"I Am Woman; Watch Me Poo!"
Yuckers thing on Twitter. Hint: Ladies, this is not a step forward.
There's apparently some bullshit called "free bleeding." Or, as I put it:
Free bleeding is the free picking your nose and eating it of feminism. https://t.co/UqIMoXxCpA
— Amy Alkon (@amyalkon) January 7, 2018
Couldn’t describe it better!
crella at January 7, 2018 11:49 PM
So instead of viewing women as individuals with their own specific talents and achievements, feminists present themselves as unhygienic slobs. Great PR campaign ladies.
Jay at January 8, 2018 4:12 AM
While I can’t say that I’m a big fan of free bleeding, equation menstruation with excrement is offensive. Excremental is periodic, controllable, and smelly.
Most women who menstruate will have accidents. The flow is variable and for me, during heavier times, I would soak both a super tampon and a pad in two hours. Often employers do not give breaks that frequently, so leaks happened. It’s not controllable nor is it smelly if the woman has good health and hygiene.
Jen at January 8, 2018 5:05 AM
So instead of viewing women as individuals with their own specific talents and achievements, feminists present themselves as unhygienic slobs.
Who would want to put the focus on a figure skater, mighty and graceful after years of practice and sweat? Not someone who craves rewards without effort, prizes sans accomplishment, who demands recognition just for being.
One runs into people like this from time to time. Usually their egos outstrip their talent.
Old RPM Daddy (OldRPMDaddy at GMail dot com) at January 8, 2018 5:09 AM
"Rewards without effort, prizes sans accomplishment, who demands recognition just for being."
Let's all give a hand to the little ladies...uh...wymmmynnn...for their bodily excretions.
Amy Alkon at January 8, 2018 5:14 AM
Turned on the Golden Globes for a few minutes last night, just out of curiosity. It was every bit as sanctimonious as I expected. Went back to watching recorded Doctor Who episodes.
Cousin Dave at January 8, 2018 6:39 AM
Ten years ago, this would still have been a thought-provoking piece of shock art.
But these days where pretty much everyone is doing arts and crafts with menstrual emissions as a dye? Ho-hum. Boring.
At least Casey Jenkins knows how to knit.
Sixclaws at January 8, 2018 7:21 AM
Went back to watching recorded Doctor Who episodes.
Im feeling trepidation about the new Doctor, they generally do good work for a campy scifi series, but 9 times out of 10 when they make such a big deal about having a female lead in scifi its becuase they didnt write good stories that happen to have a female lead, but stories about how great it is for society how we have a female lead
lujlp at January 8, 2018 9:44 AM
#Freebleeding #Ewww #MenstruationBongmasters #EnuffSaid
mpetrie98 at January 8, 2018 10:42 AM
"nor is it smelly if the woman has good health and hygiene"
I was a custodian at an elementary school while going to college. I had to clean the teacher's bathroom which had a rag-bag box for you know what. I'd beg to clean up vomit and feces, which smelled like maple syrup compared to the contents of that box.
Being a male, please tell me when the stink starts after coming out of the female's body?
Jay J. Hector at January 8, 2018 12:43 PM
Truth is, it's smelly when it hits the air. If a woman wears a menstrual cup, it's not smelly.
Amy Alkon at January 8, 2018 1:27 PM
I imagine it's less about recognition and more about removing a sense of shame that often has young women who are new to menstruating, remove themselves from public for fear of a visible leak.
I remember young friends who stayed away from the swimming pool for the week during summer break, and others who just kept their participation to the bare, school required minimum before they fled home. Even if it never happened, the self-centeredness of that age can heighten the fear that if there's even a minor leak, everyone will be able to look at you and *just know*.
Kind of important then that this illustration of a girl is making direct eye contact, wearing white, letting it all hang out instead of physically clamping her body shut.
Michelle at January 8, 2018 1:55 PM
"Im feeling trepidation about the new Doctor,..."
I've got concerns too. I hope they are going to play it straight, rather than making it a gimmick. Usually their writers are pretty astute. The Master has been portrayed in a female incarnation before, and I thought they did a good job with it. (For those who aren't Doctor Who aficionados, the Master is a reoccurring villain who, like the Doctor, has regenerated in a number of different guises.)
Cousin Dave at January 8, 2018 2:22 PM
"Im feeling trepidation about the new Doctor, they generally do good work for a campy scifi series, but 9 times out of 10 when they make such a big deal about having a female lead in scifi its becuase they didnt write good stories that happen to have a female lead..."
lujlp at January 8, 2018 9:44 AM
I stopped watching at about 2013, but up to that point I think they did a good job of dignifying female characters, many of whom were hot, smart, and funny. I have hope.
Michelle at January 8, 2018 2:51 PM
Michelle: " . . it's less about recognition and more about removing a sense of shame . . ."
That would have been true back in the 1960s; but, no more. For Pet's sake - "feminine hygiene" products are advertised on TV during prime time. There isn't any shame associated with menstruation anymore.
I think that is one of the problems with "Feminism" - they are stuck in days gone by.
charles at January 8, 2018 8:08 PM
This is about as appetizing as the embarrassing picture of Pope Benedict's dirty laundry in a German paper that forced him to resign.
Fortunately, this kind of idiocy is self-correcting. The cure is simply to remain silent and let the world see for themselves that the picture taker has made a horse's ass of herself.
jdgalt at January 8, 2018 9:59 PM
Charles, it's been awhile since I've been a teenage girl, so I found a more current account on Teen Vogue:
"Taylor noted that some women feel stigmatized because of their periods, particularly when they don't have a way to contain them."
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/homelessness-and-periods
Michelle at January 9, 2018 12:43 AM
THANK you, Michelle. I doubt any adult seriously thinks it's within the bounds of good manners for a real ice-skater to show off her period that way, or, say, throw used pads or tampons into the wastebasket without at least wrapping them up first in TP - same goes for condoms, really. It's just that there are still plenty of communities in the U.S. - never mind other countries - where being on one's period IS considered shameful, no matter how discreet one is about it. Sometimes extreme campaigns are needed to stamp out that stigma. (Different example: When China abolished foot-binding in the 1930s, forcing young girls to stop the procedure when they were only half-way through the years of binding was just as horribly painful as the bindings themselves, but the authorities had to go to extremes to let everyone know they meant business - and it worked.)
Not to mention various taboos that REALLY need to be abolished, such as "don't swim or even exercise during your period" (a common taboo in ALL parts of the U.S.) and, in some countries, "don't cook food for others; you'll contaminate them." From Bolivia:
____________________________________
"Traditional beliefs in Bolivia misinform young women and girls that the disposal of their menstrual pads with other garbage could lead to sickness or cancer, according to UNICEF. Because there’s still so much humiliation around the topic, many are told to keep their pads far away from the rest of the trash and are often led to collecting them in their bags during the school day until they get home.
"The organization investigated 10 schools in Bolivia and identified that the two main challenges menstruating girls face include feelings of shame and limited access to private bathrooms. For this reason, UNICEF has implemented a massive menstrual education program in hopes of increasing access to proper menstrual products and sanitation facilities.
"The bottom line is period taboos are not only crazy and ridiculous but they are a huge obstacle holding women back in many ways. It’s hard to believe these myths still exist all over the world today. But they do, and they need to be busted..."
____________________________________
Don't forget, too, that while Americans whose families have been here for generations may have dropped menstruation myths, many have not - and we have more immigrants here all the time.
From sexologist Eleanor Hamilton's book "Sex, with Love," page 121 (a list of myths):
"Only married women should use tampons. You can guess why this one was invented: to keep young girls from discovering their own bodies and finding that these do, indeed, feel very good."
And even THAT myth hasn't disappeared, though it can clearly be very inconvenient for girls! See here:
https://www.girlsaskguys.com/other/q1181134-my-mom-won-t-let-me-use-tampons
(This suggests a different reason for the myth.)
lenona at January 13, 2018 9:03 AM
Truth is, it's smelly when it hits the air. If a woman wears a menstrual cup, it's not smelly.
Amy Alkon at January 8, 2018 1:27 PM
_________________________________________
But just how often DOES anyone manage to tell, just from how a woman smells, when she's fully clothed, that she's on her period? (That would explain why Jay J. Hector didn't seem to have had any such discoveries outside of the custodial work.) Plenty of girls/women only use pads, after all.
lenona at January 13, 2018 9:36 AM
And if anyone missed this extra link from Michelle's signature:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/college-student-period-shame
"This College Student’s Response to Period Shame Is Going Viral"
Excerpt:
"...Chance posted that they were at the gym when they overheard a girl on the next elliptical machine over asking her friend for a tampon. Chance wrote that when the girl realized that they knew her uterus lining was falling out of her, she was totally horrified that someone figured out her big secret: that she's a human with a functioning reproductive system.
" 'Realizing that I overheard, she looked up and literally apologized to me, clearly embarrassed af,' Chance wrote..."
lenona at January 13, 2018 9:40 AM
"38 Things Not To Do On Your Period, According To Superstition"
"We asked the BuzzFeed Community to share superstitions about what people shouldn't do while menstruating, and we heard from more than 6,000 of you from around the world.
"As many of you pointed out in your submissions, some of these aren't widely believed today. None of the responses should be taken to speak for an entire country, culture, group, or religion — there are, of course, many diverse beliefs and practices within each. But here are some of the things readers shared."
https://www.buzzfeed.com/susiearmitage/period-superstitions?utm_term=.njler66o4#.jwyaoeeNR
1. "In my Mexican upbringing we were told to never attend a funeral on your period, because whatever the person died from could somehow poison your vagina blood and kill you or make you sick." —Anonymous, 23, US
3. "My mom told me never to have sex on my period or else the baby will be deformed." —Olivia, US
5. "My mom always reminds me to not take a bath while on my period. Apparently, it can make you go literally crazy, 'cause blood flows to your brain." —Krystine, Philippines
(Re that one, Eleanor Hamilton wrote that some people believed that a woman would be more likely to die of pneumonia if she bathed during her period. It was a case of 2+2=5, in that they couldn't figure out why a healthy young woman would die from that disease.)
8. "You can't prepare mayonnaise because it sours." —Elena, 30, Spain
9. "You shouldn't get very angry or else your period will stop." —Sophie, 17, Greece
10. "Do not ride a horse (its back will break)." —Laura, 24, Lithuania
11. "My father's friend believed if a woman on her period entered the room, the homemade wine would go bad." —Ana, 29, Portugal
12. "You can't touch a newborn because it will leave a mark on them." —Helin, 19, Greece
13. "We're not supposed to hold babies during our periods because it will hurt their bellies." —Mona, Jamaica
15. "My grandmother said that during her period, a woman shouldn't do any hard workout, otherwise she won't be able to have babies." —Anonymous, United Arab Emirates
16. "Never walk barefoot because you will get cramps." —Rochelle, 18, South Africa
18. "It's bad to wear sandals or high heels."
19. "My grandma says that if you're on your period you can't go out at night, at least the first day." —Alejandra, 21, Venezuela
20. "Women weren't allowed to go to the sauna during periods."
—Anonymous, 26, Finland
21. "I come from Poland, and one of the superstitions that we have is to never bake a sponge cake or it's going to turn out flat. 😂" —Angela, 17, UK
25. "My mother always told me if I cooked for a man while I was on my period, I might get blood in the food. And I would have accidentally 'put the roots on him' and he would never leave me, no matter how trash he might become." —Koyoa, 27, US
28. "Oh my god, talk about the Chinese superstitions. It is a widely known and still practiced superstition that women on their period bring bad luck in terms of money (i.e. gambling)." —Natalie, 25, Hong Kong
29. "I wasn't allowed to touch my great-grandmother while on my period, and she would get quite upset if I touched my grandparents." —Anonymous, 20, India
32. "I'm not allowed to wash my hair or drink red pop (it will make you bleed more, or so they say)." —Arrin, 27, Suriname
38. "My mom is Mexican. She has many superstitions, like I couldn't hold my newborn baby niece or I'd make her sick. I still held her and plot twist: She was fine." —Angelica, 22, US
lenona at January 13, 2018 11:00 AM
Free bleeding is something I imagine is only done by women with very light flows.
Not by average women on day 2.
Free bleeding in the real world is not a little spot on your undies.
NicoleK at January 14, 2018 11:44 AM
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