Category: menstruation

black and yellow fatbike beside mountain bikes Cycles and (Perceptions) of Performance
cycling · fitness · menstruation

Cycles and (Perceptions) of Performance

amysmithphd

Another FIFI blogger posted this article on the FIFI facebook page the other day and it got me thinking. In the article they discuss research around menstrual cycles and fitness. The article (and research) is interesting to me, and something I’ve thought about in relation to my own experience. Here are some quotes from the article:

  • Female athletes have faster reaction times and make fewer errors when they have their period – even though they feel their performance suffers compared to other phases of their menstrual cycle, new research suggests.
  • “Changes in spatial cognition could, in theory, be a contributing risk factor for injury, especially in fast-paced sports that require precise, millisecond accuracy in interactions with moving objects,” Flaminia Ronca, a sports scientist at University College London, and colleagues explain in their published paper. Female athletes, for example, often report feeling clumsy around ovulation or that their performance worsens in the latter part of their menstrual cycle, the luteal phase, and when they have their period.
  • But studies trying to measure those perceived effects have been inconclusive, with strength and power possibly peaking around ovulation, and endurance perhaps declining during menstruation.
  • The study couldn’t explore individual differences in cognitive performance across menstrual cycle phases, and it relied on menstruating females reporting their current phase on test day (two-thirds used a period tracking app).
  • On the whole, female athletes who menstruated tended to perform worse on cognitive tasks in the late follicular phase of their cycle, as they approached ovulation, and in the later luteal phase, just before bleeding.
  • But their cognitive performance peaked during menstruation, and that was despite these female athletes feeling worse when they had their period and suspecting it negatively impacted their performance. “What is surprising is that the participants’ performance was better when they were on their period, which challenges what women, and perhaps society more generally, assume about their abilities at this particular time of the month,” Ronca told The Guardian’s Tobi Thomas.

This was not something I started paying attention to until I was in my early 40s, but as soon as I started thinking about it I noticed an increase in energy level and attitude during my period. It was especially noticeable during the first couple days, so much so that I used to joke that I was in beast mode and felt like I could devour any competition (this is laughable – I am very much a back of the pack competitor regardless of my spirit and/or drive). After reading this article I’m wondering if some of the injuries I sustained were related to that extra pep in my step. Was my mind trying to go harder than my body could handle? Similarly I have always felt an energy lull about halfway through my monthly cycle and tried to time that with a 3 weeks “on” and 1 week “rest” training schedule when I was doing more events.

The section in this article where they say that in some cases performances peaked during periods but the participant felt like they were performing worse made me wonder about the stigma around menstruation. There have been a lot of conversations in recent years about professional athletes and periods, light-colored uniforms that might show leaks, and other related circumstances. I can’t help but wonder if some of the sense of poor performance is tied to stigma, worry, etc. (and of course, just un/comfortableness).

How about you – does this article resonate? What have your experiences been with regard to periods and performance, injury, and (perceived?) energy?

Amy Smith is a professor of Media & Communication and a communication consultant who lives north of Boston. Her research interests include gender communication and community building. Amy spends her movement time riding the basement bicycle to nowhere, walking her two dogs, and waiting for it to get warm enough for outdoor swimming in New England.

Period underwear in midlife
advice · clothing · fitness · menstruation

Period underwear in midlife

elan.paulson

Not only an excellent FIFI blog publisher, editor, and author, Sam is also a great support for us bloggers. More than once she has mentioned the topic of period underwear as “blogfodder” (which should be a real word if it is not already).

Each time, I have thought oh no no, I am too shy to write about my experience with period underwear. Too shy in mid-life…when in my 20s at coffee houses I was enthusiastically delivering poems like “Down There” by Chicana poet Sandra Cisneros.

But lately I decided to ensure this topic never landed on my life regrets list, so here we are.

“Most common regrets of life” image includes a list of common regrets, such as not following my passion or too much time worrying. I’ve added below the list in different blue font “Not discussing period underwear.”

I first bought period underwear on a whim through Amazon about 5 years ago. Looking at user reviews first, I had noticed that the most common complaints about certain types were lack of fit, propensity for leaks, and a noticeable “diaper sound.” Period underwear varies in style (briefs, bikini, etc.) and flow support (light, heavy, etc.). I went middle of the road: a mid-priced 3-pack of high cuts for mid-level flow…in colours I didn’t hate.

And since that time I have come to love them. Just. Love. Them.

The fit has been fine. No leaks or smells. I can wear them day and night, at home or travelling. I can wear them for any of my fitness activities (except watersports, of course). I can wear a pair for 12 hours with no fear of toxic shock syndrome. I don’t have to run around stashing extra disposable products in purses or pockets, discovering them months later in unraveled pieces.

For two decades I had felt guilty about the amount of disposable product waste I was generating. I always feared the potential oopses with menstrual cups, so never tried. I took “depo provera” shots for a few years to stifle flow, but it never fully worked.

Now I’ve traded garbage waste for extra water usage (hand wash is apparently the best way to clean period underwear), but I feel fine about it. (Occasionally when I am feeling lazy I will throw in the machine.) I often wash them while I am taking a shower, as everything is already getting wet and soaped up anyway.

I started with three pairs, as per the backpacker’s rule: wear a pair, dry a pair, and have a back up. Then, out of curiosity about other brands, about a year ago I bought another 3-pack. I haven’t calculated the cost difference of not buying disposables, but I’m certain I’ve saved money.

They’ve work great for me, having simplified my menstruation life. I wish someone had handed me a pair in my late teens. Like Nicole, who describes her own menopause journey, I will not be sad to see my period end: it will be a time to celebrate my health and other things. But I am happy that the last part of my journey will not have included disposable products.

If you’ve read this far, perhaps you’re still curious: but what about the diaper sound? When new, the absorbent lining sounds to me like the noise track pants make when the legs swish together. Or maybe a crinkly cat toy? I don’t hear it at all once they are on, and anyway my comfort is not worth avoiding the occasional quiet swish. Instead, I like to think of my underwear as occasionally whispering to me, “We got you.”

fitness · menstruation · soccer

Marginal gains and menstruation

Sam B3 Comments

I love the idea of marginal gains. See Tracy’s blog post about the idea here.

I first heard about in the sports content reading Faster, Higher, Stronger: How Sports Science Is Creating a New Generation of Superathletes–and What We Can Learn from Them which, by the way, is a fun book about sports performance.

The main idea as I recall it was that when you are working with elite athletes at the top of their game you aren’t going to be able to make big changes and see big improvements. All the athletes are working at near capacity. Instead you focus on making lots of small improvements in all areas.

My favourite example concerned cyclists and sleep quality. It turns out, not surprisingly, that athletes sleep better at home. How to replicate those conditions on the road? The coach had them bring along pillows and blankets from home.

But coaches traditionally haven’t much attention to women’s menstrual patterns. Until now.

See Ending period ‘taboo’ gave USA marginal gain at World Cup.

” One emerging issue in women’s sport is the menstrual cycle and its impact on performance, player health and injury risk,” explains Dawn Scott, the USWNT’s fitness coach, exclusively to The Telegraph. “I’ve known about these effects, the research, for a long time – but working with 23 players, I had always struggled to know how to accurately monitor that and how to individualise strategies for players.”

It’s a great story. Go read it! But what I love is that the coaching team decided to be open and talk about it–not keeping the competitive edge a secret.

““We want to end the taboo,” says Scott. “At the elite level, but also for teenage girls. They should feel comfortable talking about this with their coaches.” Bruinvels admits that awareness and improved education are key motivations for her work. “Often we are afraid of discussing this because we don’t really understand it,” she says. “I feel particularly for male coaches, who wonder how they would start this discussion.”

Open air stadium with soccer field

 Kota Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta, Indonesia
cycling · menstruation

Of Period Puns and Bicycling Groups (Guest Post)

alisonreiheld3 Comments

My husband and youngest son have been bicycling together for awhile now, long distances and fast, with other groups and just with each other. If you’ve been following my posts here at FIAFI, you know I sometimes cycle as well, recreational-only and mostly with Son 2 though sometimes en famille with friends. Well, this past Monday night, I took a non-family bike ride. Honestly, my first in… probably decades. I’ve met some of my husband’s cycling friends, which includes a lot of great women, and they and my husband have been talking up a regular St. Louis bike ride for women and nonbinary folks called… wait for it… The Monthly Cycle.

The first Monday of every month, The Monthly Cycle meets outside a gelateria on South Grand in St. Louis. Bert and Son 2 dropped me off around 6:30 and then carried on to their own bikes event nearby (a fast hard ride of folks who take it seriously). Women of all shapes and sizes trickled in, forming a magnificent clot on the sidewalk until the ride began at 7 pm. The total eventual headcount according to one of the organizers? 53. Several of them, some of whom I knew and some of whom I didn’t, helped me get properly kitted out with a forward beam-light and some medical tape to help fasten my helmet, which had an unfortunate buckle failure. A few were in costume for the October Halloween theme–rides are not usually themed–and ready to make 3 stops for ghost stories at allegedly haunted venues. Unaccustomed to city riding on trafficked streets, and new to riding in large groups, I took no pictures while moving. Thanks to the ghost story stops, though, I was able to snap a few shots that reflect what went on.

Top left to bottom right: a woman dressed as a clown with white facepaint, red facepaint, red curly wig, and red balloons on her bike looks up something on her phone while the group listens to a ghost story at one of the stops; the fountain at old Lemp Mansion, its multiple levels dripping onto one another with water frozen in the shot like icicles; the group lined up listening to one of the ride leaders read a ghost story about a Bed and Breakfast near Lafayette Square; the white block of the old Lemp Mansion with the pride flag from the group’s sweep-rider (who makes sure no one is left behind) in the edge of the frame; the group listens to a paranormal enthusiast talk about the ghosts at Lemp Mansion, with images on a tablet he brought along.

Not depicted but awesome:

  • the cyclists with wifi enabled speakers blasting out playlists with varying tastes; one person had a playlist of Halloween-themed music from both radio and musicals including Monster Mash and Thriller and songs from Rocky Horror Picture Show, while another was playing Rihana and Brittney Spears and Spanish-language tunes
  • occasional warbling singing-along to the tunes, while riding; hilarious when going over bumpy roads
  • the kids and families and other friendly residents hanging out on their porches in the dark who gave friendly shouts and waved at us as we passed through neighborhoods inhabited by a wide range of people (this ride made no attempt to stick to the middle class white notion of “safe neighborhoods” that so dominates cycling culture in many places)
  • the guy who, as we passed through a commercial district, stepped out onto the street to give every passing cyclist a high 5
  • the many folks who asked “what is this? it looks awesome!”–men but also women in cars and walking and riding their own bikes who we passed along the way–to hear a friendly shout of “It’s the monthly cycle! Women and nonbinary only!” with an added shout of “look us up!” for the folks who were presenting as women or nonbinary
  • the riders who held the intersections as we came through to prevent cars from riding into us as much as possible, and the uncountable “thank you”s that riders shouted to drivers who waited, whether patiently or impatiently, for the whole crew to pass
  • riders shouting “hole!” as they passed a big one in the road to alert those behind them, “car up!” if a car was coming toward the group to encourage everyone to get into just one lane, “car back” if a car was behind the group, and calling out turns or “slowing” so that folks in the back knew what was happening
  • the shared drinks and snacks at the Tower Pub where the ride typically winds up
Left to right/top left to bottom: The author in the background, in mottled white and gray tights, and black shirt with reflective striping, smiling; the author’s front wheel, decked out in spokelights courtesy of her spouse; the author’s selfie with cyclists in the background

All told, it was a little under 10 miles, total, with some hills. Enough to work a little but totally doable by someone who doesn’t bike much. It started around 7pm and I was all done and heading home a little after 10, needing only to bike a few blocks down the street from the Tower Pub to the place my husband and Son 2 had ended up for the ritual post-ride drinks and snacks at their own habitual endspot.

I am planning on hitting the Monthly Cycle up at the beginning of November with at least one friend who saw my social media post about it and was instantly all-in. I don’t know if I will stick with it through winter, given the cost of winter gear and the hazards of riding slippery roads. But the ride itself was a delight from start to finish and the folks could not have been more welcoming.

Is there a Monthly Cycle or something similar near you? A no-men cycling event or other sports community? One that isn’t anti-men, but is about a space for the kinds of relations that people who aren’t men can have with each other when men aren’t part of the group and are, at most, passed by just for a little while? What do you think the value of such groups is?

fitness · menopause · menstruation

Will this ever end? #menopause

Sam B

Cate and I joke about being the women menopause forgot.

We’ve both blogged about it. See Cate’s super popular post about still menstruating at 53 and a half and my post from four years ago about being late to the menopause party.

Luckily, healthwise, it’s not a bad thing.

I was happy to read in the New York Times that there’s some health benefits to late menopause as well.

There’s actually some very good news for you if you went through menopause later rather than earlier: You may live longer.

True, late menopause is associated with an increased risk of breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers. But “on balance, most of it is good news: Later age at menopause is associated with better health, longer life and less cardiovascular disease,” said Ellen B. Gold, a professor emeritus in public health at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine and principal investigator of the university’s Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, or SWAN.

Those who go through menopause later are at lower risk for heart disease and stroke, and also tend to have stronger bones, less osteoporosis and fewer fractures than those who go through menopause earlier. The average age of menopause, when a woman has her last menstrual period, is 51, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Even my Garmin knows something’s up! Just today it suggested that I start tracking my periods. That made me laugh. The software knows how old I am.

Good luck with tracking and predicting Garmin. These days it’s more like the menstrual lottery.

Crossfit · fitness · menopause · menstruation

Top Ten Posts in May, #ICYMI

Sam B5 Comments
  1. Women, sport and sex tests: Why Caster Semenya matters a great deal
  2. On vibrators as athletic trophies, or when a prize is not a prize
  3. Sam gets told “get off the road fat bitch”
  4. I’m 53 and a 1/2 and I’m still menstruating
  5. The Latest Weird Thing About a Stiff Neck
  6. Crotch shots, upskirts, sports reporting, and the objectification of female athletes’ bodies
  7. Harassment is not a compliment (Guest post)
  8. The humbling moment when you go back to lifting weights
  9. CrossFit and Women’s Bodies
  10. End Game strikes some wrong notes for size acceptance
Image description: A calendar that says “May” on a green wall. Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash .
cycling · menstruation · Sat with Nat

Camping and cycling while menstruating. 

natalieh (she/her)4 Comments


It’s packing day for the PWA Friends for Life Bike Rally. Wahoooooooooo!

And. Well. I’m expecting my period any moment. I find the logistics of managing the fluids a bit tricky cycling. If I’m riding hard and it’s a heavy day I need to stop frequently to deal with my Diva Cup. I also need to go to the bathroom frequently as the fluid I’ve retained earlier in the week works its way out of my system. 

I’m more tired, achy and grumpy from the cramps. While exercise is supposed to help I find the pain taps out my resilience. I was super bummed out last month to realize I’d be camping and cycling on my period. It’s just a little more planning but the big thing is I have a harder time being comfortable in the saddle of my bike. My groin is more sensitive. It’s a nuisance more than anything. My back and hip ache so I’m glad I sprung for a thermarest cot for comfort’s sake. 

I’m hoping all the excitement and exercise will distract me. I’m packing lots of ibuprofen and wipes. Here’s to successfully managing the mischief!

I’m also SUPER WEEPY. I’m pleasantly taken aback by the ongoing flow of support from friends and family as I embark on this 600 km challenge. I had some serious doubts about raising the money and cycling the distance. I’m feeling pretty confident if a little nervous. 

Our team is looking for your support so please consider making a donation. I’m hoping we’ll hit $50,000!

I’m sure we’ll have updates as we go along. Talk to you all next Saturday!

menstruation · Sat with Nat · Uncategorized

Perimenopausal Period Tracking

natalieh (she/her)16 Comments

I read this really great article about youth feeling empowered by period tracker apps, can I find it right now, nope!

What struck me about the article was the claim that period tracking apps normalize menstruation and empower youth to talk about their periods.

It’s a very different perspective than my own feelings around tracking my period. One of the main reasons I asked for a tubal ligation after my second son’s birth was being fed up with tracking and worrying about unexpected pregnancy. My partner got a vasectomy as we had agreed we were each in charge of own bodies and baby making capacity. 

Years later at a colposcopy clinic I was getting a follow-up to an abnormal pap. The nurse asked me when my last period was. I didn’t know. She then asked what birth control I was using. In the moment it didn’t occur to me that a one time surgery constitutes “using birth control” so I said I didn’t. I was then chastised for not being careful, that I should know better and how could they take a biopsie if I was pregnant?

That always bothers me, that I am, at all costs, to always take care of any potential child, to always be on guard about being pregnant. Seriously?

I then explained the surgeries my partner and I had. The nurse again pointed out I could be pregnant and not know. I replied that in the improbable scenario that I had become pregnant I’d probably clue in after a couple months. 

That was some time ago and I hadn’t really tracked my period as it was fairly predictable and had a gentle onset. 

Not so any more! After being surprised a few times by the sudden and furious onslaught while wearing beige pants (I only own one pair! How? How is it always the beige ones?) I started wearing Luna panties every day. Yup. Always ready. 

One day my partner offered that I might find it helpful to track to see if my period really was as erratic as it seemed. 

I downloaded iperiod in August and started tracking. The cutesie design instantly annoyed me. The euphemism for sex is, get this, a Love Connection with a little heart. Oh ya. No fucking here, it’s all about the love. 

I wondered about the design and the assumptions about what is esthetic ally pleasing. If you are interested here’s an article looking at the “girlie” designs of these apps:
http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/08/period-apps-where-big-data-meets-girly-graphics.html

So after four months I’ve discovered a few things. First, my cycle does fluctuate between 21 and 30 days. It is more wonky than it used to be. 

Second, I regularly get hot flashes, pimples and lower back pain and these are related to my cycle. 

I don’t feel empowered with this information, it just is. The tracking has helped me keep it all in perspective but I’m not sure how long I’ll do it for.

  

I’d be curious to hear about your thoughts on period tracking whether you are a menstruating human or not!

aging · fitness · menopause · menstruation · sleep

Tired of Losing Sleep over Menopause? HRT Could Be the Answer

Tracy I10 Comments

Originally I was going to write a post about whether to try or not to try Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for relief of some of my menopausal symptoms. Most notably, the symptom that was doing me in was disturbed sleep due to hot flashes and night sweats. I used to be a great sleeper, but for the past few years my sleep has gotten worse and worse with no end in sight.

When I went to Kincardine for the Kincardine Women’s Triathlon I shared a room with a lifelong friend. At night, she just put her head down and slept, then woke up in the morning. What? When I asked her about her enviable sleeping ability, she attributed it to HRT.  She just slaps on a bit of estrogen gel in the morning, pops a progestin pill at night (to counterbalance the influx of estrogen so that there is no build up in the lining of the uterus, thereby minimizing the risk of uterine cancer), and away she goes.

Bam! No more hot flashes. No more night sweats.

Besides taking care of the hot flashes, HRT has a few other benefits. According to this article, the benefits of HRT include:

 

  • less vaginal dryness, bladder leaks and recurrent urinary tract infections
  • better sex drive
  • reduced risk of bone fractures associated with osteoporosis
  • reduced risk of bowel cancer

I’ve not had all of the issues they point to, but I have lost a bit of mojo. And who wouldn’t want to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and its associated bone fractures and of bowel cancer?

But there are also some risks associated with HRT.

 

I’ve had the conversation about HRT with my doctor in the past. She did her due diligence and explained that the current state of knowledge indicates some slight increase in certain health risks. The research shows that it slightly increases your risk of the following conditions: breast cancer, ovarian cancer, blood clots (embolisms), deep vein thrombosis, and stroke. That’s not great.

In the past, I decided that rather than take on any risk for symptoms that seemed, at the time, more like inconveniences than serious health issues, I would tough it out. But the fact of the matter is that over time, poor sleep quality has become more than a minor inconvenience.

So this time when I spoke to my doctor I asked her to candidly review the risks with me again.  Given my medical history and family medical history–no breast cancer that I know of in the family–the increase in risk is akin to the health risks associated with drinking two alcoholic beverages per day. My reasoning (specious, I’m sure) was that I don’t drink at all, so there’s room to take on a bit of risk.

When the research first came out, my mother had been on HRT for 15 years. Back then, it was thought to be a magic solution that women could stay on for the rest of their lives. But when news of risk came, many women, including my mum, abandoned HRT.

The latest studies suggest that there is a safe period of time–5 years–that a woman can be on HRT for menopause and have the benefits outweigh the risks. My doctor explained all of this to me and I decided I wanted to give it a shot. So she prescribed the same thing my friend was using: estrogel in the morning and progestin at night.

I started the very same day I got the prescription, not waiting until the morning. The gel dose is measured out in pumps. The recommended amount on the package is two pumps. My doctor recommended starting with one pump a day for a week. If that did nothing, then go to two pumps.

After a week, I was experiencing no change at all, so I increased the dose. Every morning after my shower I rub two pumps of estrogen gel over a large-ish area of my body, moving to different parts on different days on my doctor’s recommendation. Sometimes it’s both arms, or my abdomen, or my inner thighs.

Two weeks went by, and still it seemed not a lot better. Then, just this past week, I’ve been seeing a change. I haven’t had a hot flash during the day in over a week. And remarkably, I haven’t had my sleep disturbed by night sweats in a few days. And despite the flood that destroyed my condo on the weekend, I’ve been sleeping peacefully, not tossing and turning nearly as much as I have been for the past couple of years.

One thing I want to make clear is this: menopause is not on its own what I would call a health issue. It’s not an illness or anything like that. It’s a change that brings with it some inconveniences. I could have put up with the occasional hot flash and for a long time that’s exactly what I intended to do. But consistently poor sleep is, as far as I’m concerned, a health issue. Things came to head for me this spring and summer when I hit a wall. If I didn’t find a solution to my disrupted sleep, I could not continue with the training I was doing. And so for the summer, I’ve really backed off on my training in favour of sleeping longer to make up for sleeping poorly.

Now that I’ve had a few days of better sleep, I’m kind of excited at the prospect that the HRT will continue to help me in that area.  I’m really glad that I roomed with my friend in Kincardine or I may never have considered revisiting the conversation about HRT with my doctor. I’m also glad to have a doctor who is willing to take the time to explain to me the pros and cons of HRT. And what a gift to be able to live the next five years with good quality sleep!

If you’ve entered menopause and are suffering because you’re not sleeping, it’s worth having the conversation with your doctor. Not every woman is a good candidate for HRT — it depends on a lot on your and your family’s medical history. But those of us who can benefit from it with only a slight increased health risk may decide, as did I, that the benefits are worth the risk.

For more about HRT, read this primer on the Mayo Clinic website.

 

 

athletes · body image · menstruation

Bleeding while running and ending menstrual stigma

Sam B6 Comments

An awful lot of people have sent us the story about the woman who ran a marathon while menstruating and asked us to say something about it. Since I’m still menstruating despite my age (see an upcoming post called “Menopause: Seems I’m Late to the Party”) I thought I’d chime in.

Here’s the People Magazine version: Woman Runs London Marathon Without a Tampon, Bleeds Freely to Raise Awareness. That should give you a sense of how much attention this story is getting.

Kiran Gandhi, who has played drums for singer M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation, decided to run the London Marathon without a tampon. Gandhi let her blood flow freely to raise awareness about women who have no access to feminine products and to encourage women to not be embarrassed about their periods.

“I ran the whole marathon with my period blood running down my legs,” the 26-year-old wrote of the April race on her website.

Oh, and for God’s sake, whatever you do, DO NOT READ THE COMMENTS!

 

Here’s what Kiran has to say, in her own words, from her blog:

I RAN THE WHOLE MARATHON WITH MY PERIOD BLOOD RUNNING DOWN MY LEGS. I got my flow the night before and it was a total disaster but I didn’t want to clean it up. It would have been way too uncomfortable to worry about a tampon for 26.2 miles. I thought, if there’s one person society won’t fuck with, it’s a marathon runner. If there’s one way to transcend oppression, it’s to run a marathon in whatever way you want. On the marathon course, sexism can be beaten. Where the stigma of a woman’s period is irrelevant, and we can re-write the rules as we choose. Where a woman’s comfort supersedes that of the observer. I ran with blood dripping down my legs for sisters who don’t have access to tampons and sisters who, despite cramping and pain, hide it away and pretend like it doesn’t exist. I ran to say, it does exist, and we overcome it every day. The marathon was radical and absurd and bloody in ways I couldn’t have imagined until the day of the race.

I think there’s lots and lots to love about this in a society in which women’s menstruation is hidden and stigmatized. Think about all the BLUE BLOOD spilled on television commercials advertising “sanitary”(what the heck does that even mean?) products.

I’m not sure how effective this is a measure to raise awareness about women who have no access to “feminine” products but I take her point about stigma and embarrassment. Indeed, this was confirmed for me reading the comments on our Facebook page when I shared her story. There were more than a few people who thought it was disgusting and unsanitary. Exclamation marks were used.

They ought to read  IT’S NOT “UNSANITARY.” PERIOD.

Here’s an excerpt:

And then there’s the term “sanitary products” or “feminine hygiene products” to describe pads and tampons. That is so cold and distancing. We don’t call a band-aid a “sanitary napkin,” do we? No, we don’t. We call it a band-aid. When somebody gets shot in the arm and blood seeps through his shirt, he doesn’t blush and hurry to cover it up or run from the room full of shame and embarrassment. He worries about taking care of himself! And in turn, we don’t wrinkle our noses in disgust or revulsion and whisper scandalously to our neighbors. We worry about taking care of him! The message is clear: regular blood is a normal part of life and the experience of the person bleeding is most important. Menstrual blood, on the other hand, is dirty and shameful and the experience of the person bleeding, rather than being important, is something to cover up.

Women learn to be disgusted and angry with their periods, because they “get in the way” of “normal” life (i.e. the way a man lives). We distance ourselves from our blood and feel disgusted by it, even though it is, for all intents and purposes, a clean and nutrient-filled substance. For God’s sake, babies are swaddled in this stuff for the first 9 months of life—it is clearly healthy and safe!

Here’s Everyday Health on this topic, ” Menstruating Women Are Not “Dirty”: No way! There are many ancient menstrual myths about women being “unclean” when they menstruate. Some cultures and religions separate menstruating women from others during their time of the month. Menstrual blood is not dirty or dangerous. Although the thickness and color of the blood might change depending on the day of your cycle and your hormone levels, it’s not dirty or gross and you should not allow old beliefs about it to make you feel unclean.”

The belief that women are unclean when menstruating leads to nothing good. It’s led to the segregation of girls and women during menstruation. It’s a barrier to girls’ schooling in many parts of the world. See What Life is Like When Getting Your Period Means You are Shunned.

I also think Kiran got something just right when she picked a marathon to do this. Marathons aren’t for the squeamish. Don’t believe me? Here’s the five most disgusting marathon photos of all time. Click through. I dare you.

You can see from those photos that she wasn’t the first women to finish a marathon covered in blood.

In 1996, Uta Pippig became the first woman to win the Boston Marathon three times in a row. This historic accomplishment seems even more remarkable when you consider that she reportedly crossed the finish line with menstrual blood and diarrhea dripping down her legs — and live television cameras rolling.

As Pippig recalls, “I started having stomach cramps about 5 miles into the race, and shortly after I had diarrhea. I was self-conscious [about it] not only for me — but in a caring way for our sport.”

She considered dropping out 7 or 8 miles in and even walked a little. Although uncomfortable, her focus shifted from winning the race to staying in it and running as well as she could in this situation.

Later in the marathon, she admits “I was frightened when I felt blood flowing down my legs.” That red trickle was widely attributed to menstrual problems, which Pippig says was a misconception. After winning the race, she was diagnosed with “ischemic colitis,” or inflammatory bowel disease.

What’s my experience with this? I haven’t ever run while menstruating and gone without tampons but I have chosen to ride that way.

Why? It’s not that I can’t afford menstrual products now though I remember being a student and that being an issue. (I’m still shocked when I see places giving them away. Our business school has free tampons and pads in the washrooms, for women who presumably could afford their own. And when I’m there the student in me is still tempted to take a stash for later.)

Here’s why: I don’t find tampons that comfortable for long rides. It’s hard to find a place to change them anyway without bathrooms and making do with roadside pee breaks. I’m cerainly not going to stick a maxi pad on to a bike short chamois. Bike shorts have their own built in padding and they’re black so there’s no visibility issue. And I have quite a few pairs of old bike shorts I’m not worried about staining. I don’t think I’d run that way, not because menstrual blood freaks me out–it doesn’t, but because I don’t think I’d like the squishy wet soggy feeling of running with bloody clothes. But that’s me.

How about you? What do you think of Kiran’s choice as a move towards ending the stigma around menstruation? Would you do it? Why/why not?

Natalie has blogged about menstruation in her posts Period Panties and Have Diva Cup, will travel?and Tracy has  written about menstruation and women’s sports, see The Taboo of Menstruation in Sports.