- Trina Read asks, Could you draw your vulva?
- Another Texas CVS has refused to sell emergency contraception to a man; this time, the customer has asked the ACLU to help him sue the pharmacy chain.
- The Crimson Campaign is talking about menstruation and mental health.
- Everybody’s taking pictures of vulvas! Readers may be familiar with I’ll Show You Mine, Wrenna Robertson book featuring close-up, color photographs of women’s vulvas, developed in response to the increasing popularity of labiaplasty, and Vagina Vérité®, Alexandra Jacoby’s collection of vulva portraits. Now there’s also Vulva 101, Hylton Coxwell’s collection of one hundred and one women’s vulvas, ranging from 18 to 65 years old. Each page focuses on one woman’s vulva from three different angles.
- In xoJane‘s ongoing “It Happened to Me” feature: My Birth Control Gave Me a Pulmonary Embolism.
- One-of-a-kind Unitex Sanitary Panties: Probably about 50 years old, these precursors of Lunapanties don’t look nearly as comfortable. They sold for $122.50 on eBay, making Lunapanties a better deal, too.
- Disney’s film, The Story of Menstruation, co-produced with Kotex in 1946, has been making the rounds of Twitter and the blogosphere again. If you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth your time — it’s much better than you might expect.
- The current issue of Ad Week features an article about how little tampon advertising has changed since the first tampon ads of the 1930s: They’re still all about secrecy and euphemisms for vaginas and menstruation. Ad Week puts in perspective, by titling the article “The Lady Problem” — because who is really to blame for menstrual shame?
As usual, a fascinating compendium of menstrual related stories. I read several, and found “My Birth Control Gave Me a Pulmonary Embolism” to be a cautionary tale. Now I know the signs of having a blood clot. And three cheers for the man who is suing CVS Pharmacy for refusing to sell him emergency contraception. I hope he wins!