- This is an excerpt of Goodnight, Vagina, an eight-minute film about labiaplasty starring Cheryl Hines. But it is Brie Turner-O’Banion, the actor who plays her sister (and co-author of the piece) who has the best line: “Why don’t you just give the vagina you have a better life?” Watch the whole thing here.
- Anthropologist Peter Frost explains research on skin color changes during the menstrual cycle on his blog.
- Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is on the rise, although researchers aren’t sure exactly why. Theories include tampon use by younger girls and manufacturer recommendations for overnight use of tampons.
- It’s not news to us, but women who monitor their cervical mucus consistently are 2.3 times more likely to get pregnant over a six month period than those that didn’t (in a study of women who wish to conceive). According to the researchers, despite the fact that they were asked to monitor their mucus, only about 5 percent of all women did so daily; 54 percent failed to check their mucus at all.
- Autostraddle reviews monthly period boxes, aka tampon delivery services.
- SMCR member Tomi-Ann Roberts participated in a live discussion on Huffington Post about the HelloFlo ad that has everyone talking about periods.
You just have to look at any forum to see why TSS is on the increase again, Yahoo! Answer’s is a prime example that shows how ignorant women are about TSS (along with other risks) and how many women grossly misuse tampons.
Manufacturers still recommending use for up to 8 hours and overnight use doesn’t help, but of course the biggest problem on their side is that they are still self-regulated.