2017 Reading, Week 1: Moon Time

As you may know, one of my New Years Intentions for 2017 was to read at least one book every week.

In order to hold myself accountable for this, I have decided to post a little bit about each book that I read on my blog.

The first book that I read is called Moon Time: Harness the Ever-Changing Energy of Your Menstrual Cycle by Lucy H. Pearce. In case the title and subtitle don't give it away, this is a book about understanding and embracing the monthly cycle that approximately half of the human population goes through in their lifetime, the menstrual cycle.

This book. Right here. 10/10 would recommend.

It's a relatively short book, but it's got a lot of information that we don't learn in school and that society seems to want to keep from menstruators. It's almost as if the world is not prepared for those who menstruate to embrace the power within them [because anyone who can bleed for 3-7 days a month and not die is obviously pretty powerful, right?] and harness it to change the world outside.

The book starts with a good biological explanation of what happens to the body during the menstrual cycle and then looks at how society treats humans who menstruate. Like many other books on the topic, it is good at pointing out the flaws that much of today's society exhibit regarding the treatment of menstruation; it is also good at pointing to different ways to work with the changes that the menstruating body experiences, for those who are not interested in using commonly prescribed pharmaceuticals for this.

One of the major things that I learned from the book is that birth control pills are highly over-prescribed in our society, and that many individuals who go on the pill do not get all of the information about it beforehand. I, for one, definitely did not know everything I should have known before I went on the pill in high school. While I am not sure if I believe everything negative about birth control pills that the book talks about (after all, tons of doctors tell you on a regular basis that birth control pills are completely safe, and I do have a good deal of trust in doctors), there are some things that I feel should be discussed more before putting humans on birth control, especially those that are young.

Overall, I think that this is a great book to read if you're interested in knowing more about your menstrual cycle in an intimate way, rather than just the clinical treatment that you get when you look it up. It does a great job of filling in some of the gaps that society has allowed and encouraged in the education on menstruation. It also has some fun activities and ways that you can embrace your menstrual cycle and plan your life around it in order to better use the varying energy levels that you are likely to experience throughout your cycle.

This is a book that I asked for and received for Christmas, and I elected to read it as my first book of 2017 because I wanted to enter the new year with a better understanding of my own body. I also selected it because my menstrual cycle began (i.e. my period started) on the first day of the new year, and it seemed fitting to read something related to moon time (the author uses "moon time" as a phrase for "period") while in my moon time, ya feel?

At the end of the day, I would recommend reading it, and taking from it what suits you the best, allowing yourself to read, acknowledge, and understand the different perspectives that are offered in the book, whether or not you elect to take all of the advice given.

Even if you are not a menstruating human, there is a lot to learn from this book. If you are a non-menstruating human who values the menstruating humans in your life (e.g. mother, sister, friend, partner), I would recommend reading this with one or more of those humans and discussing it as you go in order to better understand how the menstrual cycle affects them and your relationship with them.

#foodforthoughtfriday Reusable Menstrual Products

#FoodForThoughtFriday

How switching to reusable menstrual products forever altered my relationship with my body.

So, earlier this year, I made the switch from my old standard Kotex and U by Kotex period control products to a more eco-friendly option: reusable cloth pads. 

I know, I know, it sounds kind of gross, but it's actually so much easier to deal with for me. Like, yeah, I have to carry around a little bag in which I can store my wet pads when I'm out and about, and yes, I have to rinse and wash them between periods, but I have saved so much money and also reduced my monthly period waste to nothing. 

I was never into tampons (like why would you choose to shove a cotton stick up in your vagina? especially if that cotton stick is, like, bleached and has weird chemicals and stuff in it?) I mean, this is a very sensitive area which absorbs stuff through its mucous membranes and that goes straight to the bloodstream.

Since I first got my period at age 14, I've always been a pad kinda gal. Tampons were a necessary evil for things like lifeguarding at summer camp and, well, nothing else. Just for lifeguarding. 

But even most pads on the market contain chemicals that are no bueno for your vaginas, ladies.

Plus, cloth pads last for, like, years before they need to be replaced, so you save money on 12 periods a year x 4-6 years = 48-72 periods. That's like, a box of tampons ($5-$10) or pads ($4-$12) for each period that you don't have to buy (I used Target's prices for these ranges bc who doesn't love Target?). It adds up (specifically, it adds up to $192-$864).

Getting into cloth pads for the first time:

For my first endeavor into eco-friendly periods, I did a google search for "reusable cloth pads" or something of that ilk, and the first few results included:

1. Gladrags

2. Lunapads

3. Party in my Pants pads

So, naturally, I got a few of each. Gladrags does this great thing where the first time you go to their website, you can get a free "pantiliner plus," which is my favorite of their pads and I now own like 8 of this particular cut. Lunapads are a bit pricier, but with good reason: they offer pads with changeable inserts so you can freshen it up throughout the day. Party in my Pants offers pads in fun patterns (it truly is a party in your pants, y'all) that are virtually leak-proof in my experience.

My first orders were:

From gladrags: the free pantyliner plus and a moon cup in size B (the smaller size--more on this later)

From lunapads: 1 mini pad with insert

From Party in my Pants: 2 medium pads

Obviously, this is not enough for a full period, but it gave me a chance to get to know each brand and figure out what I like and don't like.

After the first period with these pads, I had a strong preference for the lunapads and gladrags (these are softer), but since I've shifted to really liking the Party in my Pants ones because they're thinner and don't run the risk of leaking if you forget about your period (which is totally possible with these because they don't feel like pads).

My current favorite reusable pads are the gladrags pantyliner plus and the Party in my Pants medium pads. Lunapads are nice, but if you're using the inserts, they are a bit thick which can get uncomfortable.

About the menstrual cup:

So, as I mentioned above, in my first order, I purchased a Moon cup menstrual cup from gladrags. These are great for many people. I am not one of those people. In fact, I don't know what possessed me to even get one as someone who did not use tampons before because they always felt too big inside me. When I got it and opened it, my first thought was actually something along the lines of "there is no way that is going to fit in my vagina," which turned out to be extremely true. Luckily, customer service at gladrags is top notch and while they couldn't take it back once I had even attempted to use it (for obvious reasons), they were able to refund me with credit to get more pads.

But don't take this as a reason not to get one. Lots and lots of people love their menstrual cups and they're really practical for things like travel and work and life in general because it's something you can use all day and you just have to wash it out when it gets full and put it back in so no carrying extra stuff around.

Period Underwear, y'all:

So after a few months with cloth pads, I heard about THINX underwear, which is underwear designed specifically for people with periods to wear during menstruation. And, 6 months after ordering my first cloth pads, I placed an order for a bunch of these underwear (which my mom kindly paid for as a birthday present to me--happy periods for a happy birthday).

And let me tell you, these babies are FABULOUS.

They're super comfortable. They absorb your menstrual blood quickly, easily, and without feeling wet. And you can wear them for up to 12 hours. AND you can pair them with internal period catching means (tampons or menstrual cups) if you have a heavier flow OR wear them with nothing else if you have a lighter flow. 

They come in different styles, with different absorption capacities (ranging from the thong at 1/2 tampon's worth to the hiphugger at 2 tampons' worth). I selected 8 pairs for this first order:

3 pairs of hiphuggers, 2 in black, 1 in beige (think the color that everyone refers to as "nude" when talking about underwear despite that probably no one has that as their actual skin color)

2 pairs of "sport" underwear in black

1 pair of high-waisted underwear in black

1 pair of "cheeky" cut underwear in black

1 pair of boyshort underwear in black

The only color options currently available are black and beige, but that's okay because they're super cute in black and acceptably cute in beige.

So...how did this change my life?

Right, so I started this post to discuss how these products have completely changed my relationship with my body (and thus my life).

To start with, I now kind of look forward to my period each month. I know that sounds completely bonkers, but using these pads and underwear is like a treat to look forward to every 5 or 6 weeks (yeah, I have a long cycle).

On top of that, I used to be kinda embarrassed about my period, but now I'm just like "yo guess who's on her period this week! That's right, it's me!"  And I snapchat pictures whenever I order new pads because they're super cute! Which makes me feel cute when I'm on my period, which makes me excited about my period!

Plus, the companies I've mentioned above each have like regular newsletters about their products and about outreach they do and stuff like that, so it has been an educational experience as well. Like, I get weekly emails from THINX (which I signed up for) about feminism in pop culture and about organizations doing good for people with periods and stuff. The whole eco-friendly period community is such a great thing, and it's a great way to feel good about your reproductive system and period and hear from others who love their cuteruses too.

In conclusion (tl; dr)

Reusable menstrual products are great! I would say that everyone should get them, but I am aware that there are some people out there for various health reasons (very sensitive skin, prone to infections, etc. might make it difficult to go reusable). But if everyone who could switched to reusable products, imagine how much waste cut-down that would be!! I once heard that the average period-having person will use about a tractor-trailer's worth of pads and tampons in their lifetime, and that's completely ridiculous and super wasteful (not to mention v. expensive). Whether or not that's accurate (I mean, I fully trust the person who told me, but I didn't do research about it myself) wouldn't we all benefit from saving a little money on tampons/pads in the present, and won't our children/nieces and nephews/other people in future generations benefit from us not throwing away tons of disposable products? I think so.

xx,

Sienna

The Fierce Feminist