Pardon the title, but...Fundies and tampons?

[Cassandra]

This topic led to a hilarious conversation a few minutes ago, in which my mom described the belt/pad combo. They had to wear these nasty, zip-up jumpsuits for gym, and apparently, you could always tell who was wearing belts. :shock:

I've been using tampons literally since day one when I was 11. My mom sat in the bathroom with me for like thirty minutes until I got it right, so unfortunately, I never got out of swim practice. :x

That's pretty much how I am. I used a pad for the first 4ish hours during my very first period and then I switched to tampons. Now the only time I wear a pad is when I'm 'surprised' by my period and have to rely on friends for help.

I'm applying to the Peace Corps and tampons are very difficult to find in a lot of the countries that I could be placed in....it should be an interesting adjustment.

[FakePigtails]

That's pretty much how I am. I used a pad for the first 4ish hours during my very first period and then I switched to tampons. Now the only time I wear a pad is when I'm 'surprised' by my period and have to rely on friends for help.

I'm applying to the Peace Corps and tampons are very difficult to find in a lot of the countries that I could be placed in....it should be an interesting adjustment.

Try the Diva Cup (or one of the other kinds out there)! It's much better than tampons. Less discomfort, no gross trash each month, you can leave it in longer . . . it's great for a situation like the Peace Corps.

[raineymott]

Try the Diva Cup (or one of the other kinds out there)! It's much better than tampons. Less discomfort, no gross trash each month, you can leave it in longer . . . it's great for a situation like the Peace Corps.

My personal favorite is the Lunette. :D They have different shapes for different bodies...Divas are long, Lunettes are short.

[alphaeta08]

I'd actually like to try a menstrual cup. I'm sure it's obviously much cheaper in the long run, and I'm not squeamish at all about that kind of stuff. Do you just order them online, or do you need to see/try them to know the right fit?

[raineymott]

Check out http://www.menstrualcups.org/ ... it's got everything you need to know about cups. If you still aren't sure, sign up and ask some questions. :)

[Austin]

That's pretty much how I am. I used a pad for the first 4ish hours during my very first period and then I switched to tampons. Now the only time I wear a pad is when I'm 'surprised' by my period and have to rely on friends for help.

I'm applying to the Peace Corps and tampons are very difficult to find in a lot of the countries that I could be placed in....it should be an interesting adjustment.

I'd be very interested to hear about your decision to join the Peace Corps and how that all comes together. Do you have any choice of where you are sent, or do they make those decisions for you? Maybe in chatter. . . if you'd like to share. . .

[FakePigtails]

I'd actually like to try a menstrual cup. I'm sure it's obviously much cheaper in the long run, and I'm not squeamish at all about that kind of stuff. Do you just order them online, or do you need to see/try them to know the right fit?

There's this livejournal page with tons of info (http://menstrual-cups.livejournal.com/). From that I chose one to try and ordered it from Amazon, partially because I had a student Prime account and part because my only in-person option was a natural market and I have no interest in funding a business that promotes pseudoscientific "medicine."

ETA: I chose the Diva Cup specifically because I knew a bunch of people who had good experiences with it and it had a bunch of health certifications I trust (http://www.divacup.com/en/home/quality/). Also great with cups is being able to put them in before my period actually starts (for me, I get some spotting the day before so if I'm going to be out of the house the next day I'll start using it that morning).

[Hane]

After all this commentary, allow me to say MENOPAUSE FTW!!!!!!

[silverspoons]

I had a friend who parents would not her use tampons(not sure if you would call her fundie or fundie lite since this was 25 years ago). I remember her older sisters came home from college(conservative chrstian colleges) and took her in the bathroom and taught her to use a tampon. They had a dorm style room, all the girls slept in one large room, which was a converted attic. She hid her tampons in a crawl space.

Im under 40 and I still remember the belt/pad combo from Catholic school nurses office. It made me make sure I had plenty of my own feminie supplies with me or had lots of sick days during my cycle!

[DamnPrecious]

I remember trying for years to get a tampon in, I couldn't figure it out, I even have friends try (while not bleeding) to help. It wasn't until some "heavy petting" did I figure it out. I remember almost passing out changing it the first time.

[ricky_ticky]

I think that it was actually less of a worry back then because leaks were a part of life so people who noticed it didn't make such a big deal of it. As prudish as people were back then, I think they were more accepting of bodily functions because it was just harder to hide them. I'm sure that women still tried to be discreet about it and take care of any leaks as soon as they noticed them, but most people probably knew about menstruation from childhood so it wasn't quite so horrifying if someone else saw it.

And I also don't think that women necessarily hid behind the scenes during their periods. Especially on farms or in factory jobs, there was just too much work to be done so women did it regardless.

OMG I remember the movie they made us watch in fifth grade to explain menstruation. It had an animated character in it with a huge head and huge eyes like a Precious Moments figurine. She had huge eyelashes and a tiny little body. The narrator told us that when you get your period you might feel sickly and peevish and you might have to stay in bed for a couple of days. The girl with the giant head also had giant fluffy pillows and ruffles on her bed.

I remember thinking that my life was going to be OVER once I got my period. The film also talked about wearing bras and developing breasts. All of us girls felt like we had some kind of monster about to erupt from within us. No one could convince me that this was good or even normal. I felt so let down by all adults who would allow this to happen.

My mother gave me a belt and a pad too. It had a really weird covering, like it was slippery on purpose. No way in hell that thing was going to stay in place. The old fashioned adhesive pads got wadded up and kind of hard. Every girl I knew had at least one accident in her time. Happened pretty regularly.

[gustava]

My perspective (and memory) is that girls of my age did not have confidence! That was rather the whole problem. When feminine hygiene products started to get better and ramp up their advertising, that was the biggest selling tool ever. Commercials would declare things along the line of "You, too, can be worry-free. . ." and showed a well-known gymnast, for instance, doing an uneven parallel bars routine presumably while wearing her new, improved "Maxi" or whatever the names were.

At my high school, at that time anyway, girls and boys had phys ed separately, and there were always four or five girls sitting in the bleachers, having been "excused" from participating. All a girl had to do is say, "Miss Sprock, I won't be doing gym today" and she would nod and the girls would go sit and talk and watch the rest of us. I was never one of those girls b/c I was allowed to wear tampons (and I had a rather late menarche, so not as many years in high school dealing with it), but as a girl who liked gym, I always felt sorry for them. But then again, a lot of girls hated gym and would have their periods, it seemed, for two weeks a month and stuff like that.

It was easy to get out of class by telling a male teacher that you "didn't feel well", because no way were they touching that with a ten foot pole, so I guess it had its upside :D

But no, in my opinion, "confidence" is not a word I would use.

ETA: Also, I don't know what other girls said in different regions, but in my day, if your girlfriend had developed a leak that she was not aware of and we were around other people, you said, "I see a bird" and then all the girls present would check their crotches to make sure it wasn't them. LOL

Jeez o pete, we didn't have confidence when using those yucky, bulky pads. They shifted. If we bled a lot, the liquid caused the pad to bunch up in our crotch. If we misjudged how heavily we might bleed and didn't put in that new pad between class periods, it would leak. If we did replace it, that meant we had to carry what felt like a diaper in our pocketbooks. And we had to wrap it around itself, blood and all, and "dispose of properly." Furthermore, when blood isn't contained within the body, it carries a distinct odor, so sitting in class or walking around could be accompanied by its own little aroma.

NO CONFIDENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only reason Scarlett O'Hara could survive washable cloth pads is because she wore dresses with layers and layers and layers.

[kb2]

I had a friend who said her dad got to decide when she could use tampons (not until mid-high school so she wouldn't "discover herself"). She was very miffed at her mom for letting her dad overrule her in that issue, especially since she had very heavy periods. The family maybe bordered on normal to fundie-light, it wasn't like her mom was submissive in all other areas, but her dad really wanted to protect her purity or whatever. She had a happy childhood and gets along with her parents as an adult, but they were weird about tampons.

I had the opposite experience--my mom told me shortly after I first got my period that I should use the largest size tampons that would be appropriate, because it might make "things that come later" less painful.

I always use tampons and pads, because I tend to leak a bit from the sides of tampons so it's really hard to go completely padless, and before I was on the pill I enjoyed having an extra hour before I had to change everything. I've always had fancy-schmancy pads available to me, though. :dance:

[samithemage]

I was a teen in the early 90's and I know that my hard core catholic mom informed me that only sluts used tampons. To this day, even though it's 2011 and I'm quite sexually active, I can't bring myself to use tampons. There is still a part of me that has a hang up. If necessary, I can use them for swimming, but otherwise, there is still a deep seated part of me that feels that it's dirty. I honestly believe that a lot of the issues surrounding pads and tampons depend on how you were raised and how uncomfortable you felt. Pads never seemed too uncomfortable to me, as I've been dealing with them since the 90's and not when there were belts and such, but I was taught from a youngish (12) age that tampons were for sluts and married women.

[dawbs]

Oh hell. I used one of those belts with pads when I first started. Then I learned from some of my friends that they used safety pins to pin the pads to their panties, and that was at least less conspicuous, but my mother disapproved of that. Natch. She used to fuss because the stress on the safety pins would tear little holes in my underwear. Sheesh. But then again, when I started my mother (not a fundie, then or now) told me that only married ladies could use what she called "tampoons." I wish I had known different. It would have saved me all sorts of horror. But the advent of the adhesive strip kind really was the best thing to happen in the history of feminine protection, IMO. Tampons aren't for everyone, but those fucking belted/pinned pads were the worst ever.

Speaking from experience, the pins DO tear wee little holes in one's underwear.

(I can only share this story because the interwebz don't know me ;) )

My mom was very anti-tampon ('good girls don't wear them' wasn't *said*--just implied. That and "I found them scary so you will too because we intend to make all things sexual be terrifying" as implied.) and frugality was an obnoxious virtue. So mom was shopping got 'a deal' on maxipads and bought a gazillion of them...and didn't notice that they were the kind that required belts.

So I, as someone age 33, have used those things--except, for the love of little green apples, they didn't still sell belts 15 years ago...so we pinned.

And the 'cover' that held these tubes of cotton together was similar in consistency to dryer sheets--the effing-things repelled liquids!

But mom refused to buy anything else to use (and dad asn't getting involved). So we used those suckers and threw them away unused as often as possible to try to empty out the stash (until mom threatened to leave us w/ none at all--thank all taht's holy for my grandmother who got us 'good' pads and for mom going on good mental health drugs a few years later)

[nuri]

The only reason Scarlett O'Hara could survive washable cloth pads is because she wore dresses with layers and layers and layers.

Scarlett O'Hara may not have had access to cloth pads, and if she did, she probably was just letting hold in for dear life. A lot of people figure that most women in 1700-1900's weren't using anything to catch their flow at all. And underwear during that time period, if pant-like, was crotchless.

Reading through history of "feminine hygiene" products always feels like we keep reinventing the wheel. The ancient egyptians had tampons but the Western world didn't have them readily available until the 30's.

[emmyfair]

I had the hugest argument ever with my Mom, when I was 17, because I demanded tampons so I could go to a friends pool party. My Mom was horrified, but to her credit, she bought them for me. I still remember her asking me if I'd gotten one in, in this hushed voice, like something about me had changed for the worse.

For my daughter, I'll buy them as soon as she starts. In my mind, there is nothing so disgusting as sitting in your own blood. I know for some people it's ok, a very dear friend of mine is a devoted cloth pad user, but for me.. I'll start my daughter out whith what I believe is the best option, and if she changes her mind from there, so be it.

[1004srs]

My Mom made us wait to go shopping with her AND Dad when I started. She did not handle things discretely. She made a huge deal about buying a box of generic pads and some feminine hygiene spray. No trashcan in the bathroom. THe trashcan was in the kitchen, so everyone in the family knew you were on your period. She didn't use Midol, so nothing like that was available for cramps - and I got them bad enough to have to miss school.

As soon as I could scrape together some babysitting money, I bought a box of Tampax and never went back.

As an adult, I was in one relationship where the guy didn't believe in tampons. Tough, he didn't get a say in that. I didnt tell him what kind of razor, soap or undies to use.

Your period is a normal fact of life. I don't plan on making a huge deal when my daughter gets there. There will be a box of pads and a box of Playtex tampons under the sink in her bathroom. (NOT GENERIC, there are things you can't skimp on) THere will be proper disposal available in her bathroom. A box of Midol will be in her medicine cabinet. If her cramps are too bad, we will talk to my gyn about options like the pill. No point in making a huge deal about periods or having to be embarassed or suffer.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Sootikin, anyone? :shifty:

[Annette]

Sootikin, anyone? :shifty:

:shock: ...the first I have heard of such a phenomenon.

[Austin]

As an adult, I was in one relationship where the guy didn't believe in tampons. Tough, he didn't get a say in that. I didnt tell him what kind of razor, soap or undies to use.

You should have told him that if he didn't like tampons, the he shouldn't use them. :D

Srsly, though - where do some guys get the idea that this sort of thing is ANY of their business, whether they're a father, a husband, a boyfriend, whatever.

[masagoroll]

As an adult, I was in one relationship where the guy didn't believe in tampons. Tough, he didn't get a say in that. I didnt tell him what kind of razor, soap or undies to use.

"Didn't believe in tampons"? What does that even mean? Why did he care? Please tell us about this weirdo! :P

Also, since this has turned into general tampon chat, am I the only one who used those OB tampons with no applicators? Now I use Tampax, but I used to like those. I used to not be able to figure out how to get tampons in, and the first time I got some to work, they were OB!

[O Latin]

My Mom made us wait to go shopping with her AND Dad when I started. She did not handle things discretely. She made a huge deal about buying a box of generic pads and some feminine hygiene spray. No trashcan in the bathroom. THe trashcan was in the kitchen, so everyone in the family knew you were on your period. She didn't use Midol, so nothing like that was available for cramps - and I got them bad enough to have to miss school.

As soon as I could scrape together some babysitting money, I bought a box of Tampax and never went back.

As an adult, I was in one relationship where the guy didn't believe in tampons. Tough, he didn't get a say in that. I didnt tell him what kind of razor, soap or undies to use.

Your period is a normal fact of life. I don't plan on making a huge deal when my daughter gets there. There will be a box of pads and a box of Playtex tampons under the sink in her bathroom. (NOT GENERIC, there are things you can't skimp on) THere will be proper disposal available in her bathroom. A box of Midol will be in her medicine cabinet. If her cramps are too bad, we will talk to my gyn about options like the pill. No point in making a huge deal about periods or having to be embarassed or suffer.

My mom made a big deal, too. She wanted to take me (and then my sister, when she got to that point) out for a special dinner with just her and my dad and be all excited that I was becoming a woman or whatever. I think this was supposed to make me feel like this was a good thing, not anything to be ashamed about, but it had the opposite effect. If it wasn't a big deal, then why did we have to celebrate it? To this day I go to great lengths to keep my period a secret and just get absolutely mortified if I have to admit that I'm having it. I was in college before I could change my pad in a public bathroom that wasn't completely empty, since I didn't want anyone to hear the crinkling wrappers and guess what was going on.

[ladypuglover]

As a teen in the 80's I got lucky and only had to wear a pad with a belt when I was in the hospital and couldn't get out of bed yet from back surgery. I was on morphine and later codine so I really don't remember much of it. But I do know what they are and being so confused by the nurses trying to get a belt on me without me being hurt from my back pain.

I have to wear pads because I am one of the rare people who got TSS in the mid 80's. I'm told I can get it from my pads too but I change often, so not a problem. If I had known about diva cups or washable pads back in the day I might have done that as it really hurts when a sticky pad decides to flip and grab skin.

[pamplemousse]

I started my period when I was 12, at the end of Christmas vacation. Mom suggested I use pads, which turned out to be minipads, as I, uh, found out when I went back to school. So it was maxipads, which I hated. She had no problem with me using tampons -- she just didn't suggest them right away. (I had 3 older sisters, who all used them -- I guess any reservations she had were gone by that point.) A couple of months later, she took me to the drugstore, bought me both tampons and pads, and let me decide which to use. I picked the tampons and rarely looked back. However, I do also wear pantyliners in case of leakage or in case I get, uh, surprised.

I think the other girls in school were more disapproving of tampon use. I remember one of them said, in a manner that suggested I was a slut or something, that I wore them. Through junior high and into high school, I wouldn't admit to even having periods.

masagoroll wrote:

Also, since this has turned into general tampon chat, am I the only one who used those OB tampons with no applicators? Now I use Tampax, but I used to like those. I used to not be able to figure out how to get tampons in, and the first time I got some to work, they were OB!

I never could get OB or non-rounded-tipped ones to go in right; and the Tampax ones expand enough lengthwise that I'm uncomfortable. The only brands that work well for me are Playtex and Kotex.