Sunday 27 March 2011

Embarrassing Bodies - A Missed Opportunity


Much to my partner's despair/disgust, one of my guilty pleasures in life is watching Embarrassing Bodies. I'm quite fascinated with how our bodies work, and love the no-nonsense attitude of doctors Christian, Dawn and Pixie.

Having spent approximately the last seven years advocating reusable menstrual products, imagine my excitement when the preview for this week's episode advertised a segment about periods, and showed a woman holding up a menstrual cup. Hurray! At long last, so-called "alternative" products are appearing in mainstream media!

Well. I saw the programme on 4od yesterday, and what a wasted opportunity. Yes, the segment was informative, but the menstrual cups were introduced as if they were some kind of strange medical device solely for measuring menstrual flow. There was no mention of them actually being effective menstrual protection. What a shame for viewers who are allergic to disposable products, and could have been introduced to a healthier alternative.

I was 22 when I discovered reusables. Disposables had caused me pain and irritation since day one, and I was thrilled to learn there were other options. If I'd missed that one thread on an online forum, I might still be struggling with disposables today, and Luna Wolf might not exist. When the Embarrassing Bodies camera panned across a selection of different menstrual wear, why were there no cloth pads or cups to be seen? Why are reusable menstrual products never suggested to women who come into the clinic with vulval pain?

It shouldn't be a matter of stumbling upon the information when looking for something else. Girls have a right to know about their options as soon as they start menstruating. You can bet that if I'd been introduced to reusables when we had the "period talk" at school, I'd have ended the misery of disposables much younger. The Embarrassing Bodies segment was a great opportunity to educate women on the many different options we have for menstrual protection, and it was a disappointment to see it wasted.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

ShelterBox Total

I had a slow week between 12th - 21st March, and only sold 7 pads. Still, that's £7 to ShelterBox, plus an extra £3 I threw in to make it up to £10 (approx $15). It all helps.

In other news, you may have noticed that my stock is a bit thin on the ground at the moment. I've spent the last couple of weeks temping for a local newspaper, which was a lot of fun. Ever the optimist, my plan was to temp in the day and sew in the evening. What actually happened was that I would come home from temping in a haze of tiredness, package orders, and pass out on the sofa all evening.

Anyhow, I figured that now I'm done with temping I can finally catch up on the store, but my body apparently has other plans and is succumbing to another cold. Gah. I tend to stay out of my sewing room when I have a cold in case I infect my fabric, so it'll be at least a few more days until I can re-stock the store. However... when I do start sewing again, I have some lovely new fabrics that I am very excited about! I hope you'll love them as much as I do.

Saturday 12 March 2011

Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami

Like most people I am shocked and saddened by the disaster in Japan, and would like to do something to help. From Saturday 12th March to Monday 21st March, I will be donating £1 to ShelterBox for every pad sold, £3 for every tutorial, and £4 for every Femmecup. At the end of this time period I will post the donation receipt here to show how much was raised.

So, why not treat yourself to something nice and help victims of the earthquake/tsunami at the same time? Every little helps!