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Mar
11
The Great FLOW Giveaway
2010 at 10am Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Yesterday, I reviewed Elissa Stein and Susan Kim’s fantastic book Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation, and the conversations that followed both in the comments section of my post and on Twitter were fun and informative. And I think they were evidence that people really do want to talk about supposedly taboo topics. Breaking away, stepping out, and talking about something society tells you you’re not supposed to talk about can be empowering and exciting.
Which brings me to the giveaway for this lovely book.
Let’s keep the conversation flowing (pun totally intended). I have three copies to give away, and you’re gonna have to work for ‘em, people! (But it will be fun, I swear.)
All you need to do is keep talking about periods. Tell the story of your first period. Write an ode to your favorite feminine hygiene product. Relate your most embarrassing period-related story. Describe “the talk” you got from your parents or the one you gave to your kids. Educate us about a women’s health issue you’re passionate about.
Share tips for dealing with cramps, hot flashes, etc. Give a shout-out to your favorite book about menstruation or women’s health. Identify and critique a bunch of ads for femcare products. Really, just about anything goes. Men: you can enter, too. You may not HAVE periods, but I’m willing to bet you’ve known people who do. Be creative.
And because I know it’s not fair to ask you to share if I’m not willing to do it myself (hah, as if there were any question about that), I’ll post a story of my own next week, too.
The details:
- Author Elissa Stein and I will read all of the entries. She’ll pick one winner, I’ll pick one winner, and the third will be chosen randomly (using random.org). If we get more than 50 entries, I’ll buy a fourth copy of the book and open it up to voting.
- You’re welcome to leave your entry in the comments here, but since the whole point of this giveaway is to broaden the conversation, I’d really love for you to blog about it. So if you post your entry on your blog instead (and leave a link in the comments here), you’ll get 5 extra entries (which will vastly increase your chances of being randomly selected) and mad brownie points.
- Entries will be accepted until 11:59pm Eastern next Friday, March 19th.
Bring on the flow!
No related posts.
When I was around 10 or 11, I asked my mother why some things at the PX were pre-packed in brown paper bags. She never answered the question; she told me it was Tampax and Kotex, items I would find out about later.
OK, I’ll be brave and leave the first comment. This book looks great.
I recall “the talk.” I had not yet turned 10, and was blissfully unaware about periods before that time. My mom gave me a little pink book to read called “You’re a Young Lady Now” that explained all of the deets.
Then my mom came back and showed me about sanitary napkins and how to put one on of those stupid belts (Gawd, remember those?). It all seemed all right and I was cool with it. Didn’t seem like much of a big deal.
Then she mentioned that it was going to be EVERY MONTH.
I dissolved in a flood of tears. Somehow, I had gotten the impression from the little pink book this was a one time rite of passage. “FOR HOW LONG?” I wailed.
“Oh, until you’re about 50,” she replied.
I couldn’t believe it. Sometimes I still can’t.
You are an absolute HOOT! I love this. You are definitely an original and have got a great sense of humor. Keep it up!
I’ve finished my post! I’ve scheduled it to publish first thing tomorrow morning, and I had such fun writing it.
Although, somehow my tangent got off periods and more on to the vagina in general. I hope that’s ok!
Of course that’s OK! I can’t wait to read it.
Well I certainly was planning on posting about this today, but I did it!
http://amyliz2008.blogspot.com/2010/03/great-flow-giveaway.html
Awesome!
IUD halts flow
Freedom! Danger! May create
ectopic prego
I have the weirdest first period story. Mine came when I was about… fourteen? And I was sleeping over at a friend’s house. We had stayed up listening to what I now know to be terrible music but I thought it was great back then. When I went to the bathroom at some four odd in the morning, my panties were lovely and red.
I screamed and shouted with joy – my best friend and I were so thrilled!
As soon as I had put in a pad (my first pad!), I called my mother to tell her that I had finally gotten my period.
It was four in the morning. She was not amused.
But I was the last of my friends to receive a visit from Auntie Flow. And then together, we got to commiserate about our flows (and get out of quite a bit of stuff we didn’t want to do because of “terrible cramps”). Ahhh, how lovely youth was.
My post is here:
http://www.jennsbookshelves.com/2010/03/11/the-great-flow-woes-and-giveaway/
Thanks, Rebecca! I had a lot of fun (maybe too much!) with this one!
Thanks, Lena! I think “listening to what I now know to be terrible music” is a defining feature of being 14. And yes–it was great to be able to get out of stuff! My brother-in-law is a teacher at an all-girls’ school, and he confirms that he will never say no to a girl who asks to go to the bathroom because who would want to be responsible for disaster?
I got my first period a few days before I turned 13. I was so ashamed. I knew what a period was b/c of “those” body books my parents had lying around the house, but my mom had yet to talk to me about it. I was still 12; she probably thought she had time. I remember not telling anyone. I remember believing I couldn’t leave the house. I had to be home to change my pad all the time. How my mother never figured it out with all the disappearing pads is beyond me! She discovered my secret about 4-5 months later when she was doing laundry and saw some stained underwear. Poor thing probably felt very guilty. I was a scared kid who hated having her period (one of the first in my class). I also remember at the young age of 12, “I can’t wait to get pregnant” as that meant not having a period for 9 months (wisdom is a very odd thing in youth!), or hurry up and make me 50 already.
I gradually opened up about my period in the years to come and in high school, my friends would discuss our periods all the time, much to the dismay of our boy friends and our boyfriends (two very different things). They eventually adapted and would join in on the discussion!
I hope when my daughter approaches puberty to talk with her about her body and what having a period means and celebrate her entrance into womanhood. I don’t want her to be embarrassed about it or ashamed or hide it from me. Actually, thinking about myself at 12, that frightened little girl, makes me want to go back in time and hug her. There’s too much of a taboo on periods—we should talk more about this.
If I don’t win this book, I may just have to run out and buy it, as I think I may just leave it lying around the house for all to see!
Brava! FLOW makes a great coffee table book, indeed.
When my mother gave me the talk, I said, “I’m not having that,” and she said, “I’m afraid you will, my dear,” and then she said to cheer up, she hadn’t gotten her period until she was nearly sixteen. She and my father were both small kids who didn’t grow until late high school, and at that point my sisters and I were all really small too. But then (alas!) in eighth grade I hit this growth spurt and shot up, which I thought was great until I got my period a week before my fourteenth birthday. I still feel kind of cheated out of those extra two years….but I like being tall…
My poor sister, on the other hand, got her first period, along with a shriek-inducing portion of cramps, in a bookstore in Maine on summer vacation. So I really cannot say that I have anything to complain about.
Oh, what a great contest! You (and a comment on my blog this morning) have totally inspired me, I’m in the process of compiling a list of resources for women – not just on menstruation, but on Womanhood in general – yes, Flow is so on the list! (Here’s the URL for the list if you are interested in adding your suggestions: http://tinyurl.com/yaxoykr)
My story… well, I don’t even remember my first period. I have no memory at all. I do have one terribly embarrassing story though (this might have been my first period, but I don’t remember if it was…):
I was in grade 8, and looking back at the end of the day I realized it had all begun in the early afternoon in shop class. I was kind of…sticking to my stool. But, I didn’t really think too much of it.
I went about my day. Walked around the school. Finished classes. Took the city bus home. Went pee… and discovered my jeans were SOAKED through. There was a huge red patch covering my entire butt and I had no idea.
I couldn’t decide if I was more embarrassed or more upset that no one had told me. Why hadn’t one of the girls or a teacher pulled me aside and said something – I could have been saved so much embarrassment? But I just changed pants, washed up, and went about my day.
Yours,
Megan
My most embarrassing period story of all time is so humiliating, there’s no way I could possibly type it up here and attach my name to it. But just to torture you with my unkept promise of a morbid tale, I’ll tell you this: it involved a boyfriend, an (ahem) intimate situation… and me, caught totally unaware. This was years ago, and I don’t think the blush has ever actually crept from my face. GAH. Must move on.
And OK, here’s a real one that doesn’t make me tremble with the remembered humiliation of that moment!
I was the “lucky” girl in my elementary school who not only required a real bra at age nine — yes, friends, fourth grade — but that got her first period shortly thereafter. I believe I was actually 10 when the dreaded flow began, newly a fifth-grader, and I got to sit through the torture of those fun “you’re growing up!” videos with the other little girls in my class totally secure in the knowledge of my own womanhood.
But the real story? When I had my first period, I was a little freaked and sure that everyone would “know.” I begged my mom to let me stay home from school but, being the dutiful parent she was, Mom refused. I stuffed some pads in a discreet little case in my bookbag and tried to go about my business. Of course, I felt icky and weird and still sure everyone would “know” about my period, so… I tried to carry my bookbag around with me. In case there was a problem. Or an accident. And I needed back-up supplies, see.
The problem with that? I was the only one carrying around a bookbag all day long at school. Everywhere I went.
And since I didn’t want anyone to find that pouch with the pads, I loaded my pack up with tons of other crap, too — books, papers, etc. So it was a heavy bag. All day long, my classmates and teacher asked me why I was toting around a heavy bag… and each time, my mortification grew. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave the bookbag in a corner of the classroom, my fear of leakage (or something?) was so strong. So I made crap up and hoped for the best. I got tons of weird looks and plenty of questions, but I managed to emerge from that mess unscathed.
Though obviously the psychological scars last longer. Ha!
More than fifteen years later, I’m still not fond of periods… but don’t feel the need to haul awkwardly-loaded-down bags around with me to compensate. Progress!
1000mg of calcium a day cuts way down on cramps, PMS, and makes periods a little lighter. I did not know this until years ago one day at work during lunch the topic of periods got brought up and this info was shared by some co-workers who reported the miracles of calcium. And it actually works! Cheers for people willing to share.
Here’s an embarrassing story- my drains were all clogged up, finally had to call Roto-Rooter. After the guy went into the basement sewage lines to clean that out, he called me down to SHOW me all the tampons he had pulled out and I got a lecture about never flushing tampons! And I never do, at least in my own house, if only to never see Roto-Rooter guy again!!
If I buy the margaritas, will you tell me the first story at BEA?
Haha! This looks like a great read!
My mother was too mortified to have “the talk” – she was not one for great communication – so she ordered that kit thing from Tampax with the little book in it and left it on my bed one day when I was about 12. Nice.
I actually started when I was visiting my elderly great-aunt and uncle down at the lake one summer and thankfully even though my mother wasn’t the greatest at communication, she at least was the queen of being over-prepared and had stocked my suitcase with supplies so I wouldn’t have to ask anyone to go get any.
Great to see so many people willing to share! I think periods are more embarassing than they have to be because they don’t get talked about too much.
Anything embarassing had to do with the fact that other people are dense. I HATED that in high school we had such little time between classes and often had to sprint from one end of the building to the other…but somehow any business we needed to take care of had to be squeezed into that wee few minutes. Trying to explain to the teacher why you were late or needed to take a few minutes to run off to the bathroom were torture! Then you spent the entire class praying that you didn’t leak and trying to figure out how mad the next teacher would be if you showed up late. Thank god boys were dumb, because there were a few episodes of them telling me I must have sat in something at lunch.
Of course my worst experience was having to deal with another girl’s period. She was our tiny cheerleader and as such was on the top of the pyramid. And she refused to wear tampons because she thought they were “ikky.” We often did these stunts that involved her sitting in the splits before being pushed up into something higher and fancier. Guess who had the job of supporting her butt. She’d also wear her “bloomers” that were meant to cover her underwear as underwear and have little pad wings hanging out over the sides. Oh how I hated my job of supporting her!
Oh, Christina, that is just awful. In 8th grade (the last year of my cheerleading career), I was the girl atop the period, and there’s no WAY I would have put my bases through it. I’m glad you survived!
We might be able to come to an agreement.
I didn’t even really get the ‘talk’. My mom bought me this movie to watch made by Kotex. It was so awkward, especially the part about how to insert a Tampon! I think I was scarred for awhile, because I wouldn’t even attempt to use a Tampon on myself until I was in high school.
Oh, and when I was in middle school my friend told me about a girl who forgot she had a Tampon in. Eventually, it began to smell ‘down there’ so she went to the doctor and they had to get it out for her! No wonder I was freaked out about Tampons!!
I remember when they first showed that film about “growing up” in school I thought it was so boring (hadn’t had my period yet) I didn’t pay attention and doodled. Then later realized I’d missed some important information: what was the difference between tampons and kotex? It seemed super important but I was embarrassed to ask my mom. I finally did and she was probably relieved that the question eating at me was so mundane!
The idea of tampons was icky to me but I had to use some during swim team events, and the first time I was so nervous about it I couldn’t remove the darn thing afterward. I was nearly in tears, and then my dad was in the hall outside the bathroom shouting to my mom that I had to get it out or some horrid medical problem would result (I don’t even remember what he said now, just how mortified and freaked out I was). To this day I don’t like tampons.
This is great to see such frank discussions about menstruation! Although many of these entries (if not all) are clearly women, it is definitely breaking down the social barriers and tabooness of periods and the likes. I’ve always blogged about menstruation anyways, so I guess it won’t be too hard for me to do the “5 entries” submission, lol.
Having read My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, it is nice to see another book based around experiences surrounding menstruation. I hope that one day, the misinformation about menstruation that most males pick up from peers and the media will dissipate and that both males and females can get a better understanding about menstruation. It is very unfortunate some of the ignorance that males have towards menstruation and many of that ignorance based from untrue hearsay or petty judgments. For a man to really take time to understand menstruation is a way of being connected to the woman he loves and understand the beauty of the female body and how it functions. I hope one day myself, I will be able to spread practical understanding of menstruation to my male readers!
Cheers!
- Prexus
Author of MEN in Menstruation
I posted!
Mainly gave tips for cramps because I get them really, really bad and have become sort of an expert on them.
My post’s up!
http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/in-which-i-write-vagina-or-a-variant-thereof-13-times/
And reading all the period stories makes me want to share!
I got my first period when I was only 11. I was a year younger than everyone else in my grade (7th), and I STILL got it before all my friends. I felt jipped. In fact, I still feel jipped, because my sister didn’t get hers until she was 15! Hmph.
I remember I had a babysitting job one day during the summer when I was 12, and I was supposed to take the kids to the pool and play with them. Well, I got my period, and my mom said I should just use a tampon. Even though I’d never used one before, she gave me one of hers, which was the size UP from regular. OMG, I hated it so, so much. She had to talk me through getting it in from the other side of the bathroom door, then later it was SO hard to get out, and I didn’t wear tampons again for a couple years. Then, I noticed the ‘teen size’ in the grocery store, and found that they were much, much better. I was home from college one vacation, and complaining that there were no teen-size left (my mom and sis both use the big ones). My (younger) sister turns to me, and says “Well, if you can’t even use a bigger size tampon, how are you ever going to be able to have sex?” My mom and I just stared at her speechlessly. LOL
Bless you, Rebecca, for getting people to share. I did write up a post (http://www.michellesmastermusings.com/2010/03/i-love-being-woman.html) but thought I would share my first period story here.
I was nine and in fifth grade. This was before I had The Talk with my mom or before it was given in school. I was going to the bathroom one morning at school and saw that my panties were red. I had NO idea what that was about. So, I went about my day. Every time I went to the bathroom, I saw that the situation in my underpants was a bit worse. I didn’t know what to do about it, so I did nothing. I had PE that day and remember feeling so self-conscious about having to move around when something was obviously wrong with me. Yet, I obviously was not concerned enough because I never did go to the nurse’s office.
I lasted all day long. Thanks to a brief conversation I had the previous summer with an older cousin about it, by the time I got home, I finally had an inkling of what was “wrong” with me. But I was mortified by that time. I ran home to my mother, who was in the shower, dropped my pants and cried that I think I had gotten my period. The rest of the evening is just a blur. To say it was an experience I never forgot is an understatement.
Oooh, I want to post about this on the blog but don’t have time now. Maybe this afternoon.
Recently on a lot of the feminist blogs I read, there’s been this push for “celebrating your period.” Well, I have endometriosis, so I celebrate NOT getting my period. After two pretty serious surgeries and a whole lot of pain, my doc put me on Nuvaring (Oh Nuvaring, how I love thee) for four weeks instead of three, so Aunt Flo is kicked out the door before she even thinks about coming over.
But I can remember getting my period for the first time – Mom was great about explaining, but I sort of missed something because I thought I had it FOREVER. And I remember walking around 6th grade thinking: Being a girl is miserable. Of course, with 8-12 day periods, it sure felt like forever. But once I figured out that it wasn’t daily, even if it was half the month, I came to much better terms with it.
This book looks so great. I’ve wanted to pick it up before and am so glad to hear, Rebecca, that it includes such interesting other research. I’ll try to link to my blog this afternoon. Thanks for the freeing post!
Atop the period? Lol.
Thanks so much Rebecca for opening up the floor for conversation. I think it’s ridiculous that periods are considered a taboo topic.
Like one of the commenters on your previous post, I have endometriosis, so I’ve had to be able to talk about it. I was incredibly lucky to have employers who were understanding when I was being diagnosed and sick for a week or more every month (my periods at the time were longish, painful, and vomit-inducing), but I can’t imagine if I hadn’t been able to explain. And now I’ll just say God bless Seasonique and periods four times a year. (I tried continual BCPs off and on before Seasonique, but it never quite worked, and my insurance never wanted to refill as often as I had to to maintian continual dosage.)
I do have a couple of anecdotes/rants related to my endo. I had a laparoscopy many years ago, both to confirm that was the problem and to cauterize any tissue the doctor found. I didn’t go around telling everybody about the surgery (it’s just not my way), but I didn’t hide it either. When I was recovering and still in some pain, it came up in conversation with some doctor friends, and one of them asked me why I’d had a laporoscopy. I just matter-of-factly said it was for endometriosis, and he wrinkled his nose with distaste and looked at me as if I’d grown an extra head. To this day, I don’t know if he was one of those doctors who thinks endo is a made-up whiny woman’s condiction or whether he didn’t like being reminded that a woman friend has woman parts (eyeroll).
But my other rant has to do with the way woman talk about periods. I know they mean well, but over the years, I got so, so tired of women’s advice for dealing with cramps. And we’re not talking unusual advice. “Have you tried stretching? Taking an extra Advil? Heating pads?” I can’t tell you how many women friends would share these tips and imply that if I would just do that, I wouldn’t even notice my period anymore. (And, yes, I tried all of these things, and they helped to a point, but I had known about them for years.) I always felt like they didn’t believe how extreme the pain was. (People who lived with me and a few coworkers were the only ones who really knew because they were the only ones who saw me at my worst.)
The other kind of discourse about periods that I have trouble with (and the reason I’m not sure this book is for me) is the discourse that implies that periods are an essential part of our being female and that we should–no *must*–celebrate the period. I’m all for not being ashamed of my period, but when my period has for years been the direct source of extreme pain and stress, I simply cannot celebrate it. Because, for me, when menstruation equals womanhood, the subtext is that my womanhood makes me miserable, and I know that’s a lie.
If Flow takes that tack, it’ll probably just piss me off, but if it doesn’t, I’d be interested in reading it.
I wouldn’t say FLOW takes the tack of insisting on celebrating menstruation. The focus of the book is on debunking myths and removing the taboo and shame related to women’s bodies and how they function, but the authors cover endometriosis & other period-related problems and acknowledge that they are very real sources of pain and frustration for many women.
I saw that they had a chapter titled “When Good Periods Go Bad,” which was encouraging. And I’m all for debunking myths. If I win it, I’ll read it!
>>I can’t tell you how many women friends would share these tips and imply that if I would just do that, I wouldn’t even notice my period anymore.
That’s what happens with me when people find out I have fibromyalgia. LOL I might hear something like “Well, my sister’s mother’s high school friend has that, and she just started exercising and taking xxx herb, and now she’s all fine!” And without fail, the first thing someone ALWAYS says when I tell them is “But you look perfectly healthy.”
Gotta love those invisible chronic illnesses.
My sister has always said I have the worst possible luck with periods. Mine ALWAYS came at the worst possible time. Once it was the day of my 14th birthday party, which was a pool party. So no swimming for me.
Another time it was on a bus full of kids on a youth group trip to go skiing. Of course I was only 13, nothing was regular yet, so I was completely unprepared. They stopped the bus at a K-Mart and told everyone we were taking a quick break. I had to try to secretly buy pads while 60 kids wandered around the same store buying candy and pop. I was mortified.
Another time I was on a mission trip in Mexico. I was 16 this time and even if you’re prepared, it’s not the best time to be sleeping in a tent with 7 other people and using community port-o-potties and group showers. There are about 10 other similar stories, hence my sister’s claim that my period has always been “out to get me.”
Yes, yes, yes. To all of the above.
After my first surgery – and endo is not made up in any way; it’s like a cancer – I had a girl I worked with tell me “some people just have a low threshold for pain.”
Um, no. I broke my arm once and didn’t know for three days because I have such a high pain tolerance. I was so so so livid.
I didn’t see your comment when I typed my comment, but, yes, that pressure to celebrate is galling.
And I’ve gotten the low tolerance for pain comment as well. *And,* like you, I’ve had doctors comment on my high pain tolerance because of how bad things have to be before I’ll go to the doctor. (I once walked around on a seriously sprained ankle because it didn’t seem that painful to me.) Mostly I think I’ve been trained by my endo to power through pain when I can. Otherwise, pre-Seasonique, I would lose a full week or more of every month instead of a couple of days.
I have had this in my tbr pile on goodreads. It has a great cover. You have to wonder how one could find enough information on the subject to write a book. I am very intrigued!
great posting…and comments
would love to read this one …
Oh, there is TONS of information. Are you kidding? Pretty much every cultural and historical group had thoughts about menstruation, and Stein & Kim cover many of them.
I have two stories (and they are related):
When I got my first period I had to holler for my mom to come to the bathroom – because the downstairs toilet wasn’t “equipped – and she started crying when I told her. Dad came by and asked why whe was crying – I shook my head “NO!!!!” but then mom said “Your daughter just became a woman” and my dad looked so proud…..I’m pretty sure I was about to die of embarassment right there.
Fast forward to the next day. You know how they say “oh, your first few periods aren’t heavy”, right? Wrong. Guess who bled through a pad, granny panties, tights, and black skirt and who also had to learn how to make up an excuse to get out of class to the nurse’s office for the first time? Me. Thank god we had a super nice nurse in Jr. High who called my mom for me (we also had a super nice gym teacher who would let you sit out of gym with cramps).
Wanted. To. Die. But now I use Depo Provera – all good.
Oh My .. people are writing books here!!!
My first period story was a classic. I got it a few hours before my very first boy-girl birthday party. Talk about awkward and unnerving. God does have a sense of humor I think!
Here’s my post (entry to your contest):
http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com/2010/03/discussion-topic-advertising.html
It’s all about my time on a femcare advertising team!
[...] recently featured Elissa Stein and Susan Kim’s book Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation and challenged her readers to talk openly about menstruation on their own blogs. After seeing the other responses and the [...]
Here is my post. It is the story of my first period and it includes ballet camp. http://mybooksmylife.com/?p=1993
oh yea. I had that happen, too. But it was my dad. Ugh. I had forgotten that…
A few quick things that have already been said but I’ll reiterate just to add my voice to the bunch: Memories of always subconsciously swiping the back of my pants for a “leak”. That horrid feeling of the bulk of a pad, like an awkward diaper. That even more horrid “first time using a tampon” experience (ooww!). Smuggling pads out of the room during bathroom breaks (I do want to note despite other comments, that periods often provided the best “get out of class free” card for me, as long as I had a male teacher and didn’t use it too often). Counting backwards the hours the tampon has been in because you know somebody who knows somebody who got TSS and almost died. Accidentally pulling out a tampon rather than a pen from your purse. Explaining to a new boyfriend just why nothin’ is going on that night. Swimming, a disaster for years…
Besides this, I’ll shout out an ode to my favorite of the disposable feminine “products” in my use: Tampax Pearls! I call them the BMWs of my “collection” though there’s not much else there now besides given that I’ll only buy these. I treat my vag right!
About not treating my vag right: Scented tampons- yuck! I have the largest problem with these given that they’re supposed to convince women that sterile, lab-created “powder” or “lilacs” smells better us on our periods. No thanks. If God had intended it to smell like roses, it would have smelled like roses, or fresh breeze, or dandelion fields, or clean laundry…
I never got ANY warning. Sure I picked stuff up, but I was home-schooled and very unaware of what was going to happen to me. I got my period, but it wasn’t too traumatizing. I hid the fact from my mum for more than two years. She really didn’t notice. And I know she didn’t because she was trying to delicately “comfort” me at age 16 (I was 14 when I had my 1st period), saying that there wasn’t anything wrong with me and that she got hers at a late age.
I never really had any incidents, except on a city bus. And I tried very hard to hide myself with my book bag. When I got home adrenaline was zipping through me. I felt like I was reliving the supermarket scene from “Dirty Love.”
[...] this post? I’m not going to lie…part of it is because I’d really, really love to win a copy of Flow. But even if I don’t win, I’m on my library’s hold list, and I’ll be [...]
[...] and the conversations that have followed have been nothing short of fascinating. I’m giving away three copies of the book, and the entries so far are funny, insightful, touching, and empowering. We’ve been talking [...]
My Mom wanted to take the easy way out of telling me about periods. So, when I was about 8, she asked my next-door neighbor Paula, who was 3 years older than me, to tell me. Paula simply said “Blood comes out of your cunt!” and broke into nervous laughter…!!!
I didn’t tell my Mom about the manner in which Paula told me till just a couple of years ago, and I’m 51 now! LOL!!!!!!!
Oh. My. That is hysterical.
Men’s Guide On How To Be a Better Boyfriend/Husband During Her Period…
I promised I’d write this for Poh Ching a long time ago and it’s finally time I live up to this! In this entry, I’d like to take some time to discuss ways to make your girlfriend or wife feel better shortly before or during her period…
Well, judging by the comments here, I’d definitely say your efforts to get the conversation “flowing” have gone over well, Rebecca! My contribution is posted on my blog today:
http://www.3rsblog.com/2010/03/my-friends-in-town-or-going-with-flow.html
Thanks, Florinda! I’m so glad to have you in this conversation.
I’m adapting my response for a post on the Los Angeles Moms Blog, where I’m a contributor. I’m wondering what sort of conversation it will get going over there!
Oh, you MUST send me a link to that one, too!
I definitely will. I have to do a couple of more things with it before it’s ready to post, but I’ll let you know when it’s up – probably later this week. Given the angle I used for the original post, it wasn’t too hard to spin it a little so it would fit in over on the Moms Blog.
The LA Moms Blog post is up now – it’s a little different from the one I did on my blog, since they don’t allow cross-posting, but the basics are all there.
http://www.lamomsblog.com/2010/03/my-friend-my-curse-my-period.html
I am way to utterly exhausted to participate. but I am loving the discussion and the comments.
I want to add something but at the same time almost feel like I don’t have that much to contribute, even as a woman. I’m one of those people for whom hormonal birth control has meant no periods at all, for the past three years, so I almost feel like it’s not even a part of my life anymore. It’s sort of amazing how differently you experience it without the monthly reminder; I definitely still have a “cycle” but the most obvious part of it is missing and I’m no longer the target of all these marketers. Other commenters seem to
have a much closer relationship with their period–I think of myself as very sex-positive but I definitely remember the cramps and unfunness more than any great feeling of “womanhood”!
But here’s my funniest experience of not getting my period anymore: whenever I go to the ob/gyn for my annual exam, I have to fill out the form that asks when the last one was. At this point, I don’t remember very exactly, to say the least! Then the receptionists and nurses get a bit freaked out, probably because they don’t know what to do with someone who can’t just fill out the form right. But the last time, when I finally got to see the doctor, she was like, “Oh, it’s no problem at all, I have the same thing, it’s the greatest! As long as you don’t mind, congratulations!”
[...] promised, this is my post in support of the Great Flow Giveaway I’m running with Elissa Stein. I have been thrilled and overwhelmed by the insights and [...]
I follow your blog routinely but have found myself obsessively checking the comments throughout each day since your review of FLOW. I am amazed by how much I have learned from the conversations, both here and from other blogs that have posts listed here. After lots of thought, I’ve finally determined that I might have something to contribute, and if I don’t, I at least need to honor all the honesty and risk-taking going on here by doing the same. So, here goes…
For many of you, (cue spooky music) I am the voice of your future. I had my last period 17 years ago. (I’m 57, in case you’re wondering. No sense being coy now.)How that came about falls into my personal chapter of “when good periods go bad.” My periods had become extremely heavy and lasted a long time, to the point that I was “flowing” more than I wasn’t. My GYN said a hysterectomy was a reasonable option, but as an RN (then; not now) I had read that there were a lot of unnecessary hysterectomies being done and didn’t really want to have surgery if I didn’t have to, so I chose door #2. Behind it was progesterone therapy (the same hormone in Depo-Provera). It was extremely effective in managing my periods, but unfortuantely a pesky side effect for me was migraine headaches. Miserable headaches. (I suspect I’m preaching to some of you.) Can’t-open-my-eyes headaches. Can’t-do-my-job headaches. Can’t-take-care-of-my-children-and-I’m-the-only-adult-here headaches. The worst part, though, was that these were I-can’t-keep-anything-down-for-days-and-days headaches, so I ended up repeatedly in the hospital for rehydration and IV medications to treat the pain and nausea. Then, my internist called me one day to tell me that a new medication was on the market for migraine treatment. Imitrex initially was released in a self-injecting syringe, but the first dose had to be given in a doctor’s office. So, the next time I took progesterone, I got a migraine, and went to my internist’s office and got my injection. I was to just lie down and relax in the dark for about 20 minutes. After about 5, my throat felt a little funny, then I started coughing and couldn’t stop, and the next place I found myself was in the hospital ER with an SRO crowd in the room. I had had an anaphylactic allergic response and had had to be given CPR. Oh, my. My chest hurt. My throat hurt. And dammit, my head still hurt. When my internist and GYN appeared in my hospital room together and asked how I felt about a hysterctomy now, my response was “where do I sign?”
Ok, this is the story of my first time.
http://kaydencebookblog.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/ballerinas-should-not-surf-the-crimson-wave/
I’m almost frightened to see if my eighth graders read and comment on it. I think I’m lucky that in most cases they don’t bother to check my blog links.
[...] it VERY readable) as well as submit my entry to win the FLOW book by Elissa Stein and Susan Kim per The BookLady’s Blog which if you don’t yet know about, you can click HERE to enter. But you have to hurry – deadline is tomorrow. [...]
My post is up: http://wp.me/p7r47-15y. Thanks!
When I learned about periods in 5th grade I was lead to believe that there would only be a neat little red spot to contend with. The first time I got my period I woke up with it and it was waaay more blood that I had ever imagined. I thought there was something seriously wrong. Of course, my mom had already left for work so I somehow told my dad the embarrassing details and he immediately called my mom at work. This is really a mother’s area of expertise, after all. I’m not sure who was more freaked out- me or my dad.
Thanks for the giveaway!
[...] were things I wanted to blog about this week (such as participating in the FLOW conversation at the Book Lady’s Blog), but just didn’t have the time — in addition to trying [...]
So, I know I’ve missed the deadline but I wanted to share this horrific event in my life that still causes an ‘eeek’ (hands over the eyes) reaction every time I think of it.
When I was about 14, I took ballet classes (doesn’t every girl?) and it was that time of the month. I tried to fake being sick so that my mom wouldn’t make me go but I had to attend anyway. I didn’t know how to use tampons at the time so I had to use a pad in leotards. Have you ever tried doing this? This was BEFORE wings. Think black bodysuit, white leotard a bulky pad. So everything was going well until we started doing leaps diagonally across the room and one of the girls shouts out – What’s wrong with your tights? So much for leakage control…my pad had leaked and I now had a red stain down the leg of my tights. The teacher let me go to the washroom to clean up. I couldn’t get my tights cleaned and I think I just sat in the bathroom for the rest of the class….mortified….
I’ll meet you there and buy the second round . . .
[...] promised, this is my post in support of the Great Flow Giveaway I’m running with Elissa Stein. I have been thrilled and overwhelmed by the insights and [...]