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Topic: no more periods?
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Loony Bin
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4996
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posted 29 March 2004 04:34 PM
From the link to the Museum of Menstruation:would you stop menstruating if you could? from one response: quote: I think that, even if it is an unjustified curse, we should keep our period because it is natural and because it is the only way to know if accidentally we get pregnant.
and another: quote: Tampons hurt, pads are hot and sticky (and smelly!), and the cramps are hellacious. I want it to go away.
What do you think? Would you get rid of your periods, given the choice?
From: solitary confinement | Registered: Feb 2004
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
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posted 29 March 2004 08:36 PM
Oh GAWD, Mandos! You remind me of that really annoying subway ad that's all over the place right now. It's for Alesse, which is a birth control pill. It's got four frames. The first frame is a picture of a pretty, young, hip woman that is captioned, "I'm on Alesse!" The second frame is a picture of another pretty, young, hip woman that is also captioned, "I'm on Alesse!" The third frame is of a cute, hip guy with a bit of a confused half-smile, captioned, "What's Alesse?" The final frame has a picture of the package of pills. Of course, this ad always drives me crazy. Reinforces the idea that it's okay for men to be clueless with regards to birth control, because heck, that's the woman's job anyhow! "Aww, isn't that cute! He doesn't know what Alesse is! Hey, if we're really careful, he won't find out that this other little package is a tampon either!" [ 29 March 2004: Message edited by: Michelle ]
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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Loony Bin
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4996
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posted 30 March 2004 10:36 AM
I started taking the pill when I was 15 and kept taking it on and off until just last year. That's ten years of artificially manipulated menstruation. I did occasionally skip periods (as another poster above, mostly when I was on vacation or something like that). I tried the shots, and while that stuff was coursing through my system I didn't have a period at all--for three months. Rather than enjoying it, it really bothered me, and made me extremely anxious that something was wrong with me.I quit last year and really don't plan to ever go back. I like having periods, and the first couple times I had an 'unassisted' period was a revelation. My cycles are predictable and my periods are pretty short and pretty light. And, truthfully, I like getting my period. Sure it's messy, and sometimes painful, or just a pain in the ass, but I like that it's a cycle. I like the way it assures me every month that my body has it's own plans, that I'm not just a cerebral being (I'm not a very physical person, ye might say). I always feel somehow comforted by it. Like, if I'm getting my period, my body's working properly, and everything's okay.
From: solitary confinement | Registered: Feb 2004
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dances with swords
recent-rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5214
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posted 30 March 2004 04:46 PM
quote: Originally posted by swirrlygrrl: Hell yes! When I was on the pill, I'd regularly skip. Since there isn't much info on the long term impacts of that, I'd make sure to have one every few months, but grudglingly. While I agree the knowledge that one is not pregnant is nice, its not 6 days of leakage nice in my books. I've never had cramping problems - it just cramps my style *zing!* But then again, I'm not big on my body, and I'm sure someone will think that this is another symbol of my dissasociation from my body's natural rythyms and wonders, as per the Puritanical strains of our society. Highly possible. But I still would prefer not to bleed monthly.
The knowledge that one is not pregnant isn't that dependable either, when you're menstruating on the pill. I had a friend who was five months pregnant before she figured it out, because she got pregnant on the pill and her "periods" kept coming. The period you get on the pill is not exactly the same as a regular period that would actually confirm you're not pregnant. Swirlygrrl, your second paragraph here is interesting and very telling. I've mentioned this book before, in a pregnancy thread, but Emily Martin's The Woman in the Body addresses this. It's medical anthropology, and she looks at menstruation, pregnancy/childbirth, and menopause through a study of urban women in Baltimore. The women in her study were black and white, with a spread across social classes, and an wide age range. When interviewed about menstruation, the women from higher-income families would talk about it as if it were something that happened to them, as if their bodies were separate from who they were. There was a degree of scientific removal from the sobject when these women talked about their periods. Martin's analysis was not too far off from your own- that a dissociation from the body was a connected to a rise in the medical view of the body as machine, which was in turn linked to the rise of industrialism. I was always fascinated by my period, and Martin's book made me think about it more deeply. I definitely am interested in the cyclic time of the body, and the way it falls outside of social time. I actually like to think of it as an important site of resistance and a good reminder to return to feminist activism every month. (so of course, in keeping with the hippy-dippy emotions and the personal-is-political, I use the keeper. goopy but certianly cheap and convenient.) I welcome my period as an opportunity to confront my body in ways I forget when trapped in front of a computer screen all day.
From: toronto | Registered: Mar 2004
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Anchoress
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4650
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posted 30 March 2004 07:21 PM
[thread drift] I'm in BC, and I paid $50 for the insertion at a birth control clinic. I don't know if it would have been less or more if my GP did it.Here's the skinny on IUDs: 1. Not everyone experiences relief from cramps after insertion - some women find cramps get worse. 2. The medical profession is *very* anti-IUD, and often exaggerates the small (but real) threat of side-effects, many of which would not apply to you since you are not sexually-active with men. Side-effects such as: fallopian pregnancy, PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, a stubborn bacterial infection usually transmitted by penetrative sexual contact), Chlamydia (sp? Transmitted the same way as PID), and other intra-uterine infections. Side-effects that *would* apply to you include perforated uterus, fallopian scarring and others. Don't want to scare you; my GP was dead set against my getting an IUD (perhaps partly because of lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry? I wouldn't doubt it), but the MD at the clinic where I had it inserted (she's famous in the reproductive choice community in BC), praised the IUD as the *best* type of contraceptive for women who are not with multiple sex partners. 3. IUDs can cause heavier bleeding during periods, and are therefore not recommended for women with heavy periods, endometriosis, etc. They are also not recommended for women with uterine or ovarian cysts, or uterine polyps. 4. They are strongly contra-indicated for women with multiple sex partners, since the introduction of the IUD to the body makes the reproductive organs more susceptible to STDs. 5. Having an IUD can decrease a woman's ability to conceive. Having said that, I LOVE my IUD, I've had it for over 5 years, and IMO it was completely worth the few days of discomfort and the slightly-heavier periods (and the fertility risks, too). [/thread drift] Edited to add: While we're getting personal, may I also say that having an IUD has intensified my orgasms. [ 30 March 2004: Message edited by: Anchoress ]
From: Vancouver babblers' meetup July 9 @ Cafe Deux Soleil! | Registered: Nov 2003
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arborman
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4372
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posted 30 March 2004 08:04 PM
I had no idea they could be skipped.As a male, and therefore not directly experiencing them, I have no opinion. However, when I was single I was always pleased and relieved when my partner's period arrived. For one reason or another I haven't been involved with many women who were willing to go on the pill, so there was always the slightly higher risk of an unexpected pregnancy. If I had a nickel for every time I wished for a male pill in those days. I'd have, oh, 50 bucks or so. I can't imagine not having periods for a significant length of time would be a good idea, health wise. Again though, not my body, not my call.
From: I'm a solipsist - isn't everyone? | Registered: Aug 2003
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dances with swords
recent-rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5214
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posted 31 March 2004 01:28 PM
quote: Originally posted by lagatta: I can't see why any person would enjoy something painful, messy and inconvenient. It isn't a major problem if there aren't severe cramps, but it is nothing to celebrate (I can't stand touchy-feely earthmother stuff ) . Just the time I've spent over the years trying to get stains out of sheets, panties, other clothing ...[ 31 March 2004: Message edited by: lagatta ]
Yeah, but "painful, messy and inconvenient" is not a universal way of framing menstruation. Breakdown any menstrual advertising and the dominant cultural message there is about menstruation being inconvenient and getting in the way of life. Not to be frustratingly earth-mother-y, but we don't have to look at it in the way the dominant culture asks us to. But then, I've never had to spend any time getting stains out. Probably because I have dark underwear and dark sheets, and have never bled through to my clothes. Even so, I wouldn't be that annoyed because of aforementioned infuriatingly earth-mother-y instincts. But I'm not as bad as my sisters and cousins, with their hemp reusable pads!!!
From: toronto | Registered: Mar 2004
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Mr. Magoo
guilty-pleasure
Babbler # 3469
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posted 31 March 2004 02:24 PM
Nor, judging from some of these posts, that cramps, stained clothing, and a limited lifestyle are necessarily empowering, affirming or positive. And I can hardly blame them.Anyway, not trying to directly compare blood to feces. Just noting that finding certain "natural" biological processes less than fun doesn't mean that you've fallen for some kind of Madison Avenue brainwashing. Cheers!
From: ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°`°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø,¸_¸,ø¤°°¤ø, | Registered: Dec 2002
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 15 April 2004 05:52 PM
quote: ...I can't stand touchy-feely earthmother stuff...
Well, being a somewhat touchy-feely earthmother ( ), I guess I've learned not to mind so much. I've come to the conclusion that if I really love my body, I'll have to love it for its not so fun aspects as well as its more delightful ones. And I do indeed love my body. Seriously, though, I think that our bodies speak to us, and when I've tried being on the pill, it really wreaked havoc. My periods were no lighter, but I was depressed and given to blinding rages and crying jags, which are not at all part of the way I am when I'm unmedicated. I took it as a sign that my body really wanted me to stop putting that stuff in it. So I did. The people around me deserved better. So, while I do find menstruation somewhat inconvenient sometimes (more so as I get older, I get backaches now that I didn't before), it's only life.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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athena_dreaming
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4574
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posted 16 April 2004 10:02 AM
lagatta, can't agree with you. first off--wonder how many women pre-pill would have liked to hear they had a choice between a "sexless, affectionless existence or a brainless existence." First off, a life without sex does not equal a life without affection--in any era. Secondly, being a mother does not mean you are brainless, or have no capacity to use your brain. Thirdly, neither choice makes one a "thing," any more than the son of a farmer pre-industrial revolution was made a "thing" by being "condemned" to the life of a farmer. Yes, reproductive choice is wholeheartedly a good thing; but I find your statements quite insulting to the many billions of women who lived before the pill. Their lives were more than that. The IUD is the most popular form of birth control in the world outside of N America. 40% of women in Norway have one; there is no higher rate of infection, infertility, or what have you in NOrway. Past research linking IUDs with PID and other infections have been discredited, and while bleeding for some women is heavier on the copper-only IUD, I wonder about your choice of the word "extreme." I've been thinking about this on and off for the past little while, and I've come to the conclusion tht there are many bodily functions I find inconvenient or messy, yet I would not choose to suppress them artificially. Even more than the regular confirmation of not being pregnant, I like to know what is going on with my body. What I found hardest about going off the pill when DH and I were TTC was that I had no idea when to expect my cycles to return to normal, when I should expect my period, when I would ovulate, or how my body worked without those added hormones at all. There are several women of my acquaintance who were on the pill for years and assumed they were still fertile--went off the pill to try to get pregnant and found they had problems. I've decided I don't want to mask the workings of my body from myself--anymore than I would want to constantly take tylenol and risk never knowing of a serious health problem masked by a constant painkiller.
From: Toronto | Registered: Oct 2003
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 16 April 2004 08:39 PM
quote: Funny, Zoot, I don't find anything I said about the revolution represented by the Pill or its limits - a chemical intervention that many women can't tolerate - in contradiction to what you say.
I was making a joke. That was the point of the little winky thing. quote: I do wish to reiterate that one can't emphasise enough how horrid life was for women before reproductive choice. One of the rare readable Wente columns discussed what could be summed up as the horrific choice of a sexless, affectionless existence or a brainless existence. In any case, a thing.
I think that's more than a little too harsh. To accept that life was "horrid" for all women pre-oral-contraception, one has to accept that the female body and its reproductive functions are fundamentally bad. One can still have a horrid life with the benefits of contraception and, conversely, have a wonderful and fulfilling life without it -- albeit in a different way. I am, myself, descended from some very clever and resourceful women who most definitely didn't have access to contraception. I'm sure a lot of us are. And there are others -- take Dr. Elizabeth Matheson as a shining example. Attended medical school while pregnant with her third child and the other two in tow. Had 11 in total, often carrying her latest babe on her back when she lit out to treat someone in dire need -- she was the only doctor in a 100 mile radius for several years. quote: I hate earthmother and new-agey stuff, find it profoundly reactionary, but I've seen your work and it has nothing in common with that garbage, it is fine social cinema.
Thank you. That's a high compliment. I actually, though, do appreciate the earthmother schtick to a large degree. I found having children a very transformative experience. Spiritual as well as physical. A defining experience, even. In fact, I find a rejection of the vision of women as mothers somewhat reactionary in its own way. Let's face it, most women are mothers, and childbearing is a strictly female experience. Rather than write it off as of negligible importance, many of the earthmother types think we should celebrate it. I agree with that. I am, in fact, currently seeking funding for a film on that very thing. Perhaps we can agree to disagree on this one [ 16 April 2004: Message edited by: Zoot Capri ]
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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IrishMuse
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5489
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posted 25 April 2004 08:33 PM
I like my period...but if I could have less pain and problems, that would be nice.I have been on the pill since I was 15 to control my periods...they were so heavy and long that I'd miss at least 5 days of school (when they were heaviest and most painful) every month. Of course, 5 out of the 14 days that they would last wasn't bad. Unfortunately, the pill breaks down every 4 years for me. My body gets used to them. So my doc is trying me on the birth control patch. My period is now 6 days long, rather than the 4 when I was on BCPs, and much heavier. But, it takes about 3 months for everything to even out, so I will see. I don't mind my period. It's usually pretty regular, and I use INSTEADs and cloth pads. Of course, I'm one of those Wiccan people interested in celebrating my "moontime", so what can I say? My mom is grossed out about the cloth pads, but I just wash them out while I'm showering in the morning--I figure that if I'm cleaning myself in the morning, I'm going to come into contact with menstrual blood at some point--what difference does it make if I'm washing it out of a cloth pad as well? But my mother equates it with a dirty diaper...although, menstrual blood isn't really dirty. Even my germophobe boyfriend doesn't have a problem with the cloth pads.
From: Hamilton, ON | Registered: Apr 2004
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