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MUM "debate" airs Friday, 17 November (2000) on Warner Brothers
television
Producer Dan Holten called me to say that the episode of Moral Court
on which I appear, the television program on which I almost had a debate about this museum, shows this coming Friday. In
the Washington, D.C., area, unless programs get switched around, it'll appear
at 2 p.m.
One of the charms of the show will be seeing my fading in and out of
consciousness (almost); twice the judge had to get my attention. I hadn't
slept the night before and was feeling the effects of Lipitor, which can
cause insomnia and which showed my inability to take statins. What a way
to debate, right? But as it turned out, I didn't have to. My
opponent walked out during the taping, producers chasing her, all of which
will appear before your very eyes on your screens!
Letters to your MUM
Companies do not add asbestos to tampons
I again received an e-mail claiming that manufacturers put asbestos
in tampons to make women bleed more and give them cancer, etc.
[Dr. Philip Tierno, Jr., of the New York University Medical School
and Director of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology at the NYU Medical
Center, an authority on the safety of menstrual products and a member of
the board of this museum, writes that companies do NOT put asbestos in tampons. Read his statement. Dr. Tierno has opposed
the menstrual products companies in many lawsuits and his research is not
financially supported by the industry.
How food influences menstruation
Hi,
I'm a graduate student in women's studies at Towson University in Maryland.
In my reproductive technologies class we learned that although late menarche
(one's first period) can be a result of malnutrition, as you mentioned
on your Web site, it can also be a sign of low body fat and therefore of
good health.
For instance, when agriculture became domesticated, we began eating
fatter meat and grazing (which is exercise) less and getting our periods
earlier and for more years. The more years of menstruation without interruptions
(from childbearing, for instance, but also from contraceptives that lighten
menstrual flows), the higher risk of reproductive cancers because of the
constant surge of hormones. Many hunter-gatherer societies were/are not
malnourished but have ample diets; they simply delay menstruation and have
less regular menstruation because they nurse their babies on demand (whenever
the child is hungry) and exercise every day when finding food.
Also, it is now possible to predict the age of
one's menarche from one's body fat content at age 5. The higher the body
fat, the longer span of years menstruating. [And last week a news item
appeared, indicating that underweight babies have an earlier menarche,
on the average.]
Melissa Ferguson,
Takoma Park, Maryland (U.S.A.)
Later she wrote:
Thanks for dedicating a whole museum to what seems sometimes to dominate
my life yet at the same time is so hush-hush! Silly, ain't it?
Again, my Slovenian correspondent disputes premenstrual
syndrome (PMS) (read her first letter, the second one below this
one)
Hi, Harry,
I am shaken upon hearing about women who dislike their bodies and inherently
detest menstruation. [Read some MUM visitors' feelings
about this.] I consider it fun. To me the so-called PMS is extra energy
and it is up to each individual how she uses it. Some choose to believe
it a negative and painful thing. I have never experienced any kind of pain
in connection with it whatsoever.
Looking forward to hearing from you again.
[Later in the week she wrote again, having seen my comment that
many women must be lying]
I saw that comment!!! [See the letter below this one.]
I never said they are faking it. I think they perceive the sensations
they have before and during menstruation as pain and many think menstruation
is at best annoying and must be put up with. This is the way they were
taught. Or just observed behavior of the other adults when they were little.
Their subconscious just picks up the signs and their bodies dutifully play
the part.
I also saw those ads in the humor section. I would just like to slap
silly the people who write those things. Those kind of ads are a downright
invitation to butt-kicking. They add a lot to the insecurities of young
girls. They read them and they believe that menstruation is a messy, embarrassing,
painful thing that should remain hidden. How fortunate that the benevolent
companies are willing to SELL them those scented pads.
Based on my experience it goes a little like this:
"Hey, women. Our (hired by the company) scientists have done research
that revealed that your bodies are defective. That after thousands of years
of evolution you need our help. How fortunate for you that we are here
to SELL you these great new still experimental pills. And how about that
awful odor?! Do not let yourself get embarrassed! BUY our products today
for only XY.99!"
Young impressionable minds fill in the blanks.
Drop me a line sometime!
[Her first letter:
[I have seen your site about menstruation. It contains a lot of useful
information and humorous things. But what is it with PMS and cramps?!!
Not to mention all the recipes for home-made medicine.
[There is no such thing as PMS and painful menstruation.
You should not mislead the young girls in Western cultures like that.
[(my comments: The writer is from Slovenia, a country lying
near Austria, Italy and Yugoslavia. An awful lot of women must be faking!]
Buy the book Moon Days, about menstruation
Just thought you'd like to let people know that the book Moon
Days: Creative Writings about Menstruation is now distributed through
Ash Tree Publishing, 1-800- 356-9315 [a phone number in the U.S.A.]. Thanks!
Cassie Premo Steele
Editor, Moon Days
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MUM in medical directory
Thank you,
Your site has been approved and added to the med411 database. [Many
thanks! But if you have a not up-to-date browser,
you may crash because of Java when you visit the site]
[Elsewhere on that site we read,
Criteria for selection include:
* Content of interest to healthcare professionals
* Tone and presentation maintained at a professional level
* Site structure, navigation and graphic design executed at a professional
level
* A high level of integrity and credibility]
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Pap art exhibit starts 21 September in
Delray Beach, Florida
I am writing to request your participation and assistance in an exciting
and important project regarding women's health issues.
The world-renowned scientist and lover of the arts Dr.
George Papanicolaou, better known as Dr. Pap, inventor of the Pap smear
test, will be the subject of a special exhibition at the Cornell Museum
of Art in Delray Beach, Florida, beginning September 21, 2000. The
gala opening and artist's reception will be held on Thursday evening September
28, 2000. The foremost patient advocate and director of the Center For
Cervical Health in the United States, Carol Ann Armenti, will be the keynote
speaker.
The exhibition will run through November 12, 2000, and will feature
recent works by international artist Olga Stamatiou,
Dr. Papanicolaou's niece. Stamatiou's works will be available for
acquisition and the profits will go toward:
1. The creation of "PAP MOBILES," vehicles that would be
used to provide testing for under-served women in areas, with the highest
incidence of cervical cancer.
2. The creation of a traveling multimedia art exhibition.
3. The production of a documentary film based on the life, work and
scientific legacy of Dr. Papanicolaou and his wife Mary.
4. The Center for Cervical Health.
5. The Papanicolaou Woman's Corp.
Our organization "PAP" - Prevention and Protection - will
have as its goal to raise awareness about women's health issues, including
the importance of having regular Pap smears and the provision of information
on new and existing methods for detecting cervical cancer.
The traveling exhibition, to be viewed in public spaces and museums,
will be a multimedia environment drawing on and inspired by Dr. Pap's love
of the arts and sciences. This environment will include permanent built-in
units that will provide creative spaces for national and local women's
health organizations to inform women on what is available involving health
care.
The September 28th opening reception will also include international
guest artists and feature a wide range of styles and media. A percentage
of their work will benefit the above-mentioned projects.
Olympus Corporation of America will provide working microscopes and
monitors along with technicians on opening night to demonstrate how Pap
smears are read.
Washable-pad company for sale
Gayle Adams, owner of Feminine Options, wants
to sell the company to someone willing to put time and energy into it.
The Food and Drug Administration has already approved its products.
Call Gayle at (715) 455-1652 (Wisconsin, U.S.A.).
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