Mornings here in Casa Olsen generally begin with a groggy squint in the direction of our cell phones, which greet us with somewhere in the vicinity of TEN new messages. No, these aren't drunk texts or secrets from three time zones away - they're device-update Tweets. One of my personal favorite Twitter users is SarahMorrison, a blogger for Volcom, editor for Missbehave, and general Internet personality. This morning, something like the fourth update down was this:
Since the Internet was already on the brain, a blog post seemed necessary.
First of all, the fact that there are finally advertisements that say out loud that periods aren't necessary is good news (speaking of good news, the government health service in England is telling school kids, "An orgasm a day keeps the doctor away!"). But I think Sarah's Tweet exhibits the mindset that many women today share, which is one that benefits from the effects of feminism, but is not conscious of the origin of those effects or the problems which we still face. Her argument against the validity of these ads is that it would be irrational for this "secret" to be kept from women for so long - why on earth would anyone want us to keep bleeding?
The answer is simple, actually - for a long, long time, "they" thought that once we realized that oral contraceptives were safe, effective, AND kept the cramps and bloating and Tampons away, we'd all become SLUTS - or at least that was, and usually still is, the common belief (except, of course, among people like gynecologists - you know, DOCTORS). Same goes for the aforementioned ad campaign in England. People tend to see the promotion of sexual activity for-pleasure-only as somehow ethically WORSE than allowing more and more uneducated folks to pass on STDs and have unplanned pregnancies.
Another issue tied up in this particular problem is this: the notion that women shouldn't know too much about their own bodies. A little research into how the hormones involved in oral contraceptives work reveals that the "monthly period" women get during our "off-week" is not even really the result of ovulation/menstruation; generally, when you're on the three-week active pill, that off-week is really just a waste of time (although it has been known to breed bedroom creativity). But encouraging us to learn about our own reproductive systems might (gasp!) actually make us want to PROTECT them from goofy-ass laws made by old dudes halfway across the country. The proliferation of laws restricting reproductive rights depend partly on an assumption that men know more about women's bodies than women do. Let's fix that. Instead of relying on the birth control ad industry, next time you're at the gynecologist, ask about what exactly your contraceptives are doing to your body, make sure you understand that shit, and act according to what you feel like YOUR OVARIES want. If you were scared of the pill before due to some weird lines you've been fed about contraceptives messing you up or whatever, don't just take that for granted - ASK A DOCTOR. A VAGINA DOCTOR. The idea that YOU shouldn't get to decide what goes on under your own skin is seriously fucked up, obviously.
So, basically:
pearLOLsen@SarahMorrison no one told us about not needing periods before because birth control makes girls SLUTTY, duhhless than 5 seconds ago from web
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