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From: beth@umcp-cs.UUCP (Beth Katz)
Newsgroups: net.women.only
Subject: Re: feminine "protection"
Message-ID: <1532@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 2-Dec-84 12:02:08 EST
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.1532
Posted: Sun Dec  2 12:02:08 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 19:52:49 EST
References: <10083@watmath.UUCP>
Reply-To: beth@maryland.UUCP (Beth Katz)
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 30
Summary: 

Sophie is not alone in wondering about this protection thing.  I think it
is a carry-over from when having one's period was considered evil since
so many people (men in particular but women too)  did not understand what
was happening.  Although my mother had explained it all in sufficient detail,
I was scared when I had my first period.  Now it is mostly a bother though
the cramps are still bad the first morning (sorry, Sophie, the pill doesn't
get rid of all such troubles;  well, maybe some pills will).  Perhaps these
ads are created by people who still consider menstruation an evil or scary
thing.  It's natural.  It shows you that your body is working (usually).
They don't think that you will think about it and realize that the only
thing being protected is your clothes.  You are somewhat protected from
embarrassment if these things leak.  Maybe that is what they mean by
protection.

Another angle at the protection bit is that bigger pads will perhaps imitate
larger tampons which you may not want to use because they might be related
to Toxic Shock Syndrome.  Therefore, if you have a heavy period and are
considering using tampons, perhaps this 'bigger protection' is protecting
you from TSS.  (I'm mostly kidding here.  I still use tampons; I just make
sure I change them more often and don't use the super-absorbant kind.)

This is pretty far-fetched reasoning.  I think we should just not pay any
attention to their ads.  What works for one woman may not work for another.
For example, I can't use any of those products containing any scent though
my sisters think they are fine.  You just have to experiment and find
something that works for you.  It must be difficult to put a new product
into this market.

				Beth Katz
				{seismo,allegra,rlgvax}!umcp-cs!beth