In which I am an agent of social change

This is a bragging on myself type of post. If you are not interested in that, skip down and read Jamie's post about RePhresh tampons.

...I'll wait...

Carrying on. After numerous phone calls and letters to many of the major retailers in the area, one has finally answered my call to start carrying Softcups. If you are in the Fayetteville, AR area and are interested in giving these a try, the Wal-Mart on Martin Luther King is now selling them. I have to admit that after Jamie sent me a sample pack, I absolutely fell in love with this product. Though not as friendly to the Earth as a Diva Cup (someday!!) I really enjoy them. I can't feel them at all, and it's nice to not have to worry about getting up in the middle of the night to change a tampon. I still frequently use tampons during the day, but the Softcup has become my go to night time protection product.

So to wrap up: I like Softcups, they sell them in my town now, I want a Diva Cup.

The End.

Ladybag vs. P-Mate

I'm not much of an adventurous peer pee-er (that is, one who pees). I like plumbing, or at the very least, an actual toilet seat. So since I haven't encountered or used either of these products, it's more like a mental would-you-rather type of game for me. Camping season is upon us, so this seems like a good time to pose the question. Which would you prefer?

Exhibit A: The Ladybag

Basically, a plastic bag filled with absorbent crystals. You pee in the bag, the crystals absorb the liquid, and then you can throw away your pee gel. I'm not sure what purpose is served by the four protrusions on the sides. (Want to play Germany or Florida with this one?)

Exhibit B: P-Mate

A funnely thing you hold up to your crotch to enable you to pee while standing. This seems like it would really broaden the horizons about where you can do your business.

Or does everyone else have some foolproof top-secret outdoorsy peeing style I am unaware of?? I don't think I've ever peed outside in my adult life. Is that sad?

The Potatoes!!

So, this is more a personal anecdote.

When I was about twelve or so I came across (or possibly dreamed since I have not been able to EVER find the information again) some piece of something informing me that Russians (at least in my mind, maybe the Irish or the Swedes, again, remember I can not find this information again) used to use potatoes as tampons. At this impressionable age I thought "If this was effective at one point why not go back to it?", and my little brain started to run with the idea.

I drew diagrams for a thing that ultimately looked like the end of a pasta maker that's purpose was for easily cutting potatoes into a shape that would easily fit in someone's vagina. And I spent a lot of time thinking about the project. Marketing, production, advertising. Sadly for me, I had none of the tools necessary to make this product for myself much less market it, and so the idea died.

After being asked to work with my blog the idea resurfaced, though now I think that that would be silly. I don't know that vegetables would make the best tampons because of their instance on rotting.  But we do need to keep our minds open to new alternatives. Anyone else ever come up with crazy ideas for menstrual products?

Live Long and Prosper

The results are in...

My workshop was kick-ass.

Every single one of my evals came back stellar, with comments like

• She was really light hearteed which eliminated a lot of the tension.
• Loved our speaker's personality and the word 'vag'.
• Jamie was a very good speaker and had fun with the presentation.
• Jamie was open and charming and knew her stuff. (To be honest, that one's from my old roommate.)
• Thanks for the info!
• I felt like the presenter was someone I could really relate to and even be friends with.

Tomorrow I'll be talking about this some more at the Central Scholars Symposium at 12:30. It's somewhere in the Union; I think I'm in 233.

Feministing

Feministing did a post about menstrual products today. Hooray!

Apologies for the sparse posts, but lately I have been too busy working on this paper, my workshop, and the vast multitude of other projects I have been putting off all semester. Not great times.

Workshop: It's Your Body. PERIOD.

Hello everyone in the UCM area:

We've decided on a date for my workshop!

It's Your Body. Period.
A workshop about the impact of menstrual products on your body, your wallet & the environment
Presented by Jamie Schlote as part of an honors thesis project
Wednesday, March 26, 1:00pm
Union 237B

"That time of the month." "Aunt Flo's monthly visit." "Riding the crimson tide." There are so many ways for women (and men) to talk about menstrual cycles without ever actually naming them. Why is this? This interactive session explores some of the taboos and anxieties surrounding menstruation, from the way ancient cultures interpreted it to how it is marketed to young girls today. Jamie compares typical drugstore products used to manage menstruation to lesser-known alternatives and reveals the hidden costs carried by both - to women's health, to women's wallets, and the environment.

So yeah. Mark your calendars; I can't wait to see you.

Insteads

Today I finally went to Walgreens to pick up some Insteads. (Walgreens and Target are the only places I've found that sell them.) They come in a cute little purple box. While she was waiting for my debit card stuff to go through, the puzzled cashier was like, "Not pads?" and I didn't really want to say too much because there was a line of guys behind me, so I was just like, "I heard they're really cool. They go.... in." I felt sneaky because I'm pretty sure none of those dudes knew what we were talking about. It was $7.99 for a box of fourteen. I estimate the box would last a good three months, so that seems like an okay deal.

I thought they would be a little similar to the Divacup, and I guess they are in blood-collection strategy, but in appearance they are not. The best way I can describe an Instead is a pink Livestrong bracelet lining a tiny sandwich bag.


No product review yet.
Anyone else have Instead experiences to share?