A friend from Paris recently was rather flabbergasted at having to do an entire tour of Glorietta and Greenbelt one afternoon in search of tampons, shuffling from pharmacy to supermarket to convenience store and finding the one and only box of Playtex tampons in the whole of Makati. So, why are the options in the market for absorbing that flow pitifully inadequate? Supermarket shelves, in fact, overflow with sanitary pads designed like boats with wings.
Unattractive, uncomfortable, and, frankly, neither very sanitary nor practical at the end of the day. Relying on these during your period curtails not just your activities but your choice of clothing as well.
The reluctance to use tampons in this country is attributable in part to outdated cultural beliefs predicated on astoundingly misinformed and unscientific notions of virginity and modesty. They are designed for all women who bleed, be they single, married, virgin, non-virgin, straight, lesbian, bisexual, sexually repressed, sexually reserved, or sexually voracious.
They are designed for all flows, light, heavy or regular. If it did, then your menstrual blood would not be able to flow. Granted, there is the real risk of toxic shock syndrome TSS when using tampons, but it is not very common. While using a tampon requires inserting something inside your vagina, the accompanying discomfort and awkwardness is really quite fleeting, and the applicators the tampons are encased in do make it easier to slide the thing in.
Propagating erroneous beliefs about the hymen and the use of tampons consciously or subconsciously—with the full collusion of the patriarchy, which includes the Church —is dangerous, misleading and unfair, and keeps women in a perpetual state of weakness, ignorance, and shame. And when you want to swim. Or do yoga. Or sleep without fear of leaking. Or even have sex.
Yes, period sex is a thing. There are people into it. Tampons, on the other hand, have crisp, concise, matter-of-fact brand names that sound rather clinical: Tampax, Playtex, and o. Of course, whatever a woman allows access into her vagina, be it a dick, a dildo, or a tampon, is and should be her choice. But, like the person we elect as president , I would wish that that choice is an informed and intelligent one.
Wiser is the author of Making Love in Spanish , a novel published earlier this year by Anvil Publishing and available in National Book Store and Powerbooks, as well as online. When not assuming her Sasha Fierce alter-ego, she takes on the role of serious journalist and media consultant.
For comments and questions, e-mail [email protected]. Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author in her private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of Preen. Follow Preen on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter.
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