Blog of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research

New Research Indicates Link between Early Menarche and Endometriosis

March 11th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Drawing of uterine cross-section indicating endometriosis.In a controlled study of 268 Australian women with surgically confirmed moderate-to-severe endometriosis (cases) and 244 women without endometriosis (controls), researchers found that characteristics of a woman’s early menstrual cycles were associated with later development of endometriosis. Data showed those who did not start their menstrual cycle until after they turned 14 had a significantly reduced risk of later developing endometriosis.

Duration of the cycle, intensity of flow, and preferred choice of menstrual product showed no association with endometriosis.

The results are published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, December 2009. You can read the abstract here.

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It’s Still Not Funny

March 2nd, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling


In the grand tradition of Ms. magazine, we present the latest installment of SNL’s “Classic ESPN Women’s Sports Tournament” with NO COMMENT.


(OK, if you really want to know what we think, see our previous posts about this misogynist series. We’re just too tired to say it again.)

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The Cloth Pad Gets Around the African Continent

February 17th, 2010 by Chris Bobel

Ghana girls_with kitsWe at re: Cycling have been tracking the African-girls-miss-school-because-they-menstruate equation  for a while now.

Specifically, we’ve questioned the assumption that menstrual FLOW management is girls’ biggest menstrual problem  (it is not, says at least one recent study–cramps are!). And we’ve been  MORE critical of so-called altruistic solutions that are, underneath the (silent?) disposable wrapper,  little-more than consumer socialization. Menstrual shame, sexism and poverty are not ameliorated though the cultivation of brand loyalty. Girls need information, support and the tools to develop awareness of their bodies while learning to live sustainably–this does not come in the shape of a box of single-use products that ends up clogging landfills.

Making green products available to girls while supporting economic growth and self-sufficiency in the Global South seems a more enduring and girl-centered initiative and there are number of projects that are doing just that. There Elizabeth Scharpf’s SHE initaitive in Rwanda and Lunapads donation program in collaboration with a number of related initiatives:

Today in Unnecessary Inventions

February 17th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Device for reducing duration of menstrual flow (Patent Pending)An Israeli inventor has applied for a patent for a device to shorten the duration of menstrual flow. Apparently it works by insertion into the vagina and “delivering pressure oscillations and/or acoustic waves and/or shock waves to the vagina and cervix to change the flow properties of menses fluid”, which causes the rate of blood flow to increase so that total time of bleeding decreases. Also, “the device also includes an absorbent member attached to the pressure oscillations generating unit for absorbing menstrual secretions.” In other words, there’s a built-in tampon to catch the increased flow.

For my money, that little device looks and sounds a lot more uncomfortable than wearing pads or tampons.



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Introducing the iPad

January 27th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling




Word on the street is that Apple is introducing their first tablet computer today. With their usual flourish, they’ve named it . . . wait for it . . . the iPad.

ETA: The ladies at Jezebel have published more than one compilation of period-related iPad jokes. A sample:

Are you there, God? It’s me, Marketing.

Don’t make fun. The iPad is the technology of the future. Period.

Can I get a scented iPad for when my data feels not-so-fresh?

Edited again to add: The Week has an interesting comparison of historical femcare slogans and Apple slogans – more similar than one might expect.

[Video via Lunapads]

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Don’t Douche!

January 25th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Unassembled douchebag and accessories.Remember my rant about “vagina wash” back in November? No? I’ll wait while you read it.

Anyway, it’s not just a political rant: there are new data that indicate that douching probably causes bacterial vaginosis. A research team studying the association between douching and bacterial vaginosis published their findings in the February 2010 issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The researchers were interested in determining whether the association between douching and BV is causal, or if the association exists because women douche when they experience symptoms of BV. They compared numerous personal hygiene practices with douching.

A longitudinal study of the vaginal flora of 3620 women – involving a whopping total of 13,517 gynecological visits – found that that only one personal hygiene behavior correlates strongly with bacterial vaginosis: douching. The researchers found no statistically significant correlation between BV and type of underwear (nylon vs. cotton); menstrual product (tampons vs. pads; pads and tampons vs. pads); use of pads or panty liners when not menstruating; weekly or greater use of hygiene spray, powder, or towlettes; or daily versus less than daily bathing and showering.

The researchers concluded that “[d]ouching, but not other feminine hygiene behaviors, is significantly associated with BV, providing additional evidence that douching may be causally associated with BV and is not simply a response to BV symptoms.”

So let’s reserve douche and douchebag to describe anti-feminist people and actions: douches are unnecessary, harmful to women, and sold to women in insulting ways.

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It’s Official: At Least One SNL Writer Fears and Disrespects Women’s Bodies

January 19th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Guest Post by Heather Dillaway, Wayne State University

First, it was Tampax, and then it was Vagisil. But it’s good they didn’t leave out Summer’s Eve. And I expect Midol (for those irritating PMS-y women) and something about menopausal women’s hot flashes (can’t they control themselves with hormone therapies?) to be next. Although probably SNL writers aren’t savvy enough yet to even contemplate what menopause is or how they feel about it, so they’ll probably stick with skits that revolve around women’s body parts and younger women’s reproductive experiences.

I was frustrated with SNL’s skit about ESPN’s coverage of a women’s billiards tournament, “Tampax to the Max Tournament of Champions” (see my blog post about it). I was disgusted and concerned that SNL writers revised this skit for a second airing, to include a spoof about women’s yeast infections during a Women’s bowling tournament, “Vagisil Superstars of Bowling Tournament”. After seeing the second skit, I (along with many other critics) knew that the power of the skits was not in jokes about women’s menstruation alone but, rather, in jokes about the disgusting nature of women’s bodies more generally.

Win a Free Copy of Greenblooded!

January 12th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Sample panel from Greenblooded zine.Ariel of Cephaloblog is giving away five copies of Cathy Leamy’s “totally cute, funny and informative comic on eco-friendly solutions for that time of the month“. To win, you just need to add a comment to her blog post (first link above) explaining why you’re making the switch (or have already switched) to reusable menstrual products. She’ll select and post the winners on January 24.

You’ll also be helping with science: Ariel intends to post the top ten reasons given by age range, so we can see why women of all ages support reusable options during their periods.

I don’t want to horn in on re:Cycling readers’ chance to win, so I just zipped over to Metrokitty’s site and shelled out $2 for a copy.

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SHE featured in Marie Claire

January 9th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

Elizabeth Scharpf working in RwandsWe’ve mentioned Elizabeth Scharpf’s SHE (Sustainable Health Enterprises) at re:Cycling before. In 2009, Scharpf won the inaugural Harvard Business School Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship for her project helping local women in developing countries “jump-start their own businesses to manufacture and distribute affordable, quality, and eco-friendly sanitary pads.” This is a truly innovative program, combining microloans with the use of local raw materials (instead of imported materials) to ensure affordability and accessibility – quite different than Proctor & Gamble’s “Protecting Futures” campaign of a few years ago.

Scharpf is currently working in Rwanda, helping local women set up business making sanitary pads out of banana tree trunks. Using banana tree trunks – a part of the plant that is normally trashed – means more use is made of an existing cash crop while the expense of importing raw materials is eliminated.

A brief story about Scharpf and her work is featured in the February 2010 issue of Marie Claire magazine. I’m glad to see this project getting more publicity. (Story is not yet online, but you can view a PDF here.) The article is online here.

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So. About your labia . . .

January 6th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling

new_pink.jpgAre you worried your labia just aren’t pornified enough? You’ve mowed the lawn and used expensive cleansers, but your labia just aren’t as pink as they used to be. Here’s a new labia dye, to restore that youthful pink to your pink parts. It’s available in four different shades! Each bottle contains up to 20 applications! It’s never been tested on animals! Each application last 48-72 hours, and you can reapply “as often as necessary”.

I don’t know whether to  laugh or to cry. Please tell me this a hoax.

[via Shelby Knox]


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Tampon Crafts: For Any Time of the Month (and Any Time of Year)

December 15th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling

Christmas-style lights made from painted tampons.So I heard there are a couple of big holidays this month that involve elaborate (or not-so-elaborate) decoration of one’s home. Perhaps you’re the crafty sort, and would like to make your own holiday decorations; Tampon Crafts is the web site you’ve been looking for!

My personal favorite is the tampon lights pictured at right, but the site also offers instructions to make a tampon menorah, angels, snowflakes, and more. There are seasonal tampon crafts for the entire year.

What a great way to recycle all those extra tampons lying around after you’ve switched to cloth pads and/or menstrual cups!

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What makes it funny?

December 7th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling

Readers of re:Cycling know that we love menstrual humor – we’re always willing to mock femcare adverts and can even laugh at ourselves. But, honestly, what’s funny about repeating the names of feminine hygiene products? It wasn’t funny when SNL had their fake sportscasters say “Tampax” over and over again in October, and repeating the same skit with Vagisil last weekend wasn’t funny either.

The show has a history of having a writers’ conference room that resembles a men’s locker room, and it appears that little has changed since the days when John Belushi would run around the set ranting about how “Women aren’t funny.” I wonder if he would think vaginas are hi-larious the way the show’s current staff does.

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Readers should note that statements published in re: Cycling are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Society as a whole.