It's been a long time since I wrote one of these or wrote anything at all, really, but I'm trying not to let that period of writer's block keep me from jumping back in. So, as the first pangs of this month's cramps start up and those PMS blues set in, I'm here to share some interesting #periodcontent I've found recently.
- One of my newest podcast discoveries, The Inbetweenies, just ran an episode all about periods. It's not a particularly deep or complicated or even terribly woke episode—this podcast is very much in the two-friends-chatting model and they don't get too political beyond condemning tampons with plastic applicators and vaguely referencing girls in the developing world who miss school when they are menstruating—but it's nice to hear people speaking publicly and candidly about menstruation. If anyone has reccs for other period podcast eps, I'd love to hear them.
- I'm thinking of changing my period tracker app from Clue, which I just can't seem to get into, to Spot On from Planned Parenthood. My friend sold me on it when she mentioned on Twitter that it's not only inclusive of all genders, but also has a dinosaur theme(??!), and that's just too intriguing to pass up.
- There was a heartbreaking and frustrating New York Times piece in June about the tradition of menstrual huts (chhaupadi) in rural Nepal, where women are still considered unclean during their periods and ostracized as a result. I still don't understand how superstitions like this even got started. I mean, I know how they did, I just don't comprehend it. This is over half the human population! This is a sign of fertility, which you all claim to value so highly! It's a quarter of most adult women's lives!! Hopefully the activists (men and women) working in Nepal and other countries where these traditions still exist will be able to effect some real change, and soon.
- The Cut continues to have some of the oddest #periodcontent out there, including this piece called "We Had Sex on Thinx’s $369 Period Blanket So You Don’t Have To." That's right, everyone's favorite questionably progressive period panties company now makes bedding, too. The piece is worth a read but please don't buy this blanket, just use a cheap towel and make sure you do your laundry in a timely fashion.
my favorite graph from the Thinx blanket story
- I'm late to this one, but I recently learned about menstrual activist Chella Quint's #menstrualnotsanitary campaign to change the language we use around period products. As a language person, I think this is a small but vital part of shifting cultural ideas around menstruation, and Chella's piece from The Independent last fall made me think a lot.
- We all know Teen Vogue is #killingit, and their period coverage is no exception. This piece is called "What Trans & Non-Binary Menstruators Should Know About Periods" but these are things everyone should know, menstruator or not!
That's all for this edition. I wish you all the hottest heating pads and the darkest chocolate (sometimes things are stereotypes for a reason). Thanks for reading!