Menstruation

Wish Me Happy Woman’s Day Today And Here’s Why

by IdeaSmith
Twenty-six years ago on this date, I had my first period. It must have been a Sunday or a Thursday (my school weekly holiday) and I had gone swimming with my father in the morning. I came home and changed into my favorite white cotton frock with a gigantic sash at the back that made ... Read More

A Bleedingย Goddess

by IdeaSmith
This body is function. This body is strength. This body is beauty. This body is sex. This body is purpose. This body is life. Don't objectify me. Don't deify me.

CupTalk: WOW Freedom Menstrual Cup – A Review

by IdeaSmith
I’ve been a menstrual cup user for over two years now. There have been a few misadventures but nothing so bad as to deter me from using this wonderful product. This is truly a product that has changed my life in meaningful ways. Earlier this year, I bought two new cups, having made certain critical ... Read More

Turn, Turn, Bleed: Menstrual Cup Misadventures

by IdeaSmith
The menstrual cup chronicles continue. I started with a SilkyCup gifted to me by Reema. After a lot of teething pains (birthing pains?), I established a relationship with this piece of silicon and got used to putting it up my lady business every month. A HUGE part of developing a comfort with menstrual cups is ... Read More

Menstrual Myths and Products That Matter

by IdeaSmith
Today is World Menstrual Health Day. I wonder if they chose the 28th of this month because of the 28 days that are a cycle average. Well, there is certainly a lot to be said about menstrual health and I think I do a lot of talking (and writing) about it already. But it appears ... Read More

The Menstrual Cup Month: There Will Be Blood

by IdeaSmith
Iโ€™ve received and given a few strange gifts in my time but the most unusual one was Reemaโ€™s birthday present to me this year. For context, Reema showers me with gifts of books, food, makeup and pretty objects year round so she managed to take it up a notch even further for the special birthday ... Read More

I Have A Bloody Relationship With My Pad

by IdeaSmith
This is a Facebook post on the Bodyform wall (am the only one who thought ‘uterine wall’ just now?), written by a man asking why sanitary napkin makers have lied to him for years. Bodyform responded with the following video by Caroline Williams, the CEO of Bodyform (played by an actress), apologising and explaining in ... Read More

Why Are Period Jokes Okay But Period Talk Not?

by IdeaSmith
*Image courtesy Simon Howden on FreeDigitalPhotos.net When I was in college, a guy leaned in and asked me, “Why was there blood on the dance floor?” These were the late 90s, Micheal Jackson was still alive, already white and not yet branded a pedophile. I shrugged. I had not understood the song anyway. “Because Susie ... Read More

Countdown To The 28th Day

by IdeaSmith
The weather is sickening. Outside the sun is scorching the earth like something from the kitchens of a very bad cook..dark, smelly, sticky. The sunlight on my face gives me a headache. Inside, the fan is whipping a breeze across my face too fast. Slower it offends my ears with its whirring. I’m sick, going ... Read More