Whether you called it T.O.M. or Shark Week, I wanna get real about periods, but without the fun nicknames or the embarrassment. Because we’re all adults, right? 

“Roughly half of the female population — around 26 per cent of the global population — are of reproductive age. Most women menstruate each month for about two to seven days. Yet, as normal as it is, menstruation is stigmatized around the world.”

FAST FACTS: Nine things you didn’t know about menstruation

I wanna talk about the stigma regarding periods and why I’m over it. Periods are not something that comes and goes every month and is meant to be ignored. When you hide something that has to do with a woman’s health, you forget about any issues that might come along with it. 

Such as, sustainability, the cost and availability of feminine products around the world, and Menstrual Equity.

Every month we have to buy pads and/or tampons and where do those go when we finish with them? Into landfills.

And guess what? They aren’t biodegradable, thanks to the unknown chemicals that are inside them. Which includes rayon, a synthetic material that increases a women’s likelihood of experiencing TSS, as well as dioxin and non-organic cotton. When cotton is not organic it has been genetically modified and has vastly more pesticides and herbicides used on it.

Personally? I don’t want that in my body…

Thankfully the market has come out with some awesome products that are meant to solve this issue! Diva cups are readily available at most local drug stores, as well as hypoallergenic and organic cotton tampons like Lola, but my favorite product during my period is Thinx.

I recently bought a couple pairs and I can’t wait to buy more! Thinx are cute, comfortable, period proof underwear. Their underwear ranges from holding 1/2 a tampon to 2 tampons worth of blood. Once you’re done, you rinse them, wash on cold, and hang dry. This is similar to using a diva cup in the sense that you are producing no waste on your period. You can read more about how they work here.

The first thing I noticed when I started using Thinx was how comfortable the underwear was and how clean I felt in them. The 5 layers lock in both liquid and odor and it helped me forget I was on my period for a little while. Oh, and they’re sexy!

I think we could all feel a bit sexier when laying in the fetal position waiting for our Midol to kick in. 

Thinx and Diva Cups are both helping the environment and introducing a more cost effective way to deal with our periods. Because why are tampons so expensive anyways? How come there are women in the world who cannot even afford tampons? This is basic healthcare. But paying one price for a product that will last much longer than a tampon? This is the track we should be on…

Did you know that in 40 of the U.S. states, tampons have a 6.85% sales tax because they are marketed as a luxury and not a necessity? And most women living in low-income countries do not even have access to any period products.

On top of that, many women and girls don’t have access to education regarding their bodies and the changes it goes through during puberty. Which is why there are programs such as EveryBody. Which promotes medically accurate and accessible education for young girls.

Some other organizations that are doing their part are Girls Inc and Alliance of Border Collab.

I’m so glad that I was lucky enough to have a mom who made me feel excited when I had my first period. And I’m thankful I have 3 brothers who never responded with “ew, gross!” When I said I was on my period.

But not every young girl is so lucky.

I’m not saying let’s scream about it from the rooftops but let’s make it normal. It’s okay to say, “I’m on my period.” There is nothing embarrassing about it and it isn’t a secret.

They say that everyone should be happy with the body they were given. And yet, when it’s concerning a women’s body, we should be ashamed to show it off and ashamed of the inner workings of it? Sounds like a double standard to me. 

Periods suck but they’re a reality. And it doesn’t suck less when we stop talking about it. So why the stigma?! How about we get rid of that? Let’s give men a little more credit, because I think they can handle it and they can stop being uncomfortable. Let’s tell girls to be excited because their body changing is an exciting time! Let’s get rid of the pink tax, because we shouldn’t pay more for something we need. Let’s remember that the idea of “body positivity” isn’t skin deep.

---

Photography by Jordan Jones