again!!!  I’m so glad I met you Suzan!  :)
Heather
If you would like to support Heather in this exciting venture, you can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest and at Google+.

 

#PeriodTalk #TwitterParty

Friday, July 12, at 2 PM ET (1 PM CT, 12 PM MT, 11 AM PT), Be Prepared Period kicks off year three of #PeriodTalk Tweetchats with a party – “Our 2nd Annual Menstrual Party.”

To the regular attendees of #PeriodTalk – I look forward to partying with you!

If you’ve never attended #PeriodTalk, or been involved in a Tweetchat, I encourage you to log into Twitter Friday (check times listed above) and follow #PeriodTalk.

Tara Bruley, founder of Be Prepared Period, said the following about #PeriodTalk.

We started these chats back in July of 2011 with the non-profit org You ARE Loved.  Continuing to host these events we’ve covered a variety of topics. Our 2nd year of tweet chats included the following subjects:

·        August 2012: Your TOTM: Time of the Month

·        September 2012: Back to School: Periods 101

·        October 2012: PeriodTalk Celebration – The launch of our Q&A forum for all things   menstrual (making PeriodTalk available 24/7/365)

·        November 2012: Menstrual Understanding & Creativity

·        December 2012: Menstruation and The Organizations That Care

·        January 2013: Puberty & Menopause: A Dangerous Combo

·        February 2013: Learning to Love Yourself & Your Period

·        March 2013: Endometriosis Awareness

·        April 2013: Pelvic Pain: What It Is & What You Can Do About It

·        May 2013: Be Prepared for Summer & Your Period

·        June 2013: Conventional Feminine HygieneProducts & Their Toxic Implications

As Director of Connectivity for You ARE Loved, I witnessed #PeriodTalk go from a tiny idea to the awesome outreach it is today.

I encourage you to visit Be Prepared Period. Read #PeriodTalk transcripts and visit the PeriodTalk forum.  You won’t be disappointed.

#PeriodTalk is about…period talk.

You can talk with some truly period wise women (and men), exchange thoughts and ideas, ask questions that have always bothered you and gain a lot of period wise knowledge.

Anything goes and nothing is too icky to discuss in #PeriodTalk.

Hate menstrual taboos?  We do, too.  Love certain products?  We do, too!  Have questions and need answers?  We all do!!  Just want to connect with others who understand what it’s like to menstruate? Well, what are you waiting for?  Want to share your experience?  Hey! We want to hear!

Come on! It’s going to be fun!  It’s a period party!

Join us Friday, July 12 and help kick off year three of #PeriodTalk TweetChats.

See you there!

(Be sure to stop by and register for a chance to win during #PeriodTalk!)

Menstrual Blood Paints a Picture

Artist Carina Úbeda, saved 5 years worth of menstrual cloths and displayed them for her exhibition, “Cloths,” at the Center of Culture and Health in Quillota, Chile.

She placed 90 used menstrual cloths in embroidery hoops, embroidered words on them, and then hung them from the ceiling along with rotten apples that symbolized ovulation.

What do you think of this?

What questions does this raise?

 

 

Dr. Oz on Menstruation

Here’s a REALLY quick video on what happens during menstruation.

  http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Dr-Oz-on-Menstruation

“And, that’s what menstruation is all about.” — Dr. Oz

For those of us who are period wise, menstruation is so much more.

  • What is menstruation all about to you?
  • Do you think the video would be helpful in explaining the fundamentals of menstruation to girls?

It’s Time to Talk about Menstruation

Sarah Ogden, a Staff Writer for Everyday Feminism, recently wrote an article.that screams  “PERIOD WISE” beginning with her first sentence: “All right, folks, it’s time to talk about it.”

“Breaking News: Menstruation Is Awesome!” is loaded with timely and important information – and chocked full of encouragement.

“It’s a beautiful thing.” That’s what she said about menstruation.

She said a lot more, too, like…how her boyfriends knew more about her body than she did and that the products we use help us remain disconnected from our bodies.

How’s that for a teaser? She packs quite a punch in her piece.

Here are some highlights.

  • We need to reclaim this experience and find power in the blood that unites us.
  • Menstruation is natural, beautiful, and powerful.
  • Some companies try to make us feel bad about our periods to buy their products.
  • Vaginas are not dirty.
  • Some companies try to make us feel periods are “inconvenient” to buy their products.
  • Menstruation is not a disease, and there should not exist a “cure.”
  • Our periods connect us to the moon and to the sea.
  • Menstruation is a shared experience amongst women and trans people who menstruate.
  • What’s a menstruating person to do? (She shares 3 tips.)

I encourage you to take a few minutes and read Sarah’s post.

If you use tampons as your main menstrual product, I hope Sarah’s words below awaken you to the possibility of trying other products (esp. reusable menstrual cups like Lunette, Diva, Keeper, Instead SoftCup, or pads like Always Infinity or cloth).

We use plastic to put tampons in our vaginas, pull them out by the bottom of long string, and then throw them away, all without getting our fingers bloodied.  We are almost completely disengaged from our blood and our bodies.

Period wise women redefine menstruation by breaking taboos and challenging long held beliefs and assumptions.

Period wise women personalize menstruation through the acceptance of their own experience and in sharing their experience with others.

Think.

  • How have you redefined menstruation?
  • How have you personalized it?

Where did you learn about periods?

Laura Wershler, frequent writer for the blog of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, recently wrote a delightful, thought-provoking piece titled: How do girls learn about periods?

In the article, Laura asks:

Why aren’t cool moms and older relatives already talking to the girls in their lives about menstruation? Sharing friendly advice? Passing on wisdom from mother to daughter, woman to woman?

Good questions.  Period wise questions.

Where did you learn about periods?  What about the girl in your life?  Where did/will she learn about periods?

How would you answer Laura’s questions?

Morning After Pill Goes OTC for Ages 15 and Over

The Morning After Pill is now available over the counter for purchase by those age 15 and over, with proof of age at check-out.

Previously, it was restricted to those 17 years of age and older, and sold only from behind the pharmacy counter, after showing proof of age.

With morning after pills available to younger women, and more readily available, it is period wise to understand what morning after pills are and how they can affect your cycle.

First, let me say that morning after pills are NOT for monthly use – but rather for emergency use.  High levels of hormones are present in the pill – far higher than in birth control pills – and when used in a way not intended can cause health problems, especially for teens.

Second, hormonal intervention (whether in the form of birth control pills or morning after pills) alters the menstrual cycle and can be detrimental to a teen’s physical and emotional health.

An interesting article about how morning after pills affect your menstrual cycle is on The Emergency Contraceptive Website of Princeton University and is well worth the time it takes to read it. It offers important information about the pill, your cycle after taking the pill, and research done on the differences in the combinations of hormones in various morning after pills.

Researchers have conducted three studies designed specifically to find out how progestin-only emergency contraceptive pills (like Plan B One-Step or Next Choice) affect women’s bleeding patterns. Although the results were somewhat different, each found there were often changes in a woman’s monthly menstrual cycle.

It’s important to note that after taking morning after pills,

  • you should have a normal period within the next month,
  • it change the length of your cycle, making your next period come a week earlier or a week later than usual,
  • it can cause unexpected bleeding,
  • and you might consider getting a pregnancy test If your next period is late.

For more information on these studies and concerning changes in menstrual cycles, or bleeding patterns, after taking the morning after pill can be found in this thorough, up-to-date academic review on emergency contraception.

Be period wise if / when using emergency contraception.

Period Wise Pin-ups

Pinterest interests me.

I’ll admit – I can lose hours there looking at things, reading about topics, learning, engaging, enjoying things period wise and period wise things.

Period Wise on Pinterest is a work in progress.  I’m always looking for new things to pin, period wise.

So far, there are 27 boards and over 1,600 pins – most of which pertain to or remind me of menstruation.

If you are on Pinterest, please drop by and visit.  I’m open to any and all suggestions of period wise pins to add to my Period Wise collection.

If you are not yet following, please do!  I’d love opportunity to pin some of your goodies on my Period Wise boards, but I don’t know who you are if you’re not following me on Pinterest. 😉

Pin, period wise.

There’s No “What? Empty Again?” When You’re Prepared

Amy Meyer starred in an EWU student-made video in which she attempted to obtain feminine hygiene products from restroom dispensers.

I learned through @re_Cycling_SMCR, Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, of an accompanying article to Amy’s video.

In her follow-up piece, Amy shares her experience and what she learned. And, she provides a chart in which she shows which buildings on campus failed.  Note that I said “buildings” and not “restrooms.”

The Easterner found twelve buildings on campus with absolutely no working feminine hygiene machines. The machines were either absent, empty, broken or ate quarters without producing a product.

Twelve BUILDINGS.

When researching, if we found a working machine in a building, we moved on to the next building without checking the other dispensers in other bathrooms. We were looking for one working machine per building.

One working machine per building…I was shocked to see how many buildings lacked ONE working machine.

Considering that a little over half of the students enrolled at Eastern Washington University are women, menstruation is a big deal to more than just a few people.

Wow – a little over half enrolled there are women and a little under half of the buildings failed.

Amy didn’t just report the problem. She took steps to correct it by talking with Karen Wichman, director of facilities services.

The greatest takeaway from this piece is the importance of being prepared.

Darrel Greene felt it was a good idea to keep a spare pad handy in case you need it. He also said: “It’s also a good thing to do in case you encounter someone who needs one.”

It’s period wise to keep a pad or tampon in your pocket, purse, or backpack. You never know when you (or someone else) may need it.