But I do feel people need to be educated a lil bit so LISTEN UP. There's kind of a Blame and Shame Game going on here. Let's start with the blaming.
OK, so how many times do people blame a woman getting angry on 'her period'? Um, no, asshole, I'm not angry at you because I'm on my period, I'm angry at you cos you're being an asshole. Stop blaming arguments on women being emotional cos it's "that time of the month". (Of course men can't actually use the word "period"...they have to say "shark week" or whatever. As imaginative and hilarious as these can be -my cousin once asked if it was my "Dolmio Day"- stop being weird about it as if periods are Voldemort. Um they can be named.)
Here's a little fun fact: the hormones released when we are on our period are more similar to that of men. So basically, when we're on our period, our hormones are the same as guys. So don't go about acting like we're suddenly bitches - we're just more like you.
I genuinely think that if everyone adopted a slightly different view on periods, it could make a whole lot of difference. For instance, if the United States EVER elect a female president, I'd like to think that menstruation would have just a little more focus. For instance, the fact that we have to pay extortionate prices for sanitary products is just ridiculous. Sanitary towels at the least should be free. We can't help the fact that we bleed, it's just a fact of life, it's a part of nature that is intended for literally every single woman on the planet. I can't imagine sanitary towels are exactly expensive to manufacture, but of course, seeing as there are more men in a position of power in this world than women, this idea has probably never been suggested. Because nobody wants to think about icky, girly periods, let alone consider passing laws that will benefit them.
Which leads me to my next point...
In this country, and most countries in the world, we are all very well-educated about periods (even if we want to pretend they don't exist/blame them on everything). We all know what they are, that they are an inevitable thing that just happens cos we're not pregnant, and it's shit, and we deal with it. Now I'm just gonna lay something out here for you guys to consider:
Imagine you had no idea what a period was.
Imagine you just randomly got one, you had never been told what it was, and you were suddenly bleeding everywhere. You don't have a pad or a tampon, so everyone sees. And of course, nobody else knows what it is either, so everyone's like OH MY GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU. And it happens every single month, for like a week straight.
Well, that's the reality in some parts of Africa, and other less economically developed areas. Girls are literally shunned by their friends and family for having periods, because they believe they are "cursed". Girls are so humiliated they couldn't possibly discuss it with each other, and work out that this happens to everyone. They have nothing to hide their periods, so they just hide themselves - by dropping out of school. This leads to a vicious circle. No education = no job. This is one of the main reasons why so many young girls are forced into prostitution and child marriage. Cos people are grossed about by periods. Ridiculous.
So what in the damn heck are you waiting for - DONATE SOME WASHABLE, RE-USABLE PADS HERE.
(it says US Dollars but if you pay with PayPal it converts to whatever you want)
And stop being weird about periods, cos it just makes everything worse. Women aren't weaker for having periods, we're actually pretty boss for getting on with our normal lives when our insides are literally shredding. I mean, how many guys can actually tell when a girl's having her period? Exactly. We hide that shit well! As Lily Allen says in Sheezus - "periods, we all have periods, every month yo, thats what the theory is, it's human nature, another cycle", so guys, don't get grossed out if I complain about my period. Cos it happens to half the population of the world. And it's time we did something to make this inevitable fact of life just a wee bit easier.
Tegan xo
2 comments:
This is so darn true - it annoys me that just because a woman is born with a different set of chromosomes to a man, she has to fork out for (on average (that is if tampons are used)) 11,000 tampons over the course of her lifetime. I mean, wtaf?
When you say to someone that it should be funded, it's a 'girl issue' which almost immediately means 'Hella no funding for you'. Like you said, women are incapacitated by it to the extent that they drop out of school which leads to the horrific cycle of poverty that women largely bear the brunt of anyhow.
Definitely donating to that initiative :)
TM x
http://genericgarble.blogspot.co.uk
I really like your take on the issue. I now have a clear idea on what this matter is all about.. pineapple and lemon juice to stop period
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