April 15, 2005

• Is this, like, a fan club for "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant?
• The entire community benefited through the powerful gifts of the women's bleeding cycle. um... ewwww.
• When I was young, I remember reading a story about an adolescent girl who lived in a community that had a blood lodge (perhaps it was called something different). At some point in the story she is being chased by someone or something, and is running so hard and fast that she describes the burning of her muscles and lungs and the blood dripping down her legs (sorry if that's too graphic). Can't remember the specifics, but I found the whole concept of a blood lodge fascinating - so much so that that's the only part of the story that I remember (well, that and the running part). Though, I do remember coming away from that story thinking that the blood lodge was looked on in a negative way. It seemed as though it was more of a quarantine than a sacred celebration. Perhaps that was the thoughts of the young girl in the story. Not sure. Wish I could remember it better. Does this story sound familiar to anyone?
• My sisters asked our mother once how women managed menstrual bleeding before World War One when she was young: "Oh, you wore rags. We washed them out and they hung on the clothesline to dry where everyone could see them. People called them cleaning rags. But everyone who walked by knew." And yes, this story's true.
• I've heard of such places before, but only in passing. They can be described as one form of heterotopia (in the Foucault usage of the word), in that they are places within a society that both reflect or mirror that society and have specific entry restrictions / rights. There are lots of other defining properties of heterotopias such as these (and museums, prisons, the internets etc), but I won't go on. Fascinating.
• And yes, this story's true. This is where the term c*ntrag comes from. Take that languagehat!
• from SEX AND MENSTRUATION IN PRE-HISTORY: (google cache, click CANCEL at the prompt) I must admit, my first reaction to the idea of honoring my menstrual blood was, "Oh, come on. How eighties lesbo!" ha!
• Heterosexual couples might want to explore "Sex Magick" a contemporary understanding of Celtic fertility rights. The mixing of blood and semen produces magical power. see, guys, you can get into this too! or not
• The mixing of blood and semen produces magical power. Yes, it magically reverses my lunch's course through my digestive tract!
• This is where the term c*ntrag comes from. 'On the rag' is pretty well known as a term in the UK, albeit not actually spoken out loud as frequently. Of course, if you care about the environment, using rags and natural sponges then giving them a wash and using them again will reduce waste. If you really, really care about the environment I assume.
• Oh, we're supposed to WASH them?
• Goddess Moons
• Just reading the truncated "Golden Bough", and there are several cultures where menstruating girls are locked up and hidden away from the sun, sometimes in horrifyingly bad and cramped conditions, because of the belief that they are somehow profane and will bring harm to the land/tribe/crops/weather/men. In Chinese culture(s), menstrual blood is considered very "dirty", and any man who sees it has his luck jinxed. A menstruating woman is also considered very low in her luck, as well as spiritually vulnerable to supernatural harm. All very negative stuff. Even today, my grandma and mom still refer to period as "the dirty thing" in our dialect. Sorry, no linkys right now, I'm supposed to be leaving in a few minutes for a potluck dinner.
• alnedra! a potluck dinner! now you have some nice conversation starters about menstruation... If you’re prone to yeast infections at the end of your moon time oh this thread just gets better and better
• biffa - you don't have to use sponges to be environmentally friendly.
• Julia Kristeva talks about society's fear/disgust of menstrual blood in her book The Powers of Horror. Her theory is that menstrual blood is so powerful (if only in our own mind/mythic systems) that we have to make it into something dirty and gross. She says that it is abjected -- made into the abject, or that which is not allowed to be either a subject or object. The abject is that which is not recognized by society at all. It's thrown out, ignored, put outside the boundaries of the clean and acceptable. The power comes from fear (we bleed but do not die) and from it's place as evidence that we're not currently reproducing the babies. It's a good book, if you like French psychoanalysis :) Her book The Black Sun is a really interesting study of depression, too.
• The Keeper is another environmentally friendly menstrual product, very similar to MsVader's link. But these chicks are much more ecofeminist about it. In fact, I would almost swear that the website used to have a section about how you use your menstrual blood to fertilize plants, but I can't find it there anymore.
• Fortunate timing! We're having our piss and shit lodge this weekend. All are welcome to come celebrate the mystery.
• So, when the guys come over and we play video games and watch bad movies and look at disturbing things on the internet, does that count as a lodge? Because if it does, I want me a funny hat.
• I don't think I say 'Thank You' to my Y chromosome enough. I'm gonna take it out for a few beers tonight to show how much I appreciate it.
• The choice between the keeper and the diva cup is just between natural rubber and silicon, respectively. The latter is also made in Canada and is slightly cheaper; I knew I liked silicon for diaphrams, so I went with that. Works great - no more tampons. You still need pads of some kind if your period is heavy - they go on about how much the cup holds, but it's not that much.
• 'The Golden Bough' is by and large a poorly researched load of piffle, sad to say.
• One is reminded of a menstruation limerick.
• Oh, DO stop begging so!
• No, I really shouldn't.
• Right, then, but only because you insisted: There once was a vampire named Mabel whose periods were exceptionally stable by the light of the moon with a silvery spoon she drank herself under the table. thank you, thank you very much.
• This is where the term c*ntrag comes from. Take that languagehat! What about the origin of "douchebag?" That's always confused me since as near as I can tell, there is no bag involved (is there?)
• *pelts fish tick with an assortment of feminine hygiene products*
• *flosses teeth*

• used to have a section about how you use your menstrual blood to fertilize plants

  a plant that could survive that could terraform Mars. In about a month.
• Blood is very good for plants. My fiance's grandfather was a hemotologist working for the New Zealand bloodbank before they could store blood very well - it would go bad after a time and not be usable - and well, let's just say his wife had very well-grown tomatoes.
• The reason people think periods suck is because periods suck. Heh. If I could jettison my Sacred Time into outer space to splatter cheerfully all over the moon, I would.
• The choice between the keeper and the diva cup is just between natural rubber and silicon, respectively. The Keeper of the goo and the Diva of the dross One is made of silicone and feels sleeker than moss; t'other's wrought o' rubber wot is likelier to rot so ye'll find yerself regretting all those chic white pants ye bought.
• jb- My mother worked for the Red Cross in the 70's and did the exact same thing. Blood would expire and she would bring it home for fertilizer. We had prize winning azaleas. Wow, I can't believe that someone else has that story.
• I can't believe that someone else has that story. Why not? Blood and bone (abbatoir leftovers)is about as common a fertiliser as you can buy.
• While I used to hate having to deal with menstruation, it has become a time of peace for me. It has become a time of purging stress and tension, re-energizing, deep-cleaning the house, guaranteed space in the bed (well--most of the time), and towards the end, feeling like I've had a great body massage. I think I might be one of the lucky ones, though.
• What about the origin of "douchebag?" That's always confused me since as near as I can tell, there is no bag involved (is there?) I think there is an actual bag, what the douche comes in or is applied with...A reusable one. Regarding cultural beliefs of menstruation making women impure or profane/polluted, they came in handy a few times when I wanted to get out of going to temple. It was, however, a little disappointing to realize that I couldn't actually wilt flowers by merely touching them during certain times of the month.
• Darshon -- really? I've never had alone bed time at that time of the month... (how to put as delicately as you... there's no way.. but you know what I mean) This is a "problem" I've not dealt with.
• I mean, when I'm with someone. When I'm single... of course.
• What about the origin of "douchebag?" This guy Kevin who lived around the block from me when I was growing up. Total douchebag.
• Totally. I hated that guy.
• What about the origin of "douchebag?" From the OED 2. attrib. and Comb., as douche-bath; douche-bag, (a) a sterile receptacle for the fluid when administering a douche; freq. applied to the whole apparatus used for douching, including rubber tubing, nozzles, etc.; (b) U.S. slang, a general term of disparagement, esp. for an unattractive or boring person; cf. BAG n. 17 ; douche can, glass = douche bag (a). 1908 C. MACFARLANE Ref. Handbk. Gynecol. for Nurses 35 Hang the *douche-bag eighteen inches above the level of the patient's hips. 1934 H. MILLER Tropic of Cancer 109 Over the bedstead hangs a douche-bag which he keeps for emergencies. 1966 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 20 Mar. 41/2 A few belts, a tweed beret and a douche bag were all that was left of Eva Braun's envied wardrobe. 1967 Amer. Speech XLII. 228 Douche bag, n. phr., an unattractive co-ed. By extension, any individual whom the speaker desires to deprecate. 1968 Punch 20 Nov. 718/2 ‘Send them away!’ she hissed. ‘If they are found here, those douche-bags will incriminate us all.’ 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 24/5, I had begun to like the naturalistic black writer who will never live in his native land. Pollution, violence, and the douche bag of American problems have something to do with it.
• I've often thought it's a shame that the American culture is seriously lacking in any rights of passage rituals. Although the thought of blood, especially menstrual blood may seem a bit squicky, we're talking about a woman's ability to create and nurture life. That truly is a wonderous thing to be celebrated. Furthermore, there aren't very many constructive ways to celebrate becoming a woman (or a man for that matter), instead we have to blunder along and try to figure it out for ourselves. There are a few rituals that qualify (bar/bat mitzvahs, quinceañeras) as well as political landmarks such as voting and drinking, but none of those really celebrate the body or carry much self-reflective meaning. I remember when I got my period for the first time, and while I had a general sense of awe the experience was more embarassing than anything else. I felt like it should mean something and I felt like it should give me a connection to other women, but it didn't really. I was gratified to read Darshon's post, because I have come to think of my menstrual cycle as a burdon rather than an opportunity to get in touch with my body and my environment. Don't get me wrong, I'm not fond of cramps or tampons or PMS, but struggling against it every month seems, in retrospect, like a silly thing to do.
• An eon ago, the douche bag and the enema bag were the same. Red rubber fluid reservoir with a hole in the margin on top so one could hang it from a handy nail. It was rectangular, and could also be used as a hot water bottle. A narrow hose led from the cap to a spray thingie at the end. The ones I remember were shaped differently, but you get the idea.
• How come a douchebag looks like a hot water bottle?
• Thinking about having to deal with menstruation every month makes me glad I'm of the weaker sex. What a hassle. Long live the Y chromosome! I also remember reading in the past year or so about women who choose to get off the cycle all together by staying on the pill. There's some argument that it may be healthier to do so as it more closely mimics our evolutionary path, that of childbirth and breastfeeding reducing the frequency of periods. That's a pretty hefty biological investment washed away each month. A similar argument can be made for men's lifespan's being shorter than women's. Constantly producing sperm throughout the adult life as an added biological burden on the system, being the idea. Not sure about either argument, but something I think would be interesting to see investigated.