#period positivity

[im-not-an-object-ok]

For three months this year, I bled nearly every day. My doctor doesn’t know why. Google doesn’t know why. The condition is simply called “postmenopausal bleeding,” and medicine’s best guess as to the cause is that the postmenopausal hormone-replacement therapy I started last November suddenly made my endometrium, the lining of the uterus, “unstable.” All scientific knowledge added up to “If it’s still happening in six months, get back in touch.” (I’m still bleeding intermittently, and I don’t know why.) This is the kind of massive medical shrug that anyone with female anatomy has probably encountered.

Despite major advances for women over the past 100 years—the invention of the contraceptive pill, greater access to safe abortions—much of female biology is still woefully underserved by science. There are reasons for this, most notably the historical exclusion of women from medical and pharmaceutical trials, partly because our awkward hormone cycles were thought to skew results. There’s also the fact that some scientists still project findings from research on men onto women, seeming not to realize that women aren’t just small men: Women are different down to the cellular level, meaning that many of our immune responses, experiences of pain, and symptoms (including, for instance, those that accompany a heart attack) may be different from men’s. Are you having a nasty, unexpected side effect from your medication? That could be because most drugs were developed with male bodies in mind. A 2020 review of 86 common medications, including antidepressants, cardiovascular drugs, and painkillers, found that women were likely routinely overmedicated and suffered adverse reactions nearly twice as often as men.

The lagging science is particularly apparent when it comes to periods and female hormones more generally—the subject of the anthropologist Kate Clancy’s new book, Period, a scientific and cultural history that purports to tell the “real story of menstruation.” Clancy’s book makes clear that a lack of data is to blame for many of the ills that women and girls face concerning their reproductive health, like doctors’ failure to diagnose painful conditions such as endometriosis.

My severe endometriosis was discovered only when I was 41, accidentally. For decades, I had been given prescription-strength painkillers, and my doctor never seemed to wonder whether the amount of pain I was in was abnormal. When I published an essay about my menopausal depression in 2018, a deluge of women wrote to tell me that when they were going through something similar, their doctors had told them they were imagining their brain fog or panic attacks, or had put them on antidepressants that didn’t work because many depression drugs are inadequate to treat the symptoms of fluctuating estrogen.

#feminism #save #menstruation #Medical misogyny #Period positivity #When I went to type in menstruation 'menstruation tw' was the 1st result

[hcvenrose]

I'm on my period and definitely need some period positivity 🩸💥🌺💫

#period positivity #menstruation #period memes #period problems #bodypositivity #on my period #lessgooo

[menstrualblog]

Menstrual health is a human right. People who don’t ovulate will still likely have friends, family or lovers who do. Debunk “separate but equal” gendered sex education practices and embrace normalizing conversations about reproductive health. Demystify the period now!

#period positivity #menstruation #body positivity

[your-anon-friend]

Anon B here to shoutout to my fellow friends who have horribly painful periods! You’re so strong! Please take care of yourself! Take painkillers if you need them! Use heat packs! Rest up! I hope it can ease up for you soon!  💖

#your anon friend #periods #period pain #period positivity #body positive #body posititivity #positive #positivity #positive thoughts #think positive #positivity messages #self love #self care #have a good day #tw menstruation #tw periods #menstration

[journey-to-the-goddess]

Exciting News share! In August I signed a publishing contract with Inner Traditions - Bear & Company to turn my doctoral thesis on Sacred Menstrual Power into a book for the general public. Yes! That means that I’m going to be a published author!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever consider that I would one day author a book. But after seven intense years of graduate school—four of which were dedicated solely to the production of my 250 page doctoral thesis—I can now say that publishing my work dedicated to empowering women will be a dream come true.

Not only that, but the contract transpired so effortlessly that I can honestly say authorship is clearly nothing short of my dharma in this lifetime.

Moments after I defended my thesis and was officially given the title “Dr.”, I cried for 3 hours straight. Yes, I cried in part because I was so exhausted and relieved to be done. But more than that, I was feeling a massive existential crisis of faith that creeps up for me from time to time.

I wondered who would really care about addressing negative menstrual mythologies when most of the world seems preoccupied with buying the latest pair of Nike shoes or simply trying to survive?

I wondered what would be the point of creating a new, empowering sacred menstrual narrative to counter internalized menstrual shame when we are on the bring of climate destruction?

Then eventually, after conversations with several wise friends and colleagues who became Drs. before me, I realized that my work addresses one of the many symptoms of the larger cultural problem facing humans today.

This is a world in which all value is placed on what can be taken and consumed while everything that doesn’t have a clear and direct consumer benefit can be discarded at best or treated as an existential threat to economic prosperity at worst. Menstruation is no different; for the last 5,000 years, western civilization has treated it as an existential threat to the thriving of human civilization.

From the inner emotional perspective, shame, menstrual or otherwise, perpetuates cycles of self-alienation and actually, I think, hinders us from finding solutions to personal and collective problems. This is why addressing internalized menstrual shame, matters.

My thesis / book also offers a solution to the problem in the guise of a whole new paradigm shift. I believe that menstruation biologically and symbolically disrupts the linear production model in favor of cyclical and regenerative models that are more inherent to nature and natural processes. The menstrual cycle teaches that all phases of the life cycle—and, in fact, all life itself—has intrinsic value.

Quite simply, the menstrual cycle is a woman’s superpower.

Thanks for being in this journey with me! 🙏

#spirituality #divine feminine #menstruation #menstruation matters #period positivity #menstrual cycle #feminist author #internalized menstrual shame #goddess spirituality

[raspberri-iced-tea]

To all y’all who have periods:

Your period is not gross or shameful.

You are not gross or shameful for having it.

If you have mood swings from them, they do not invalidate your feelings or make them ridiculous or silly. Your emotions on your period are just as real and deserving of attention as any other time.

If you get cramps from them, they are also just as real as any other kind of pain. It’s not silly or overdramatic to do whatever you need to do to manage your cramps. It’s not silly or overdramatic to see a medical professional about your cramps if you need to, either.

You deserve to be taken seriously. By yourself, and by others. On your period and off.

this post includes trans people by the way

#periods #period positivity

[maisiemkelly]

oh...

#growingpains #feminist #feminism #female photographers #feminist photographer #period #menstration #period positivity

[aestheticemi01]

Celebrate all of the victories!

#periods #period positive #take care of yourself #reward yourself #menstruation #period positivity #mentions of periods

[mybodyliberation]

Asan Menstrual Cup Review

If you love all things period that you know there's a very special feeling you get when getting to unbox a brand new cup for the first time. There's a thrill, there's definitely excitement and of course there's the customary "new menstrual cup" dance.

Think Chandler Bing, and you've got an accurate picture.

But seriously, I was very grateful to the Asan team for sending me their menstrual cup to try and I was so excited to review it. You can read more about Asan and their mission here:

And I love that their mission is to fight period poverty. At this point in humanity, period poverty should NOT exist. Access to the support and care you need through menstruation is a basic human right, and I love that Asan is fighting the good fight for that.

So to the cup itself, ya'll know I love colour and so I was instantly drawn to how colourful Asan is as a brand. There's so much colour from the packaging right down to the cup itself which is a gorgeous shade of red.

And to be honest that is genius. If you love having a sustainable period, but you've always been a bit squeamish about the blood part, the Asan cup may be for you. Against the colour of the cup itself, your period blood doesn't seem quite some prominent as with a traditional clear coloured cup.

The cup comes in two sizes, one for a light to medium flow, and one for a heavy. Obviously, you know your girl is the latter, so that's what I trialled. It was a little bit bigger than the cups I'm used to, so at first insertion felt a bit intimidating, but actually, now I'm like how did I live without this??

#periods #period #period positivity #period problems #menstruation #menstrual #menstrual health

[apollosimps]

so sick of “feminine products” and “feminine napkins” and that stupid shit.

SAY PERIOD, say menstruation/menstrual cycle if it’s more formal. fuck you

Me bleeding out of my pussy once a month is the most manly thing i could’ve done for the past 8 years of this hell on earth. Periods are fucking metal. show them some goddamn respect

Edit (14 March 2024): the terfs and transphobes found this post. Please block them and don’t interact. thanks k love you transmascs <2

Edit 2: (15 March 2024): this post was intended to be a personal thing that didn’t get past 20 notes or so, so maybe my wording wasn’t all that great.

Let me clarify: I use ‘manly’ to describe my personal experience as a trans dude who’s had his period and ‘metal’ to describe periods in a general sense.

Terfs please fuck off. Go back to your little bigot cave and vague post about me instead. Off with you.

#apollo complains🔥 #apollo posts #transandrophobia #period positive

[canisalbus]

How do you draw so frequently???

I'm starting to think I probably have some passive ADHD so I end up always admiring ppl who can just constantly do stuff, it's like a dream, your art is also like a dream, Vasco is also a sweet dream, I really like Vasco, he looks really sweet

I set aside a little bit of time every evening just to draw, it's become almost like a wind down routine for me. It helps if I don't treat it as serious 100% effort hard mode art time, I usually multitask a little on the side, watch a movie or take breaks to do little chores around the house and art just sort of happens if it happens. Lately I've been making mostly personal low pressure feel-good pieces.

#this isn't really normal for me either I'm typically way WAY more shiftless #I've been unusually productive during these past few months but I may slow down sooner or later #drawing Vasco/Machete stuff is nice it gives me some badly needed serotonin and results in this positive feedback loop #so I keep making more #I also switched to different antidepressants earlier this year and I'm thinking maybe they have something to do with it #perhaps they reconnected some wires in my brain and suddenly drawing became a lot easier and more enjoyable who's to say #I'm just trying to make the most out of this creative period while it lasts #answered #anonymous #own characters #Vasco

[scintillyyy]

hey remember that time in batman #450 while tim was still in training to be robin when bruce found out that the joker was still alive and he paid for tim's entire boarding school class to go to japan to get tim as far away as humanly possible from the joker & because bruce didn't want tim to see him if he lost control upon seeing the joker & bruce hired a man named yodo to stalk and watch them the entire fucking trip just to make sure they were safe the entire time....

bc i remember that

#listen....bruce was genuinely so worried about tim during the training period... #like. pls. im begging. #bruce was actually so worried about putting tim in the position of robin & that's actually good angst #anyways i think about yodo a lot. who are you sir. what do you do. #how does bruce know you. #tim drake

[bunnelbaby]

There are many reasons a regressor, dreamer, caregiver or flip may rely on diapers, such as:

✨ Incontinence, or the inability to control one’s bladder or rectum

✨ Menstrual cycles, as diapers are much more comfortable/less dysphoric compared to using pads or tampons

✨ Impaired mobility, which effects one’s fine motor and gross motor skills

✨ During recovery following a surgery, as not to put too much strain on their bodies

✨ Various medical conditions and disabilities where wearing them might be much more convenient

✨ Stress or anxiety

✨ Having a tendency of wetting the bed

✨ Nightmares

✨ Purely for comfort reasons, as they can provide a sense of security for the wearer

✨ To help one slip into their headspace or prevent any accidents when regressing, as they may have bathroom troubles in their regressed state

✨ Regardless of the reason, there’s no shame or harm in wearing diapers so long as you are comfortable above all else.

#cw diaper #age regression #sfw agere #agere #agere positivity #ageredips #diaper mention #tw periods #tw menstruation #period ment tw

[genderqueerdykes]

having periods is hard for everyone, but i just wanted to say huge shoutout to every guy on their period right now, especially if you have to be in public. I'm off my T temporarily due to doctor problems and I'm here with you. it's a very vulnerable time and it's like, the last possible way you want to get clocked as "not passing". respect to every man on their period

#ftm #transmasc #transmasculinity #transmasculine #trans man #trans men #trans guy #trans boy #trans man positivity #trans mens health #menstruation mention #menstruation tw #period mention #our writing

[kneelingshadowsalome]

OK OK OK, but can we revisit the daughter "sitcom" scenarios?! I loved them sm.

Imagine Engel is out somewhere, like the store or whatever. Their daughter, who is about 12-13 at the time, just got her first period...😦

She just kinda awkwardly walks into the room and is trying to figure out how to tell him...

Konig is totally panicking, probably frantically calling Engels phone to get home ASAP. Poor boy probably didn't even know that you can get your period at that age and thinks some really bad is happening 😭.

But once everything has settled down, he starts to treat her the same way he treats Engel on her period, maybe even letting her stay home from school.

König is 1000 miles away from his comfort zone

I imagine the conversation goes something like this: (D=daughter, K=König, R/E=reader/Engel)

D: “I think my period just started…”

K: “Ja? Just remember to do your homework.”

D: “No, I mean… I think I just got my first period? I’m bleeding–”

K: “Bleeding? Where?? ”

D: “…??? There...?”

*uncomfortable staring and silence”

D: “I just… Do you know where mom keeps her pads?”

K: “...Pads?”

D: “Dad!! You’re just repeating my words!”

She leaves the room to look for the pads herself while König calls her mother: now imagine a colonel, a commanding officer of thousands of soldiers, responsible for important pre-decisions throughout the whole organization, calling his wife and asking what to do in this kind of a situation 🧍‍♂️ König is rubbing the back of his neck while walking anxious circles in the living room, almost bumps into a sofa while Engel calmly explains what's going on and that this is all completely normal.

When she comes back, König has just closed the phone, sighs, then takes a rather stiff stance to indicate he is about to give an important speech.

“Now then, my pretty young fawn. You are not my little girl anymore… Today, you’ve become a woman–”

“Dad, wtf?!? Ughh….”

She storms out of the room again, about to die from cringe: why does his father have to be such an embarrassment and an awkward mess? Why the hell did her mother even want this odd big loser as her man???

She’s sick of his stupid speeches and ridiculous rules and poor attempts at jokes, she's more than sick of listening to her parents’ disgusting cooing all the time. Only the noise canceling headphones can block out his dad’s profuse lovesick confessions before they start to bonk each other, thinking she can’t hear it all upstairs. Meanwhile she's not allowed to have a life of her own because the "world is a dangerous place"...

She can't wait to get out of this household, especially when even more cringeworthy conversations follow once her mother comes home. The only reason she's eavesdropping is because they're finally speaking of her instead of "how beautiful his sweet Engel looks" or "how silly and clumsy her big bear is":

K: “Does this mean she starts to have boyfriends?”

E/R: “She probably has had a few already.”

K: “What?!”

E/R: “Well not really. They’re just kids, fooling around. I wouldn't worry about it yet.”

K: “Should I talk to her about… you know, birds and bees? Just in case?”

E/R: “You? Absolutely not.”

K: “But–”

E/R: “I’ll talk to her at some point. They probably have sex education at school.”

K: “She can’t go to school. She said she was in pain.”

E/R: *sighs*

K: “What...? I already called them and said she's ill.”

E/R: “She's not ill, silly. It's just a period, it comes every month. You of all people should know...”

K: “Ja, I know... The torture days :)”

E/R: “Torture days for who?”

K: “I'm in so much pain every month, you have no idea...”

(Daughter upstairs makes a furious dive for her headphones :|)

#I’m fairly positive their future menace of a daughter had her first “boyfriend” when she was six #she chased the poor boy with a stick and thought it was true love #wonder where she got that from… #also König protecting his girls furiously when either of them is on their period 🥺 #hauling painkillers and chocolate and pads for them like it’s his job #practically preventing them from leaving the house #fighting anyone who tries to politely tell him that women can work and go to school even on their period #saga of könig's daughter #answered

[chewyspoke]

tips to use agere to cope with periods

diapers- I don't and have never used adult diapers but I can imagine they can be comforting and a great addition to your regression. Pads and tampons can be frustrating to work with and can make you uncomfortable, diapers are a very good substitute for them.

heated stuffed animals- there are stuffed animals that have magic stuff in them that allows the stuffie to be heated in the microwave or oven and work as a heating pad. I have seen brands like huggle healers and warm pals that have smoothing scents and weighted beans in them.

water bottles- remember to drink lots of water and take medication if needed. having princess and cutesy water bottles helps motivated me to drink water because when I regress items targeted towards children catch my eye better and I find myself drinking more water.

#age regression #age regressive #age regressor #agere aesthetic #agere blog #agere community #agere caregiver #agere moodboard #agere little #agere #periods #menstrual cycle #menstrual health #period cramps #menstruation #agere positivity #safe agere #sfw agere #agerespace