Q:I'm scared to use a tampon for the first time! Any tips?

Anonymous

Hey there anon, 

Don’t be scared! Using a tampon is nothing to worry about—the most important thing is to relax and take your time. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t get it right on the first try. Trust your body— stop if the tampon feels uncomfortable or if it starts to hurt!

We wrote up a whole post on using tampons for the first time. Check out our FAQ page for a video and step-by-step instructions for first-timers!

[EDIT: here’s the link for the tampon troubleshooting manual. check it out!]

take care,

k 

Q:So with respect to menstrual cups- I agree that they're a great idea! And people who can use them and are comfortable with it should do so. But I feel like that "comfortable" part is important, too. Not everyone is comfortable enough to use something like this, and there may be people who aren't capable, as well. I personally have never been able to relax enough to even get a tampon in. I guess I just want to say that I don't think there is any shame in not using them if you have trouble.

Anonymous

I definitely agree. I’m a huge fan of the menstrual cups, but you should really use something that’s comfortable for you! Sometimes I get tired of using menstrual cups (they can be a little messy and tricky to insert if you’re not concentrating and/or out of practice) so I occasionally wear pads.

You do you!

-k 

Okayyyy…here’s the deal about menstruating in the wilderness:

A bear isn’t going to attack you ‘cause you’re on your period. 

…but it might attack you if you happen to slather yourself in honey/peanut butter or you decide that it’s a good idea to cuddle with one of its cubs and/or dress up in a bear suit and put the madness that ensues on YouTube.

Kidding aside, here’s what you should do if you see a bear! Be careful, folks!

-k

 

tenrec4tea: edit: explanation: at the college i work at they brought many big cardboard boxes to contain rows of these blue and white laptop-sized boxes that contain 1 tampon and 2 disposable pads each. on these blue and white boxes is a picture of two laughing girls, and the brand name kotex. it made me so very mad. it wasn’t just the fact that the college girls who used the bathrooms would rip open the boxes and take just the tampon or one of the pads and discard everything else carelessly on the floor. (how inconsiderate can you fucking be?) it wasn’t just the fact that the college accepted this. because these things, they can be expected. so, mostly, that kotex used so much cardboard and plastic to distribute these already wasteful pads and tampons. all of it “disposable”: throw it away. don’t think about it again. don’t think about what happens next. don’t think at all. don’t think. so i made this. and i printed copies. and i taped them up in all the bathrooms on campus. i see they’ve been ripped down in places. i will replace them. thanks, tenrec4tea, for the submission!
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tenrec4tea:

edit: explanation:

at the college i work at they brought many big cardboard boxes to contain rows of these blue and white laptop-sized boxes that contain 1 tampon and 2 disposable pads each. on these blue and white boxes is a picture of two laughing girls, and the brand name kotex.

it made me so very mad.

it wasn’t just the fact that the college girls who used the bathrooms would rip open the boxes and take just the tampon or one of the pads and discard everything else carelessly on the floor. (how inconsiderate can you fucking be?)

it wasn’t just the fact that the college accepted this.

because these things, they can be expected.

so, mostly, that kotex used so much cardboard and plastic to distribute these already wasteful pads and tampons.

all of it “disposable”: throw it away. don’t think about it again. don’t think about what happens next. don’t think at all.

don’t think.

so i made this. and i printed copies. and i taped them up in all the bathrooms on campus.

i see they’ve been ripped down in places. i will replace them.

thanks, tenrec4tea, for the submission!

veggielezzyfemmie:

handsomephillip:

birdsy-purplefish:

sydneywonderwomanironmanwillis:

Anonymous asked: “honestly why do girls make such a big deal about their periods? It’s just a bit of blood for few days and then it’s over. That’s nothing compared to being kicked in the balls- a confused male”

BOOM!

Haha, typically 5 days? You mean 7-9 DAYS GUARANTEED.

Source: the-hypocritical-critic

lightbeer-genderqueer:

omg seriously pads and tampons should be free to all people who menstruate because it’s not something we want to buy and they’re so ridiculously expensive we’re down like 20 bucks every month which adds to about $240 a year and we have to spend it and people who can’t don’t and it’s not our fault so they should be free

we should just stop buying them and bleed on everything they love

Open notes. ctrl-F “diva cup”

mhm yes.

(via thatqueerblog-deactivated201211)

Source: copperbooms

When 'The Cosby Show' Dealt With Menstruation and Won | The AV Club

So naturally, “The Infantry Has Landed,” the late-era Cosby Showepisode in which the youngest Huxtable offspring gets her period, left a dramatic impression on me. Rudy and I used to have so much in common, but now she was diving headlong into puberty, while my body stubbornly refused to budge. It’s not that I even wanted to experience what she was going through: Like most adolescent girls, the prospect of going through puberty filled me with a mixture of terror and impatience. I wished it would hurry up and happen already—or not at all. The agony was in the waiting—not to mention having to watch anything on television related to the subject of menstruation, especially if my parents were in the room at the same time.

Given the mortification and betrayal I felt when “The Infantry Has Landed” aired back in 1990, I’m surprised by how breezy, lighthearted, and wholly enjoyable an episode it actually is. It steers well clear of all the “very special episode” clichés, instead revealing Rudy’s big change in the most matter-of-fact way possible. As Denise and Vanessa unload groceries in the kitchen, Clair wanders in and delivers the news: Rudy got her period, and she’s on her way home from school. Maybe it’s because Sally Draper’s entrée into womanhood is so fresh on my mind, but I was surprised by the choice to tell the story from this perspective. (In fact, I first watched this episode on YouTube, then went back to watch it on Hulu to make sure I hadn’t missed a scene.) The more conventional choice would have been to show Rudy at school, clutching her stomach in pain, then running off to the bathroom.

Hollywood Thinks Your Period Is Scary | Autostraddle

We all know that Hollywood makes a mountain out of a molehill when it comes to bleeding from your snatch, but Dr. Lauren Rosewarne at the University of Melbourne says that the media has so consistently turned periods into horror stories that it’s traumatizing teenage girls.

 

The Tradition of Slapping Our Daughters | Museum of Menstruation

[tw: discussion of violence]

I thought that this was an interesting read, especially since my family doesn’t really have any traditions associated with menstruation. Followers, how many of you follow rituals or celebrations associated with getting your first period? How did they make you feel?

As her final degree project at the Pearl Academy of Fashion in India’s capital, New Delhi, design student Sadhvi Thukral created a practical kit for teaching visually-impaired girls the facts of menstruation. Students use their hands on three-dimensional models and items as well as on braille explanations. There’s written text for the sighted.Check out more about Sadhvi’s project here.  
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As her final degree project at the Pearl Academy of Fashion in India’s capital, New Delhi, design student Sadhvi Thukral created a practical kit for teaching visually-impaired girls the facts of menstruation.

Students use their hands on three-dimensional models and items as well as on braille explanations. There’s written text for the sighted.

Check out more about Sadhvi’s project here.  

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