This one's for all the ladies

i'm glad the keeper works well for you, nora. but the keeper does not work for me. i don't like having anything up my vagina unless it's a vibrator, or a lover's finger, tongue, or dick. i can't stand having a rubber cup up my cunt for hours and hours, where i can feel it, uncomfortably, all the time. i've traveled to china, across the u.s. and canada with pads. if there isn't a trash can available, i just roll them up, put them in a ziploc bag, and discard them when and where i can. i haven't done a stint in an australian rainforest....if i were going to go somewhere remote, i'd use cloth pads, or try seasonale. my insides are allergic to the bleach in tampons, so those aren't an option for me.

gore is fun? gore is powerful? i disagree. it's just blood from your uterine lining, that's all. it's a bodily fluid, nothing more. i agree with you that people don't like to refer to it, or see it for what it is--that's why there's the "feminine hygiene" section, a phrase that i will always loathe.

disposables are terrible for the environment, no doubt about it. which is why i'm switching to cloth pads.

i'm not "encumbered by menstrual worry." i exercise a lot, i watch what i eat, and i haven't gotten any cramps or pms in years. pads aren't perfect, but i don't mind them, really. i've ridden horses all day long while wearing pads, i've scuba dived (waits for the inevitable muff-diving joke) and hiked up mountains while on my period, and none of these activities were uncomfortable for me at all.

it's great that there is an option like the keeper. but i don't mind having to pay a bit of attention to my period, because for me it just isn't that big of a deal. the mindfulness, for me, is no more forced than remembering to eat or take a crap.

but this is all just my opinion....for the little it's worth.

thanks for posting about this, though.

I just have to say that as a guy, nothing about the menstrual cycle grosses me out at all.

But what about TSS?

What about toxic shock syndrome? The Keeper has not been linked to any negative health conditions, since it came on the market in 1986. It was tested in 1998 for its relationship to TSS (toxic shock syndrome), and found to be a low-risk product. The Keeper unlike tampons does not absorb your flow and does not contain synthetic fibres; which means it does not provide a good environment for the bacterium that causes TSS. (High absorbency tampons made out of polyester are especially high risk to TSS.) If you have tested positive for the TSS bacteria you should consult with your doctor before using any internal menstrual product.

oh, and when i said i'd discard pads where and when i could, i meant where there was some kind of trashcan. and i don't have to remember to take a crap. i just thought i'd clear that up for you all, who might have lost sleep over it otherwise--i typed out that first comment of mine rather quickly.

and i don't consider menstrual blood to be particularly powerful, any more than jizz.

also, as far as i was concerned, this was utter bullshit:

Is it comfortable? It looks so big.

At first you may notice THE KEEPER or MOON CUP, but once you get used to it (usually during your first day of use), you will not be aware of its presence.

Miranda and Nora are like truckers in this thread.

It's not c**ze or c*nt, ladies.

It's VAG. The "a" pronounced like it is in CAT.

Didn't say it should or would. Just wanted to give warning.

Well, we see how it is, don't we, fellers? The ladies get their own threads, but as soon as one of us lads starts a "Gents Only" thread, it's all "Sexism!" and "Unacceptable!"

DOUBLE STANDARD!

Oh ho ho HO! And this from the lady who's supposed to be soooooooo FAT!

Yeah, that's not really an answer. It does look, and is, big, and it definitely takes a little longer than a day to get used to not just wearing it but also inserting and removing it.

The "ladies only" tag modifies the "health" tag. Review something that only dudes use in the course of their body health, and you should probably tag it "gents only." No one needs to feel limited by the tag.

I GOT AN ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING!

Well, you didn't address your foul language!

You never address me Nora, including my friend request.

I've received enough hurt from you, and you're really really close from being removed from my friend's list!

...

it doesn't work for my girlfriend, either--she also said that she could "feel it...all the time."

I've done it like that before as well, but I always found it inconvenient--which is a "my attitude" issue and wouldn't be universal, mos def. I guess it was always an issue of my fighting it; not everyone would fight it with the same thickheadedness that I did.

I've never worn tampons. Haaaate them.

We'll have to disagree and agree, then. I think that the denial of menstrual blood--a dis-allowing that I think goes beyond any (if any) stigmas on other fluids--turns it from just a bodily fluid to a culturally loaded bodily fluid and that, in my opinion and my experience, makes it into a powerful thing for me. You mention jizz, a similarly sex-specific and seldom publicly seen fluid, in your next comment, so here's my musing on that: TONS of mainstream, readily available pornography contains cum shots, but does any mass-market (meant for the same audience as cum-shot) porn deal with menstrual blood (or real blood at all, really--I'm leaving out alternative porn like Bella Vendetta, here)? I know that's a bit specious, as a comparison, but, I dunno, it makes me think.

I back up the Keeper with cloth pads, or wear them when I can't stand having something in my vag. So snuggly.

I was never able to come to terms with it all until I started with the Keeper. Again, an attitude adjustment as much as a change of procedure.

**insert muff diving joke here, followed by snickering**

It's just a different attention, yeah? I guess it was a little inaccurate to claim I ignore my period completely.

Worth tons. Thanks for your viewpoint--my fervor wasn't meant to stomp on toes, but I think you got that.

I knew I'd win!

...you over...through badgering.

Or through making posts in other places that I followed and liked. I'm not just some friend-adding type who reciprocates without reason; that breaks down the whole "friend" system.

And I...I...I'm on your friend list! [Sniff.] And for that I feel honoured. Truly. Honoured, Nora Rocket!

Sheech

semitechgeek: "sheech?" don't you mean, cooch? if you can't take the heat, get out of the menstruation station, man.

greg: i sound like a trucker? my father used to be a trucker. imagine that!

todd: if diet and exercise took off lots and lots of weight in a short time, all those charlatans at jenny craig and weight watchers and slim-fast would be out of buisness. it's only recently that i've started exercising regularly again, so i'm still fat. and you will still be getting punched like a bug one of these days. believe it.

nora: there is certainly a stigma attached to menstrual blood--there has been often throughout history, and yes, it remains in our culture. but i've never felt power due to, or concerning, my menstrual fluid. the only time i've thought it was remarkable--and since we're way into tmi territory here anyway, i'll just go ahead and mention this--is when i witnessed my friend julie, years ago, dumping the water she washed her pads in onto her tomato plants, and then later in the summer we ate some of the best tomatoes i have ever tasted. the stuff makes good plant fertilizer. what i do love is doing everything possible to not allow a normal bodily function to slow me down or incapacitate me in the slightest, and being free of bloating, cramping, mood swings and seven day long stretches of bleeding as a result of doing such things.

menstrual porn? hmmm...there is a scene written by erica jong (who is otherwise a terrible writer), that involves a guy having sex with a woman while she's having her period, but it's more hilarious than pornographic.

also, if you haven't checked out this site yet, you should....it's the museum of menstruation, and it's full of interesting old ads, etc.

http://www.mum.org/director.htm

.....and that's more than enough for now.

Why doesn't this have a "hair pie" tag?

I can handle blood, it's just that menstration technology gets confusing at times.

Hence that's why i never went to school to become a Gynocologist.

Jelly Roll Morton did not get that nickname because he like jelly rolls, you realize.

Stop. Your'e making me hungary.

anybody else feel a little weird about how this post gets so wildly off topic so fast? anybody have any ideas for how we can actually discuss things of improt here without having to apologize for them, warn people about them, or have them get derailed so fast?

not that i don't like the funny, but i'd also like to be able to have a discussion about menstruation here if i'd like. or anything else.

i mean, it's the internet: true. but it's also *our* website.

independents' day media rulezzzz!

...I kind of like it when things get off track. It's kind of like an additional element of surprise added to the board. Like how a thread about special women's blood can turn into a thread about potato chips or say, me, in 3 posts.

Although, you're right, if we are to get off track we should at least try to be a little more interesting.

But many of us aren't interesting :(

I'd kind of hoped to keep things a bit more on topic here, but without the ability to moderate (which has its own special troubles, fo sho) it's tough. And no one wants to be that person who's all "okay you kids, let's stop with the fun and really address the issue," especially if no one wants to have the discussion (though in this case, some people did). I was hoping that I could ignore the off topic and continue to discuss around the background noise. I haven't given up on this post-blog entry section, and if anyone wants to keep talking about menstruation, I'll keep listening and keep talking.

i agree. i like off-track, i like no moderation, but i also like to be able to bring it back on target when necessary. i guess: just do that. in the mean time, it's a good topic for discussion. and i'm glad you brought it up.

i personally don't use anything i can't rinse out and feed the ole houseplants with, but to each her own, i've decided. although i've frankly not had time to make myself more menstrual pads these days, and i'm in dire need.

well, ok, not right this second i'm not.

independents' day media rulezzzz!

I am interested in the Diva Cup for all of the reasons in your original post. I'll be buying one in the next few weeks, I hope.

I guess I thought the silicone would be better for me because I've had a reaction or two to latex!

When I have a better mailbox, I will try to get some cloth pads. They keep getting stolen. :( I hope someone is having very comfy periods.

I have used sea sponges with success. They are soft and small. I guess when I tried them I didn't sweat the environmental impact, but I think they can be farmed. I should double check.

I agree that menstrual blood is powerful. Even on a biological level, blood is our largest organ and incredible material. The physical context of it, even without factoring in the social and spiritual aspects, empowers me.

I'm here to kick some ass and chew some bubble gum. And I'm all out of bubble gum. --Roddy Piper, They Live