March 11th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: endometriosis, FemCare, Menarche, Menstruation, pain
Posted in Dysmenorrhea, FemCare, Menarche, Menstruation, New Research, anatomy | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: Celebrities, FemCare, FemCare advertising, misogyny, SNL, television, vagina
Posted in Celebrities, Communication, FemCare, Television | 2 Comments »
February 17th, 2010 by Chris Bobel
We 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:
Tags: Africa, FemCare, Girls, pads, Sustainability
Posted in Disposable menstrual products, FemCare, Girls, Menstruation, New Research, Reusable menstrual products | 4 Comments »
February 17th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: devices, FemCare, vagina
Posted in FemCare, Law/Legal, Menstruation, Objects | 4 Comments »
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]
Tags: advertising, Communication, computer, FemCare, Humor, internet, pads
Posted in Communication, FemCare, Humor, Internet, Language, Television | 10 Comments »
January 25th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
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.
Tags: douche, FemCare, Health Care, vagina
Posted in FemCare, New Research, anatomy | 6 Comments »
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. Continue reading...
Tags: Celebrities, Communication, FemCare, guest post, misogyny, SNL, television, vagina, vagisil
Posted in Celebrities, Communication, FemCare, Television | 18 Comments »
January 12th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: Activism, contest, FemCare, internet, zine
Posted in Activism, DIY, Internet, zine | 1 Comment »
January 9th, 2010 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: Activism, economics, FemCare, pads, Procter & Gamble
Posted in Activism, DIY, FemCare, Menstruation | Comments Off
December 15th, 2009 by Elizabeth Kissling
Tags: FemCare, Humor, internet, tampons
Posted in DIY, Disposable menstrual products, FemCare, Humor, Internet, Objects | Comments Off
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.
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.
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