i had used the continuous bc method and was so happy w/ it...even when i went to navy boot camp they recommended it to the female sailors there...
i wish more people actually knew about this...
i remember reading something, somewhere that the "period" you have on bc isn't really a period anyway, but a reaction to the hormones...can anyone back me up on this? i don't remember where i saw it...
anyway...excellent week of posts!
keep up the great work!

ouyangdan, I just asked my doctor about that, and yes; the period you get on BC is actually a reaction to the lack of hormones.

I would go on continuous BC, but my abstinence-only sex ed has made me extremely paranoid about being pregnant (even though the boyfriend always uses condoms and I take the pill religiously at the same time everyday). The little not-period I get always eases those fears a little. *shrugs* When I finally get de-programmed I'll probably do it though.

Also, female urinals = no. They had something really similar to that when I was in Beijing (though they still had stalls), and just... No. If you want to try and keep any part of your pants/skirt/underwear from touching the wall, the floor, or the underside of the urinal you can just forget about that. Ew.

Wait, what? Female urinals? I wish there had been a picture- I don't even get what that would mean, and I would never use it... sounds like it would be hard to hit.

I'm currently on Seasonique and I love it. I haven't had any negative side-effects, except for a little spotting (I'm currently towards the end of my 3rd month of Seasonique).
I dislike menstruating. I bloat really badly, feel like I smell, and I'm just generally unpleasant during my "special time." I can't say what a relief it is to have this reduced to once every three months.
Plus, I'm all kinds of excited about the sea sponges I ordered from Lunapads. I swear, mainstream period tools are half of what makes menstruating suck so much.

I don't care whether menstruation is medically necessary. I LIKE having periods, and I'm already tired of these articles that take such a condescending tone towards women who don't have a problem with their natural bodily functions. I'm not un-educated; I just don't want what they're selling.

What really worries me about these new pills is that the pharmaceutical companies pushing them remind me of the beauty industry. I worry that if it becomes the acceptable norm for women to stop menstruating, I'm going to be made to feel guilty and dirty for menstruating-- much like I'm already made to feel guilty and dirty for not wearing makeup.

I hope feministing maintains a neutral stance on this subject. Please remember that pharmaceutical companies are trying to turn a profit, and that they have not acted in the public interest in the past (Vioxx, anyone?).

A huge WTF to the article on Indian soap operas. I'm wondering if any of these people actually WATCHED these soap operas.

Sure, they involve women being out of the house-- but they also prominently feature women as either bitchy and evil, plotting to steal/kill/marry men for wealth, or as utterly pure, innocent and naive. EMPOWERING? Nooottt sooo much.

Ugh. (I have an extra revulsion to it because I spent a good part of my summer watching these terrible soaps since my cousins in Pakistan were al addicted to it. UGH.)

Rumpuskat, I totally hear you. Yeah, when I was having *actual* periods (not hormone withdrawal periods) I bloated and was achey and stuff. But, I still am. And more so. Even with the way lighter periods, I miss my natural ones. B/c even with all the not so pleasant stuff, it was a reminder that I'm a woman and my body is capable of some pretty fucking awesome stuff. I didn't get my period until I was almost 15, and I felt like a child compared to my friends and like I was missing out on female comraderie, and every time I had a stomach ache, I prayed that it was my first period. My sister's four and a half years younger than me, and she got hers only a year after I did. I'm still mad. (I'm mostly joking.) I can hardly wait until Mr. KMP gets snipped so I can get back to normal hormone levels and a natural sex drive...and yes, my period.

i am not saying periods are dirty, embarrassing or whatever...i just don't like them...and i have plenty of friends who like their montly "not pregnant" reminder...that's all. it's a nice option if you want it...i just liked the time when i was swimming everyday and didn't have to worry about tapons, pads, whatever...that is all...i am all about choices...i get mine now...b/c i change the kind of BC i wanted to use...i am pretty much non-partisan...although i also read that having too many and too heavy periods can also cause anemia, and i think i read that in the same place w/ the continuous use BC/not really a period thing...but i have been told i read too much ;P
there is nothing shameful about periods at all...and being pagan it is something that we celebrate in my family...something we believe that you should look at as that step from little girl to womanhood...and some people i know have a birthday like party to celebrate...
to each their own

i am not embarrassed or ashamed of periods...mine were really horrible b/f i had a kid, and i swam a lot. i liked not having to worry about it...i also have friends who like that monthly reminder that they aren't pregnant...also i am pagan and believe that it is a symbol of women's power...to each their own...i just really believe that women should have all the info so they can make up their own minds...i even read somewhere that too heavy a period can make you anemic...but i have been told i read too much...whatever...i just REALLY believe that women need to know all they can about their bodies so they can make informed choices about their own reproductive systems...
i get mine now...changed to non-hormonal BC...love that even more...

hahaha...it didn't post b/f...tried to retype...oops...feel free to delete one! (i kinda suck w/ computers)

rumpuskat -- I'm really curious, why do you like having a period? I'm not trying to be flippant but that opinion is a complete 180 from my experience / feelings. Even my happy, 'at peace with it' friends still discuss it as if it were at least an inconvenience, like having a mild cold or something. What am I missing?

Also, continuous bc has been available for a loooong time, long before these new pills & advertising. I personally learned about it in junior high school, more than a decade ago. It's nothing new. I may have issues with the pharmaceutical industry and their leverage in U.S. medicine, but damn I have to say, I like their products. My decision was an informed one made with my doctor, and I don't enjoy my period-free pregnancy-free life any less just because it was made possible by a greedy industry. It's not the pill that's evil!

I hope feministing maintains a neutral stance on this subject.

Before this becomes another battle of who should/should not menstruate and why, I can't speak for all the bloggers here but it's pretty much feministing's policy for each woman to make up her own mind and do what she feels is best. And I know it's a new article but we've had several discussions already about this whole no menstruating thing, most of them very informative, some snarky.

Really, it's to each their own, one of the main points of feminism is that no one has the right to tell you what you can and cannot do with your body. Just be as informed as possible and sometimes that means you have to dig because the info isn't always right there.

The whole issue of the professional athletes getting away with rape and domestic abuse infuriates me beyond all measure, especially when Michael Vick got locked up so swiftly for beating dogs. I hope the new NFL commissioner will start taking cruelty against women as seriously as he does with cruelty towards dogs.

I was grateful Keith Olbermann for finally bringing this up on NBC news tonight. He was brought in to comment on the Michael Vick issue, and he asked why doing heinous things to people was so much more forgivable than it was to animals. It's great to see a mainstream (male!) anchor, who has clout in the sports world, stand up for women. I didn't even catch the woman who was filling in for him all week mention this side of the story.

Re: the 'topless' car wash.... We did this as a student council fundraiser when I was in HS. The tops of our customers' cars stayed dirty, we washed the rest. (While clothed.)

"i had used the continuous bc method and was so happy w/ it"

I tried it a couple of times and got heavy periods during the 3rd pack of pills each time. Meanwhile, I heard that uterine ablation can stop menstruation without hysterectomy...

"My decision was an informed one made with my doctor, and I don't enjoy my period-free pregnancy-free life any less just because it was made possible by a greedy industry. It's not the pill that's evil!"

Exactly!

"...something we believe that you should look at as that step from little girl to womanhood..."

as long as you're not pushing the kids into marriage and stuff, cool (too many other people out there who think womanhood starts at menarche think that's when it's time to plan the wedding).

"Re: the 'topless' car wash.... We did this as a student council fundraiser when I was in HS. The tops of our customers' cars stayed dirty, we washed the rest. (While clothed.)"

Heh.

Personally, I'm jealous of any woman who has a normal period. It is nice to have that indication that you're not pregnant.

I don't know when my next period will be. I just had one a few days ago, but before that I didn't have one for about a year. I'm not on birth control and I don't have any disorder, I just have extremely irregular menses (I think I have low hormonal levels).

----

About the female urinals, I'm not sure about that concept, but I do know that being able to pee standing up is awesome. (Which you can do with a Whizzy or many other products.) I'm definitely using these on my next camping trip.

What really worries me about these new pills is that the pharmaceutical companies pushing them remind me of the beauty industry. I worry that if it becomes the acceptable norm for women to stop menstruating, I'm going to be made to feel guilty and dirty for menstruating-- much like I'm already made to feel guilty and dirty for not wearing makeup.

I agree with everything in rumpuskat's post, especially this paragraph. I hope menstruation-free doesn't join hairless and curveless on the roster of ridiculous beauty standards for women, most of which seem to involve the absence of secondary sex characteristics.

About Fay Weldon declaring feminism dead, well, bah. If Fay Weldon is a high priestess of feminism, then I'm Mother Teresa. She's always gotten plenty of mileage out of bashing feminism. The fact that Weldon can be considered an avatar of feminism says more about the sad state of feminism across the pond than anything she might actually say.

I don't want to start a flame war and this obviously has been hashed out over and over again on feministing, so let me elaborate on my main point.

I've noticed a trend in pro-Lybrel articles: the writer usually assumes that menstruation is so icky and such a nuisance that only women with outdated, superstitious beliefs about their bodies would choose to continue it. Continuous birth control is a boon for many women, and, as this article pointed out, we should all know the facts. But what happens when that market is saturated? I'm worried that people like me will start facing ads that pander to our insecurities about our bodies, that tell us we're living in the Stone Age, that make us feel dirty for menstruating (much like ads for pads and tampons already do). And the press coverage I'm seeing now doesn't give me much hope.

I'm not sure why I feel the way I do, JustAnotherJane, but getting my period always makes me really happy-- it's that perfect cocktail of hormones in my bloodstream. I hope that women like you will get what they need; I just don't want Lybrel to become another Prozac.

EinGrundZurPanik - The NFL didn't suspend Vick for dog fighting. Read Roger Goodell’s suspension statement and you will note that it focuses heavily on the gambling aspect of the case, not the fighting. Gambling amongst players is what worries professional leagues more than anything else. For another example, look at MLB where Brett Myers received a slap on the wrist for abuse, and Pete Rose was banned for life for gambling.

Ein & Noname:

Moreover, Vick didn't just beat and abuse dogs, he killed them. He killed them extremely cruelly. If you want to compare actual violence, you'd have to compare Vick's dog torture to murder, not domestic abuse.

Not, that you should.

It’s not fair to compare crimes of other players with Vick’s crimes. This isn’t a matter of which crime is worse. This is a matter of whether or not Micheal Vick and those who support him understand that killing pet dogs for fun is wrong and against the law. We don’t need to weigh wrongs to know when something is wrong. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong.

You should be angry that the NFL doesn't punish domestic abuse without being angry that it does punish extreme animal cruelty.

Regarding Ein's "why doing heinous things to people was so much more forgivable than it was to animals"...
Don't be ridiculous. Go visit a factory farm and tell me that our society punishes animal torture more than human torture.

I agree with everything in rumpuskat's post, especially this paragraph. I hope menstruation-free doesn't join hairless and curveless on the roster of ridiculous beauty standards for women, most of which seem to involve the absence of secondary sex characteristics.

Feminism is dead?

And before I was even invited to one of those EC teen sex parties you women want to organize? Well, crap.

On Michael Vick, one obvious difference from the abusers is that if he's punished, nobody's going to start grumbling that "the NFL has sold out to the radical feminazis." Which shouldn't make a difference, but I can't help thinking it might have.

much like I'm already made to feel guilty and dirty for not wearing makeup

Where do you live, Rumpuskat, and which decade are you in (teens, twenties, thirties, older)?

On the East Coast, I have found that it is the norm to not wear makeup for women my age (38), and has been since I went to college. Women wear makeup for special occasions, not as an everyday thing. But the 20-somethings I see wear makeup. Was this something that occurred on a backlash? Because I was gratified to discover, when I hit college, that I was right and my grandmother's dire predictions of what would happen if I didn't wear makeup were wrong -- no one cared in the slightest if you wore it or not, and most people didn't. I'd be saddened to hear that we're back to "you have to wear makeup" for the younger generation (and I have to keep reminding myself on sites like this that I am not a 20-something myself... somehow being over 30 has never become quite real. :-))

"i had used the continuous bc method and was so happy w/ it...even when i went to navy boot camp they recommended it to the female sailors there..."

ouyangdan, knowing the Navy like I do (my dad was a Marine for 4 years) I would bet that they have their own cynical, budget and military efficency-oriented reasons for trying to get women sailors on this new no-period version of birth control pills.

This is probably how the thought process went at the Pentagon.

They have a growing number of women sailors, and, with the falling recruiting numbers among men, that trend will continue for the forseeable future.

All of those women have periods once a month - which means that the Navy has to supply them with tampons or pads as well as Midol or other types of pain medication.

Also, a certain portion of those women sailors will need to go to sick bay if they have period-related problems, which means time away from their jobs.

Aall that stuff costs the Navy Department money (that they'd rather spend on missiles or artillery shells).

So, in the minds of the men who run the Navy (and remember, almost the entire high command of all 5 branches of the service is run by males) it would be cheaper if the women sailors didn't have periods.

That's why they want you to not have a period, ouyangdan.

Remember, to the Navy, you're just another weapons system, and they are going to maintain you as cheaply and efficiently as possible.

"On the East Coast, I have found that it is the norm to not wear makeup for women my age (38), and has been since I went to college. Women wear makeup for special occasions, not as an everyday thing."

AlaraJRogers, what part of the "East Coast" are you talking about?

I live in Manhattan, and all of the women I know personally who are that age bracket wear makeup. And most of the women I see on the subway, in my neighborhood and in the office buildings I work in.

Of course, I'm Black, and I live on the border between a Black neighborhood and a Latino neighborhood, so that might account for the difference.

I for one am very, very glad we have this option.

Ack! Nobody here is saying we shouldn't have this option! It's just that the way the media and advertisers frame this suggests, as rumpuskat points out, that women's bodies and functions are disgusting and dirty. Nobody here is criticizing women who take the drug. As always, it's about preserving choice for women -- if I want to or need to take this drug, I should be able to. But at the same time, if I don't, I shouldn't be shamed or viewed as "dirty" for not taking it. And if women who continue to menstruate do come to be viewed as dirty, it will also become a class issue, as women who are uninsured or underinsured likely won't be able to afford it and will be viewed in an even more condescending way than lower-class women are already.

"All of those women have periods once a month - which means that [they have] to supply them[selves] with tampons or pads as well as Midol or other types of pain medication.

Also, a certain portion of those [female workers/mothers] will need to go to [the hospital/stay home] if they have period-related problems, which means time away from their jobs[/kids].

All that stuff costs the [women] money (that they'd rather spend on [anything else])."

Just saying...the Navy's train of thought looks a lot like mine.

PS: I'm jealous of all you ladies who enjoy your periods. Lucky ducks.

Quoting one of the comments on the "Feminism is Dead" article:

"Feminism made British women unattractive to British men. Fortunately cheap air travel to Asia exposed British men to the more fashionable Asian women who were more than willing to take up the slack. Face it Brit Chicks, you've marginalised yourselves. Any British man encountering the better class of Asian women has got to be thinking; "This is like going to heaven without going through that distasteful process of dying." Of course for a few, 100% Caucasian children is a requirement written in stone, but that won’t be sufficient to divert the UK branch of the Caucasian race from the path to subsumption."

I almost vomited reading that. If anyone wants evidence that racism and sexism are still alive and rampant, look no further than the internet.

Jessica, how come feministing didn't cover or link to the "misogyny bares its teeth on the internet" article?

Surly it deserves more attention than this?

@Elaine Vigneault, I totally agree. I find it alarming how the MSM outlets (and now sort of Feministing) are downplaying the heinousness of killing animals with your bare hands out of greed when this person already had all the money in the world. Of course it's not worse than crimes committed against humans but it does speak to an intrinsic violence that deserves all the scrutiny he is getting.

Plus like srsly, don't worry, I'm sure domestic violence is not that far down the road for this guy.

Someone needs to dig up a picture of that female urinal (and perhaps some instructions). I'm very curious as to how, exactly, that will work.

ceezee, the big difference is, the Navy isn't encouraging the no-period pill out of any concern for making female sailors' lives easier.

They're concerned about cutting the budget for sanitary napkins, tampons, Midol and navy gynocologists - and spending that money on Tomahawk missiles and depleted uranium bullets!

And, since the Navy only has these women sailors on duty for 4 years, they honestly don't give a good God damn about the permanent health consequences of this pill!

Remember, this was the same Navy that used to do atomic bomb tests with sailors only 1 kilometer away!

I think that Bust or Venus Zine had this article about this portable, disposable cone-thing that women can use to pee anywhere. It frightens me because it looks like it's made of cardboard and I just have images of it collapsing into a damp, cardboardy mess.

"'much like I'm already made to feel guilty and dirty for not wearing makeup'

"Where do you live, Rumpuskat, and which decade are you in (teens, twenties, thirties, older)?"

...and what's under the makeup? A society can easily pressure one woman to cover her face and accept another woman exposing her face at the same time.

i am not saying the navy is perfect...but some of those arguments are illogical...yes the navy doesn't always have out best interest in mind...but that isn't the way it was...don't judge something you don't know...it wasn't forced or coerced...simply suggested...something that a lot of the girls hadn't heard from their civilian doctors...i had...and it was a great choice for me...some of these girls got the first ob/gyn care they had ever known, and having been around a while, i found it informed. there are up and down sides to both...
and, it has been my experience that just b/c you know the corps doesn't mean you understand the navy, at all...
the navy doesn't supply you w/ tampons, pad, etc...you have to bring that stuff w/ you when you check on board...and they are shared w/ the whole community during boot...when they run out, you use the ration stamps (same as cash at great lakes), get permission to go to the nex, and buy them yourself. the ONLY thing female wise that was provided was the BC. and i KNOW it is costly out of pocket, but the navy did paps and provided it to the females that WANTED it. all the providers were civilian, and i can assure you, the information is fair and informed.
we should all be so lucky to be able to receive such even and informed health care. i wish we could. the information was available to me in a way i would think that a PP would provide it...(but i have never been to one...so i digress)
mestruate if you want...just understand that it is another choice we have...and are free to make w/o judgement.

i will admit, though, that was the LAST time i found military health care fair...when i arrived at my first duty station, which was an army installation and joint service, the medical staff refused to give me an IUD b/c they didn't agree w/ them. i had to wait until i arrived in hawaii, to another navy facility, to get one, even though my regular doctor recommended it.

I was confused in the article about the rising price of birth control pills for college students when they talked about generic versions of the pills having side effects as though the name brand versions don't - can someone fill me in on this, please? I've never heard of this being the case with any other type of medication - I've been on meds (not bc) that became available as generics while I was on them, and didn't notice any difference when I switched over to the generics . . . aren't they supposed to be the same thing? Does anyone know anything about this?
(I also can't figure out if my BC is a generic, although based on the price I paid, which is equal to what I pay for generics of other meds, I thought it was generic, although I could be wrong.)

As to the "to bleed or not to bleed" question (sorry, I couldn't resist) I use a monthly cycle pill, but I like the fact that if getting a period at a certain time would be particularly obnoxious I have the option of saying "fk it!" and starting the next pack early. (I don't do this very often, either.) For example, this week I will be spending about 12 hours total on a greyhound bus, and going to concerts and hanging out with my best friend and possibly heading out to a lake for some swimming . . . so no thankyou, Mother Nature, I'm going to take a pass this time around. Yay for choices.

regarding the female urinal, I saw an article a while ago where a woman tried it. The one she used looked like a funnel attached to a hose with a replaceable plastic cover for the top. To pee the user placed the funnel/attachment under herself and then removed and disposed of the cover. The entire thing was in a stall for privacy. It looked really complicated and unappealing to me, but they might have different designs.

Girls! There used to be female uninals in Bengies Drive-In! But they took them out, but they were the best! I miss them! It was just like a narrow toilet without a seat, and you just squated comfortably over it. Like instead of squatting and trying to piss through that little break in the seat. I want them everywhere!

You included my study on gender bias in academia on my birthday, no less! Wahoo!

Here's a link to a summary of the findings, if pp don't want to read the entire thing:

http://www.grahamad.com/blog/2007/09/05/tracing-the-construction-of-gender-bias-key-findings/

Thanks!!