i just have a quick question...

[ennyl.livejournal.com]

sorry for cross-posting...

am i the only woman who likes getting her period. seriously, i look forward to it. i mean, i didn't always feel this way, but after taking control of what i was putting in my body (hello keeper, the infrequent organic tampon, and cherry pit heating pad; good-bye scary bleached tampons and aspirin/ibuprofen.) and around my body (just a towel at night and, i mean, who doesn't love washable pads?), it's something i look forward to every month. i'm much more sexually-aroused when i'm on it, and i feel like i truly am in touch with my body, women, and nature, the cosmos, etc., in general.

does anyone else feel this way?

i just felt i should post this because so much of what i've been reading in this community has been not-so-positive. don't get me wrong: i understand that our vaginas can do weird and scary things, and we need a forum for discussing those things, but where's the celebration?

Comments

[tarafuzz.livejournal.com]

heh, i can't say i share your senitments at the moment because i'm suffering bad cramps and i'm stuck on campus for 8 more hours (i need a hot, hot bath!). ;)

[misfitmonkey.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you and I love your icon. That was a great movie. Anyway, I just starting using my Keeper today and I was SO excited. I feel cool and in tune with myself and I'm usually a little more cheerful when I'm menstruating too. The bad part for me is BEFORE my period, when I break out and get moody and depressed. It all goes away once my period comes.

I know where you're coming from and I think your attitude is great. :)

[lilacsmack.livejournal.com]

Yay, happy posts are so much more fun to read!

[sleepyhouse.livejournal.com]

I actually look forward to it too :). I've put together a sort of first day ritual I do, to make it a really big postive event (and having the keeper really changes things!). I am an American living abroad at the moment, and sometimes you miss little things, so on the first day of my period I always treat myself to an expensive American magazine (this month it was Bust) and a lunch of mac and cheese, the ultimate comfort food, that I get occasionally in care packages, and relax in a nice hot bath. Hmm, unfortunatly I have another 2.5 weeks until the next time it comes around.

[pfc-rat.livejournal.com]

Give people some time. I just got over hating it completely to a general state of acceptance, but am still a while away from celebrating it.

Maybe in a few more years.

[gigglinggorgon.livejournal.com]

the menstrual_hut community is a very period-positive place :) I like getting my period too, even though the first couple of days are hard for me :)

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

though my periods have always been pretty hard on my physically, i do sort of look forward to them. not to the being sick, crampy, bloated, and grouchy part - but to the feeling of being healthy, powerful, and connected to myself and womanhood. i just ordered a keeper, and i am looking forward to trying it out - i hope it does help with the cramps and all of that, but even if it doesn't, i think it will make for a more comfortable, positive experience for me.

[jaded-dreamer.livejournal.com]

What the heck is a Keeper?

[pfc-rat.livejournal.com]

http://www.keeper.com/

It's a re-useable rubber cup used to collect (not absorb) menstrual blood. All natural, good up to 10 years, and way healthier and more comfortable than tampons/pads.

[delicata77.livejournal.com]

I love my cycle, too and have noticed a really negative attitude toward it here and in the "menstrual hut" community...

This is why I am majoring in women's studies, I want to create an awareness of the need of rites of passage in this society and fulfill the need somehow...I want to do the same with birthing...

[ennyl.livejournal.com]

yeah, i just checked out the hut, but it doesn't seem very celebratory.

[rockstarbob.livejournal.com]

Interesting ...

I find there to be a pretty good balance around here of celebratory / non-celebratory posts.

Part of the reason it might seem to the contrary to you could be because a lot of women come here to get tips on problems. It seems like people who are content with their bodies might not take the time to say so in a public forum like this one. Too bad! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

[ennyl.livejournal.com]

i agree...which is why i mentioned that i completely understand that there are going to be a lot of posts on things like, what do you think this is?, should i be worried?, is this normal?, etc. i also agree that it's too bad that people don't mention the positive things more often. however, i do enjoy the ejaculation posts...such joy!

[delicata77.livejournal.com]

I know! Everyone complains all the freakin' time!

[fingertips.livejournal.com]

I love getting my period. I look foward to it, partly because I feel really good when I'm having it and I do feel like I'm in touch with my body. ^_^

[punkrawkmama77.livejournal.com]

Well, since I'm trying to get pregnant, I get a little sad when it comes, but I hear you. :)

I think it's kinda sad that women think period's are so negative and dirty. When I told my mom about the keeper and that I had ordered one she said "But isn't that gross?!" Mom, it's your period. For real.

I've also noticed that women who look towards their cycles with a positive attitude cramp less and bleed lighter. Interesting!

I wanna say though, that I totally understand that some women go through very immense pain during their cycles, so I can see why they wouldn't be so positive about it.

Hey, isn't there a LJ community dedicated to art made with menstrual blood? I can't remember the name though.

[finding_helena]

blood_art I'm pretty sure.

Re:

[punkrawkmama77.livejournal.com]

Yes! That's the one I was talking about! Thanks!

[ennyl.livejournal.com]

hey, my mom said the same thing when i told her about it.

as for having a positive outlook affecting your physical symptoms when you're having your period, i say, amen! there's a part of inga muscio's book, cunt, that talks about how absurdly unhealthy psychologically unhealthy it is for us as women to loathe menstruating, since we do it once a month for about forty years or so. i mean, obviously...if you hate getting it, dread getting it, then of course you're not going to feel peachy right before and during it. i used to get horrible cramps, but since i've shifted to actually looking forward to it starting instead of to it ending, i typically only have them for a few hours one day or not at all. it's fabulous.

Re:

[punkrawkmama77.livejournal.com]

I love that book! One of my all time favorites. It really really helped me along with how I view my body, and my cycles in particular. I've even decided to throw my daughter a big party when she starts her cycles(much nicer than the "great, now i've got another woman stinking the house up and making a mess" I got from my father when I started.)

[firinel.livejournal.com]

I realize that because what you experienced, you want to give your daughter the oppisite, but you may want to actually take into consideration what your daughter would be most comfortable with. Maybe ask her, when she gets it, if she'd like a celebratory party, or if she'd just like to do something special alone with you, or ..any other possibilities.

My mother made a big deal of it, told all of her friends and embarrassed the hell out of me. And not because I was ashamed of my body, or natural functions. Just because I thought it was no big deal - most women do it, infact, and girls that don't, most will.

[melebeth]

I've also noticed that women who look towards their cycles with a positive attitude cramp less and bleed lighter. Interesting!

It's quite possible that you're reversing cause and effect there :) It makes much more sense the other way round!!!

[ennyl.livejournal.com]

actually, i started looking forward to my periods initially because i had all of these new "toys" to play with (my keeper, pads, sponges...). actually, it's pretty much like that now. plus, how would i know if i'm in for a really rough or really wonderful period before it even starts?

Re:

[punkrawkmama77.livejournal.com]

No, I meant it the way I said it! I used to have horribly painful periods, to the point where all I could do was lay in bed and cry. I'd been told my whole life that period's are dirty, shameful, painful annoyances that women hate. I think the power of suggestion really can influence you. Once I started getting know my body and talking with women who looked at their period's as something positive, and accepted my cycle as something natural and pretty damned cool, I don't hurt like that anymore. Oh yeah, I still cramp, but nothing like I used to. Because I don't dread it anymore, you know? See what I'm saying?

[melebeth]

Yup.

I guess it does make sense that way too :)

[pebele.livejournal.com]

I'm extremely happy when I get my period, but for a different reason: I have PCOS, and even with the birth control pill my periods are SUPER irregular. so when I get one, it's a big deal.

[joannie.livejournal.com]

it's something i look forward to every month. i'm much more sexually-aroused when i'm on it, and i feel like i truly am in touch with my body, women, and nature, the cosmos, etc., in general.

yes!
i feel the exact same way.

[isolt.livejournal.com]

The only reason I ever hated my period was the pain... and I don't care what some people say, it was *not* because I expected it to hurt - especially given that it took me years to learn to tell the difference between the onset of cramps and hunger. How can you be wishing pain on yourself if you have a hard time figuring out what the pain *was*? But I didn't mind the blood, I always thought that was cool, not gross, and I liked learning my body's rhythms.

When I went on the pill, 2 things happened: 1) the pain went away and 2) since I was sexually active, every period was a good sign. I generally look forward to my period now, since I don't have to fret about taking the day off so I can hurt in peace.

[stinkythecat.livejournal.com]

i like the whole being UBERRRRRRRRRRRR horny on my period.
yum.
i just need to devirginize myself and find a guy who doesnt mind the whole period/blood thing.
tough luck for moi, haha.

[darkeryet.livejournal.com]

I like getting my period, definitely. I usually celebrate the first couple days by pampering myself with delicious food and lots of sleep. I get the best dreams while on my period. :-)
I, too, have noticed how a positive attitude makes the whole thing more pleasant and reduces cramping.

[starkewpie.livejournal.com]

I too feel that it is spiritually and emotionally cleansing :)

[xxangelmeatxx.livejournal.com]

I have a couple medical conditions that make my periods unbearibly painfull.
So i don't look forward to it, but i'm often relieved to get it.

Then I curse it, as i'm bedridden for 3 days popping tylenol 3, and crying and the top of my lungs.

Thats just me.

More power to the girls that enjoy em.

[melley.livejournal.com]

i do. i always have; i was one of the last of my friends to get it and i'd been looking forward to it for years. i got Demon Cramps from Hades before i was on the pill, but I still...I don't know. It's fun, and I don't just mean Vinnie's Tampon Case and multicolored cloth pads. Counting blood clots is entertaining, and I kind of like the smell, and when it's red, it's a really pretty shade of red.

[missvanderpants.livejournal.com]

i love it