@Chicajojobe: As a woman, I don't think it's all that sexist... we bleed from an orifice, it's pretty gross. Granted, tampons do wonders against that, and for some reason you don't tend to bleed as much when you're in water, but I would never swim in a pool if I were menstruating. Sanitary reasons and all that.
@Hellbound, Kat, Chicajojobe You wonder why MUM.org exists.
Rule 9 is stupidity as you might miss. The pool years ago had diving boards removed for some reason, but I had never heard of anyone jumping from the roof.
Duke, you said it all!
I was briefly on the swim team in high school {before I decided I liked being a bunhead better}, and both my doctor {His last name was Doody. Boy, did he get tired of hearing Howdy!} and the coach explicitly said they expected female swimmers to train regardless of menstruation, that it would not harm us or the pool or others. The word among female swimmers was that swimming was relaxing and generally helped alleviate cramps.
I guess the only reason not to swim while menstruating is so you don't offend anyone who might see your tampon string. Although I've read that "swingers" often replace the plain white string with a gold pull chain.
A basic explanation of the purpose and process of menstruation, told largely with diagrams (and completely avoiding the subject of sex). It was co-produced with Kotex to teach pre-teen girls about Menstruation, supposably. It only educates at a superficial level, so it does not go into heavy detail for the animated "Ram's Head"/ Reproductive System sequence. The Story of Menstruation is believed to be the first film to use the word vagina in its screenplay.
Why I am opposed to menstrual suppression: a letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
which published "Foes raise red flag against suppression of menstruation," (read it) by Karen Hoffmann, Post-Gazette Staff Writer, on Tuesday, June 24, 2003
To the Health Editor, Post-Gazette
Cc: Karen Hoffmann
Ms. Hoffmann's article dated 6/24/03, "Foes raise red flag against suppression of menstruation," raises grave concern amongst the growing number of women and men who have come to realize that the natural gift of menstruation is the foundation of women's being and that to deny, denigrate and suppress that process is yet another act of violence against women.
To condone menstrual suppression is to condone yet another generation of women to mental/emotional/physical suppression.
I could see one this coming down the pike, with women my age waking up to the fact that the side effects of menstrual suppression in the form of HRT actually outweigh the benefits of this misaligned therapy (New York Times, Health, 10/17/02, Risks of Hormone Therapy Exceed Benefits, Panel Says). So the next step? Target an innocent market of women not unlike how the tobacco companies target teenagers. Duping these young women into thinking that one pill will reduce their periods to four a year is nothing less than another crime against women and another form of control.
To quote a male doctor who believes that "what is natural is for women is to have one to two periods a year and to either be breast-feeding or pregnant the rest of the time" is unconscionable. My God, women have struggled for the hundreds of years for the right to own property, to vote, to be equal with men in terms of pay, promotions, to engage in warfare side by side with men, for the right to independence and success, for the right not to be abused, be considered property, or to be chatteled; to the right to control when to have children not because of taking a pill, but because of partnership in a relationship. Yet, in one ill-informed article, Ms. Hoffmann's using this doctor as a credible reference has sent women back to the Dark Ages. The reality is that the male powers that cannot control women any other way since our mothers and foremothers have been so diligent and unrelenting in their pursuit of our equal rights have now deemed yet another form of control over our bodies. And women are buying it. And unfortunately, innocent women like Ms. Hoffmann are selling it.
Wake up women! We are guinea pigs to a medical and pharmaceutical industry that is making big buck off our bodies! And do they care about our health and well being? I think not. The studies have not been done. Are you willing to risk the quality of your life for a pill for preventing pregnancy? Don't have sex! No, I am not a Christian right-winger but sometimes the line is thin that divides the left and right. To have sex is to give your power away. That is the message we should be telling our teenage daughters.
Not to mention that 8000 teens a day are contracting STD's. Will this miracle pill prevent that? Oh, no! Oh, no! How many young innocent women will take this pill thinking they are "safe," but will contract any number of STD's - that will affect their health care and their ability to have children in the future.
Sherill Sellman has stated that "tampering with a woman's hormones is tampering with her power." [Hormone Heresy, Oestrogen's Deadly Truth, Part 2 Extracted from NexusMagazine, Vol. 3, #5 (Aug. - Sep. 1996)]. I also believe that women's menstrual cycles are the foundation of our beings. This beautiful body function - and yes, it is beautiful when we understand the changes our bodies are going through - is what gave women power, respect, and sacredness in societies past.
Because our fundamental right to accurate, positive education about how our body's function, and how the flow of estrogen and progestin affect our behavior has been denied, women have been suppressed into thinking that this monthly flow is a "curse," a "pain," debilitating - and they have bought into the myth of "PMS" and now "PMDD"; which to my knowledge has been defined as a mental illness. STOP~!
Ovulation - harmful? This is the process that creates life. This is our power. Women create and nurture life. Is ovulation harmful to any other creature in life? How can we deny this exquisite process of creation? And withdrawal bleeding is a release, a part of a beautiful process of becoming and letting go; it is the rhythm of life - and all life forms go through this process. To deny this is to deny our part in the cycle of creation.
I agree with the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research in their statement concurring that "menstrual suppression may be useful for women with severe menstrual cycle problems, but we do not believe that continuous oral contraceptive use should be prescribed to all menstruating women out of a rejection of a normal, healthy menstrual cycle." But for the rest of women, I implore you to listen to your instincts. The choice is yours; be a guinea pig, allow yourself to be controlled, or find the resources that will assist you in exploring this beautiful menstrual flow in your bodies that is aligned with every other life form on this planet.
Ms. Hoffmann's article ended with: "Said one respondent: "Periods -- normal? I don't think so. Period." [The statement came from an e-mail to this site in the Would you stop menstruating if you could? page.] That statement is a death sentence.
Menstrual cycles honoring women's power and glory are normal. Own it. Honor yourself.
Ms. Botha-Williams is available for an interview to discuss her work with women and teenagers over the last twenty years discussing the relevance of understanding how the hormone cycle affects their lives and behaviors. Botha-Williams is nationally renowned for her work, is a member of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, the International Association for Human Caring and is the Health Educator for Monarch Youth Homes; an in house treatment center for abused girls ages 13 - 17 in Colorado. She is currently publishing a book titled'; "Holy Hormones, Honey; A Woman's Survival Guide to Understanding The Hormone Cycle."
Poor woman! Here's some boring trivia about periods..In the UK there's a very old order'Knights of the Garter' that apparently started in the Middle Ages.a knight was dancing with a lady,and her sanitary towel fell out of her dress. She was so distressed,but the knight said,'Thank you for the honor',and tied it around his leg like a garter, to make her feel better. Chivalry at its best!
AH shit that sucks! My friends and I has to help our classmate at graduation. She stood up to get her diploma, wearing white and you can guess the rest.
![[IMG]](http://igossip.com/photos_2/november_2010/Gossip_talor_momsen_tampon_string.jpg)
Rule 9 is stupidity as you might miss. The pool years ago had diving boards removed for some reason, but I had never heard of anyone jumping from the roof.