COMIC STRIP: "A Visit to the Museum of Menstruation"
DIRECTORY of all topics (See also the SEARCH ENGINE, bottom of page.)
CONTRIBUTE to Humor, Words and expressions about menstruation
and Would you stop menstruating if you could?
Some MUM site links: homepage | LIST OF ALL TOPICS | MUM address
& What does MUM
mean? | e-mail the museum | privacy on this site | who runs
this museum?? |
Amazing women! | the art
of menstruation | artists (non-menstrual)
| asbestos | belts
| bidets | founder bio
| Bly, Nellie | MUM board
| books: menstruation and menopause (and reviews) | cats | company
booklets for girls (mostly) directory | contraception
and religion | costumes | menstrual cups | cup usage | dispensers | douches, pain, sprays
| essay directory | extraction
| facts-of-life booklets for girls | famous women in menstrual hygiene ads | FAQ
| founder/director biography | gynecological
topics by Dr. Soucasaux | humor | huts | links | masturbation
| media coverage of MUM | menarche
booklets for girls and parents | miscellaneous
| museum future | Norwegian
menstruation exhibit | odor | olor
| pad directory | patent
medicine | poetry directory | products,
current | puberty booklets for girls and parents
| religion | Religión
y menstruación | your remedies for
menstrual discomfort | menstrual products safety
| science | Seguridad de
productos para la menstruación | shame
| slapping, menstrual | sponges
| synchrony | tampon
directory | early tampons | teen
ads directory | tour of the former museum
(video) | underpants
& panties directory | videos, films directory
| Words and expressions about
menstruation | Would you stop
menstruating if you could? | What did women
do about menstruation in the past? | washable pads
Leer la versión en español de los siguientes temas: Anticoncepción y religión, Breve reseña - Olor - Religión y menstruación - Seguridad de productos para la menstruación.
Continued to next earlier News & Notes
NEW this month (news & letters BELOW):
The Art of Menstruation: Lorraine Lamothe - The Art of Menstruation: Natalie Aniela Dybisz - Small boxes of American patent medicine for women, 19th-20th centuries - Contemporary Chinese menstrual pad belts - Humor
Would you stop
menstruating if you could? New
contributions
Words and expressions
about menstruation: New contributions: Canada:
Charlie; France: La saison des fraises; Mexico: Cookies, Ella/él es sangrona/sangron,
Qué sangrona eres; U.S.A.:
Being female, Being womanly, Drainage, Draining, Emptying, Going to India,
Leaking, Mommy's apples [nonmenstrual], Mommy's tail [nonmenstrual], Painful
femininity, Periodic, Potty [nonmenstrual], Preparing for unborn children
What did European and American women use for
menstruation in the past?
Humor
Art of menstruation artists published in Europe
Artists: please make sure I have your e-mail addresses
Last week the large Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera (Io Donna magazine section) and the Turkish women's magazine Dishy called me to get pictures from many of the artists on this site's Art of Menstruation section (here) for articles about this museum. Unfortunately I couldn't send them all they wanted because I had either old, invalid e-mail addresses or none at all (I've lost several through computer failures). So, artists, please send me your current addresses!
A Korean publisher and recently a Canadian anthropologist also failed to contact the lucky artists because of missing e-mail addresses.
Two years ago the Italian edition of Marie Claire - a classy magazine! - wrote about menstruation and this museum and showed many of the MUM artists. Here's the article.
Relief from PMDD - PMS (premenstrual syndrome)?
From WebMD: First oral contraceptive for PMDD may be approved for sale early next year.
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/111/109843.htm
Look at The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research site
The new Web site for The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research is online, at menstruationresearch.org
Your MUM - me, the writer - belongs to the society, which I think is the only one of its kind.
Letters to your MUM
Australian comments on women's talk, America, etc.
I've been reading your humour section, its great, I particularly like the, very blackly funny, joke about the homesick abortion. We have a variation on it here in Australia, a comment; "That one crawled out of the abortion bucket", in reference to a particularly obnoxious person, ie. someone only a mother could love. This comment is not said in polite circles, and should only really be said in the company of very close friends.
My theory on Aussies writing to you about bleeding is as follows: here in Australia I don't think we are as up tight about bleeding, it is considered normal and healthy. I am fairly certain that most of my friends were aware of periods well and truly before they arrived. Most people lose their virginity at quite a young age (as early as 12, sometimes younger, yuck). What's not said is that a woman can only conceive within 24 hours of her ovulation, that I didn't discover until I read a uni level anatomy and physiology text book.
I'd also like to suggest that you read Florence King's biographical novel "Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady", which has a wonderful chapter on "the ovariad" she states that if the general public heard the goings on in her lounge room (by her grandmother and other female family) about women's troubles they would put pictures of bloody pads on the outside of the Kotex boxes instead of brown paper, because that was nothing in comparison. It is also a very witty and humorous look at growing up in the "South" of America.
I love your web page, it's really informative and generally funny.
Find Treatment Options and Latest Advances for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Find the Recently Updated Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Guidebook at Medifocus -the Site That Helps Answer Critical Key Questions About Medical Issues.
http://www.medifocus.com/polycystic-ovary-syndrome.php
Make tampon ornaments for your Christmas tree!
Hei,
I found this link on the topic of how to make a Christmas angel ornament with tampons via cruel.com and thought it might be of interest to you:
http://web.dbtech.net/~suncastl/angel.htm
Greetings from Norway
****
French woman likes MUM and adds phrase
Hi,
I'm from France and I thought I could give a little contribution to the "Words and expressions" list. My boyfriend always refers to the menses as : "la saison des fraises" which is I guess very similar to Strawberry Jam Time. The accurate translation would be Strawberry Season.
Also, thanks a lot for your wonderful Web site. When I first discovered it I spent hours reading pages and I learnt a lot of useful things. The part I prefer is the history of menstrual products. Very informative because that's a point I haven't read anything about before, and it helped me feel closer to the women of every place and every ages.
Thanks again for the great work you do maintaining this site.
**** from France
"Potty" covers a lot of bases
Dear Your MUM,
I have been enthralled by your site since midnight and it is nearly six in the morning. I'm sure you receive multiple e-mails each day from women (and hopefully other men!) who appreciate your open approach to a taboo subject, especially from a male. I suffer from endometriosis and it has taken my family years to accept it due to the nature of which my family deals with anything concerning reproductive or sexual health, organs, function, or other. It is strange since my grandmother was a nurse and my mother had five females out of her seven births. She refuses to discuss whether she has experienced menopause and also hid her menstruation from us. At 18, I have yet to receive "the talk" from her or any form of sexual or menstrual education. We are still waiting.
When I was 11, I had my period at my aunt's house (a nurse) who informed me that a man could now plant his seed in my body and impregnate me. How confusing! I couldn't figure out if I should be more proud of being a plant or a "woman." My sisters, the oldest being 29, and I are far more open with our cycles and sexuality than the previous generation. Our mother taught us that our organs, vulva, vagina, et al were called our "potty" (which, incidentally, we also called our urine and our toilet). She cannot say clinical terms without whispering them (including breasts, vagina, clitoris, vulva or menstruation, period, et cetera). It amazes me that a woman who experienced eight pregnancies would not educate her daughters about their own menstruation.
My sister has made sure to inform her children about the correct terms or age-appropriate answers for their parts or any other questions when they arise. Her son, however, has named her breasts "mommy's apples" and her pubic hair "mommy's tail." Since he has not asked the "correct" terms for these regions, she does not mind being referred to as an apple with a tail.
I have an anecdote which accompanies my terms for menstrual products. My sister did not know what tampons were since our mother did not leave any trace of them in the garbage or bathroom. She discovered them one day and felt they would serve a purpose as toys for our cat. Much to my mother's dismay, she found tattered, cat-clawed tampons all over the backyard since my sister believed the tampons were "mice" or "mouse toys." With some education, I doubt my sister would have wasted a box of tampons on our cat. (By the way, I think Mama Kitty enjoyed the white mice with tails!)
Also, my other sister located a box of pads and instructed me on the "proper" usage. Initially, she told me they were foot pads and we attached them to our feet and walked around as though we had insoles attached to our socks. Later, she had seen my mother applying a pad to her thigh (my sister's interpretation, of course) and told me pads were used as padding between your legs. We do not necessarily use these terms but I'm glad SOMEONE told me about their purpose!
When I am bleeding, I say I am menstruating, "periodic," "being womanly" or "female," "leaking," "emptying', "draining" or "drainage" or "preparing for unborn children." It is also called "painful femininity" when I have intense cramps or heavy clotting. I am 18 from Seattle and proud of bleeding although I hate the accompanying pain or emotional discomfort. Thank you for this informative site! I learned more about myself and gathered more information and appreciation for other women.
 |
Harry Finley made the illustration. Read an incomplete history of menstrual cups and some older comments about them from site visitors. |
She had trouble positioning the Instead menstrual cup
I've enjoyed reading the comments about Instead and thought I'd add mine.
I went to the drug store recently and purchased a box of Instead. I have always had a yucky reaction to disposable pads (they really irritate my vagina after a few days) and tampons make me feel pretty crampy and sore. While I'll probably start wearing cloth menstrual pads, I still prefer the internal method, frankly...as "unnatural" as that is to some people, I like the idea of collecting it at my cervix and not having pads. My main concern are the chemicals but I've been pregnant or nursing for so many years now that I haven't had to deal with this for awhile!
Anyway, the first time I put in "Instead," I felt SO excited because it really felt comfy. I didn't feel it at all and did not have any crampiness or soreness. When I removed it, I laughed because my menstrual blood was actually sticking to the outside of the membrane. It hadn't made it inside and was not dripping out of me because there wasn't that much yet. I tried another one and had the same issue.
Twenty-four hours later, of course, my flow was in full-force. I reached in and found that my cervix is really far back right now and so I inserted the cup much farther back to accommodate this, and it worked fine. However, I thankfully had also been wearing a pad and found that it was completely soaked by the time I looked several hours later. (It was a dang hot, sweaty sticky day so I hadn't noticed!)
I reached in and found it rather far inside to easily pull out, so I did a few pushes and by the time I pulled it out, in spite of my gentleness and my awareness of my own anatomy, I managed to spill blood all over my pad (thankfully it was there!) and all over my hand! Much of my fluid had made it into the cup, but a lot of it was now squeezed out of the cup and thankfully I was just at home (not out or at work) with no one but my twins looking at me wondering what in the heck mom was doing. (Priceless conversation with my daughter at this time . :)
So, I'm rather sad! My best friend had a similar experience. I really wish this would work for me. Then I was wondering, while reclining on my bed, "Isn't the blood dripping out of my cup right now?" And then, after putting a new one in, whatever flowed out of me between cups really has nowhere to go, whereas with a pad or tampon it would be either absorbed into the pad or into the string.
I think I will try again because I don't like the health risks of tampons but I know pads are not always something I want to be using. What I've been reading about The Keeper scares me slightly, in terms of suction at my cervix, which doesn't seem like a very healthy experience for such an important piece of anatomy!
Thank you for your work!
[She added later:]
Out of curiosity, I tried Instead again last night at the very end of my cycle. I felt inspired by other users who mentioned they just needed a little practice . . . and I really enjoy wearing Instead when it's positioned and working correctly.
I was unable to get it positioned properly. My cervix was so far back, and my vaginal walls had become rather spongy at this point of my cycle. I pushed it in as far as I could and slipped it behind my pubic bone but it would not stay put there, nor would it catch blood, because, once again, it collected on the external membrane - fine for super light days, I suppose, but not very comfortable!
I was definitely intrigued at the idea of using natural sea sponge [here], as someone suggested. I also DO enjoy the feeling of blood flowing from me. It doesn't bother me that much, although I do enjoy wearing tank tops and fitted jeans and really don't like having the bulkiness there, as ungoddesslike as that comment might be. :) (Many, many students of traditional midwifery would never dream of putting something inside their "yonis.")
Me? I feel like it's my vagina and I don't mind working with it a little bit so that we're both happy. :)
Warmly, ****
[Read a short history of cups.]
How to empty The Keeper
Dear Harry,
I've recently stumbled across this Web site and think it's fantastic and remarkable. I'm interested in reading more about sex and periods but I haven't got through a great deal of the info on your site yet. Hope to find some more good stuff.
I did want to comment on The Keeper, however. I've been using it for the past three years. Besides already having paid for itself, I've found that I can enjoy my period more. I never trusted tampons and in the back of my head, I couldn't shake feeling the toxicity of these things in me. The waste was also a problem.
I bought The Keeper intending to test it first at home for awhile until I grew comfortable enough with it to wear in the outside world. It was easier than I could have imagined. I never wore another tampon again.
Like with anything, it's important to read instructions and to relax. Subsequently, it's like with anything in life - it should be done with your full attention. I empty my Keeper in public restrooms as well and this is the reason why I write as it seems many people have issues with this aspect. I wash my hands well with soap before I go into the stall. I take the paper towel that I've dried my hands with. In the washroom, I empty the cup and give it a wipe with the damp paper towel, paying more attention to the outside than the inside, and then chuck it in the bin. My hands don't get bloody, there is a minimum of mess and I wash my hands again anyway on the way out.
The truth of the matter is that the world, as is, was not designed for female comfort. Tampons were overall far worse for me. I think everyone who is contemplating The Keeper should go for it and embark with an open mind. Especially if you've had bad periods all your life, like I have. There's a reason for it and once you discover why, the entire experience will change for the better.
****
And a newer cup: Mooncup
Hi there,
I've just discovered your fascinating site and have spent the last couple of hours (and many more in the future) immersed in it! (No pun or double entendre intended.)
I live in Australia, and, while in my twenties, first heard of menstrual cups but couldn't find them anywhere. I'm 47 and haven't bled in about three years now, but would have gladly given them a go at the time, as I'd always felt very guilty about using disposable napkins and tampons, as it just seemed such a waste of natural resources. I'd tried using washable reusable ones, but found that with the very heavy flow I experienced, they just weren't practical for a working woman.
I actually lost a job because of a very messy accident in one instant (before antidiscrimination laws were in place in my country).
I thought that you may be interested in a product I've just discovered via the wonderful world of Google - it's a silicon menstrual cup called the "Mooncup" and is marketed via their Web site :
www.mooncup.co.uk
No doubt you're already aware of it, but I thought that I'd let you know on the off chance that you weren't aware of it yet.
I'm going to contact them as well, and let them know of your site, as I'm sure they'd be interested, and may even want to include a link (if I were them, I would).
Both my mother (now, sadly deceased) and I were both very interested in the myths, customs and history of menstruation and how women, and society both perceived and handled it. Unfortunately, as you stated yourself, being such a "taboo" subject over the centuries, it was a difficult subject to research.
Even today, I find so many people are horrified by the fact that I find it an interesting subject, but I can't ever remember feeling ashamed, mostly thanks to my mum.
When she achieved menses (in 1932 at the age of 13), she thought that she was dying, as no one had told her about menstruation, and buried her undies in the back yard for three days until my grandmother found out, then she slapped her hard across the face (a very barbaric custom amongst some Jewish communities) [read about the menstrual slap], gave her a towel [sanitary napkin in America] and two safety pins, and sent her, crying and confused, to a neighbor lady who showed her how to use the towel, and told her that she couldn't let any boys kiss her or she'd get pregnant!
The first time a boy kissed my mum, she worried for two weeks that she was pregnant!
She swore that she'd never let her daughters go through that, so I can't remember a time in my life when I wasn't aware of a woman's menstrual cycle, and why it occurred - I also never copped the smack across the chops either, thank heavens!
Anyway, LOVE the site, and I'll be spreading the word about it - much to the horror of many of my friends, no doubt!
Cheers,
****
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
~Albert Einstein
"My second favourite household chore is ironing - my first favourite is hitting my head against the top bunk bed until I faint"~Erma Bombeck
So, what's a pessary?
Did your uterus fall out? A pessary can hold it in. They also hold a uterus in place that is out of position to a lesser extent. See another pessary - there were and are many kinds - and a uterus that completely protrudes from the vagina.
Dear Harry,
I found your site quite by accident. I am a medical transcriptionist, and utilize the Internet quite often as a resource for correct spellings of medical terms that are unfamiliar to me or to gain further knowledge of that which I transcribe. This evening, one of the reports on which I was working had the word "pessary" in it. Of course, I generally know the purpose of the pessary, but I don't know what one looks like. My Google search led to your site, and while you do not have a picture of one, I was quite side tracked from my original intent, and spent almost half an hour on your site. And - though I was quite surprised that the site was founded and maintained by a man - I am very impressed with the amount and variety of information you have managed to amass on this topic. I honestly hadn't ever actually thought about how women in the past or in other countries/cultures handled the menstrual cycle. I have marked your site as a favorite, and plan to visit quite often as I have time.
Also, if you do happen upon a picture of a pessary, would you post it on your site?
Ms. ****
She tells about her first time
I love your site and just wanted to send in the story of my first period.
I was 13 and I was at an amusement park with my friend, a guy who I had a crush on. His mom and my mom and brother were with us. I had to go to the bathroom so I went in and when I looked down my panties were brown. I wasn't sure if I had an accident or something but I always made a good check of myself. Well, I just happened to be having my period. I put some toilet paper in my panties and ran out. I pulled my mom's arm and whispered what had happened in her ear. The boys were staring at me weird and I was blushing crimson. My mom had her period too but had no pads or tampons, the same with my friend's mom. The moms were running around like wild trying to find some pads for us. The boys are really starting to question us by now so we were just like, "Sarah is really sick." They were like, "So couldn't we just go home or let her sit for a while." We said no. So my friend's mom got a hold of an attendant and they went off to the first aid station. The attendant, knowing it was my first period, gave us tampons. I was like, how dumb can you get, so we asked her for some pads, too. We got them and all was well, except the boys were babying me and kept asking about how I was. My brother soon found out what was going on. But my friend never did till his mom and I were joking about it when I was about 15. And then he was really grossed out.
I've had so many weird thing happen to me when having my period that this isn't even the funniest. But that first one is unforgettable especially since it lasted 24 days. I think that is a new record or something. [Probably not, actually.]
**** the first and one and only wishes you many pleasant days, if that is what you are into.
Continued to next earlier News & Notes
