Do you remember “freebleeding,” that phony “radical feminist movement” protesting the tyranny of maxipads and the joy of free-flowing menstrual blood that 4chan tried their hardest to convince feminists was a totes real thing they should all sign up for right away?
While a tiny number of real feminists were discussing the idea before 4chan got hold of it, 4chan tried to turn a protest of sorts against menstrual shaming into a fun fad that involved pretty much bleeding on anything and everything one could possibly bleed upon.
The irony, of course, was that the only people gullible enough to fall for the hoax hook line and tampon weren’t feminists but antifeminists, always ready to believe the worst about a movement they really don’t understand very well at all.
I ran across what I think is my favorite example of this amazing gullibility while poking around Facebook recently in search of inadvertently hilarious Men’s Rights memes. I found the following screenshot posted on an energetically antifeminist Facebook page called the Anti White Knight Coalition.
Be warned: this is a bit gross.
I have to give some credit to whoever came up with this; it’s an amazing mixture of hilarious and disgusting.
But no one could possibly have taken it seriously, right? No one literally believes that feminists are making and eating period blood popsicles, right? That they think are “really heathy” and “overall good” except for a “little … fishy smell,” right?
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Here’s how the Anti White Knight Coalition’s fans responded to this obvious prank pic.
These are literally all of the responses to that post, except for one that contained a not-particularly relevant NSFW pic. Only one of the commenters is sure it’s a fake.
Everyone else is like, yeah, you could totally make popsicles out of menstrual blood and they’d totally look like regular popsicles and yeah that’s something feminists would totally do.
@Guy
Sure.
But it would be nice if, when these boys–and all boys!–grow up, they educate themselves, at least in a basic way, about women’s bodies.
And as long as I’m at it, I think it would also be swell if they educated themselves, even just basically, about women’s history.
@Fail Box
I have to admit that Our Bodies, Ourselves taught me that when I was 18.
And I own a vagina!
Truthfully, if I hadn’t read that fact, I don’t think I would have guessed it.
I still find it amazing that in a country where our GST (VAT to those of you in other countries) doesn’t affect essential products, it was only removed from feminine hygiene products last year or so.
As to dress color: you know all those Renaissance people dressed in black? It’s not actually that they were morbid. Just rich and wanting to show off. Black was the most expensive dye, because it’s so hard to keep the deep dye after a wash.
@Rabid Rabbit
Marie Curie got married in a black dress. Because she was going to wear it in the laboratory later and probably spill stuff on it.
I’m not sure why that fact has stuck in my mind since I was 11 and read a children’s book about her.
Ugh, I read that too. I mean sure, yeast is yeast and all, but ugh, that’s kind of urkhy. There are other flora in there too, and some could be antagonistic, for all I know. Also, I’d rather not taste my own crotch on things if I can help it. I much prefer sourdough made from whatever floats in on the air, and would rather not know if it originated from anyone’s wazoo. I’m no prude, but that’s how it goes, for me…
And yeah, those popsicles in the picture look like nothing more than frozen berry purée. Probably raspberry. NOM.
@Kat
Oh, come on What your book didn’t tell you is that she insisted on getting married at night with all the lights off so her dress would glow all pretty like.
…Yes, I just made that up. But it’s not entirely implausible.
@Rabid Rabbit
That factish incident was omitted! But children’s books have to be short.
Whoever made this probably
A) assumes people with functioning uteruses bleed A LOT more than they actually do
or
B) they know what a menstrual cup is, and know blood can be collected.
Considering most people don’t know what a menstrual cup is, I’m gonna go with A.
Menstrual blood smells iron-y, not fishy. And the average woman would have to collect all of her menstrual blood output for a year to make half a dozen of those ice pops.
@ Olive O’Sudden
Yes, sure, but if they did… Yum!!!
When I’ve tried to call out dudes who believe the hoaxes like #endfathersday and period popsicles, they always invoke Poe’s Law.
No, dudes, that’s not how Poe’s Law works. Example: if I have become so convinced that Chihuahuas are space aliens secretly invading and brainwashing the planet that I believe an internet claim about Chihuahuas levitating off the ground during a full moon, that’s all on me. “Well, how was I to know? You never know what those devious little so-called-dogs get up to when the mothership calls.” Nope, Poe’s Law doesn’t justify my gullibility.
Similarly, if you fall for a 4chan hoax, and then bluster, “but, but that’s the kind of thing feminists WOULD do”, despite a whole bunch of actual feminists saying, “What? Ew”, you can’t call up Poe to cover your backside. You got fooled because you have completely disconnected yourself from reality.
They think vaginas smell fishy, lol. That would indicate an infection or seafood consumption.
Mine smells kinda like a mushroom, it’s just a very human scent.
That’s what lesbian vampires do when they want to make a treat for their sweetie.
@Kootiepatra
If I understand you correctly, you believe that Chihuahuas are not space aliens, nor are they brainwashing the planet.
Isn’t that how both political pundits and scientists explain the rise of Donald Trump?
Oh yeah, if you want to be really maximally helpful with donations in food drives:
Menstrual hygiene:
Panty liners
Tampons
Pads (both “normal” and night/long variety)
Personal hygiene (all genders):
Unscented deodorant/antiperspirant
Unscented shampoo or shampoo/conditioner
Toothpaste
Soft toothbrushes
Household cleaning:
Unscented dishsoap
Unscented soap (for handwashing etc)
Unscented washing powder/liquid
Kids:
Diapers (of different sizes)
Baby powder
Baby oil (please check for coconut or peanut oil, both known allergens)
Wet wipes
The reason why I’m specifying “unscented” is to make it easier to recall “oh yeah, what if someone is allergic”, since I know some people who are allergic to lavender, which is like the most common ingredient when it comes to scented products. Yes, they are a notch more expensive. But… this also means your help is going to hit a broader range of people who can use them, which is doubleplusgood! But if all you can afford is scented stuff (again, often cheaper), this list works still.
Also: always remember to check with the charity first if they accept material goods like these! Not all do.
All this stuff is needed for good living (and feeling like a human being amongst others), and this is not necessarily covered by food stamps/other forms of aid.
@Skiriki
Thanks for that advice. 🙂
@IP — yeah, I’m in “unscented, please” category myself, so I tend to include this kind of thing to all checklists.
Darn edit window, forgot to add “unscented/unflavored chapstick” to personal hygiene and a box of band-aids (translucent) and basic mouthwash would not go amiss either.
“My friend’s 24-year-old boyfriend had never heard of menstruation. And when she told him about it, he didn’t believe her until he checked with his sister. Oh, did I mention that this guy was a PhD student at a very prestigious university?”
Because you can trust your sister but you can’t trust the woman you’re dating -she’s provably lying to get out of sex duty???
“exists because of the vaginal fluid bread thing ”
If you think you are emancipated, you might consider the idea of tasting your own menstrual blood – if it makes you sick, you’ve got a long way to go, baby” ~ Germaine Greer
“I find it astounding that anyone with Internet access can be ignorant of these things. When I was a kid in the 70s, we learnt about the basics of sex from a page of a Ladybird book called ‘The Body’. School libraries are helpful. I guess most kids are sheltered from it because of modern life, ”
If anyone needs proof that we live in a world saturated with misogyny and crazy it’s that the average teenage boy will have witnessed mountains of degrading porn and think himself an connoisseur of women’s bodies, while simultaneously knowing less than nothing about female anatomy.
Okay, okay, before I continue reading the thread, sister (or bother or sibling), ever heard the word of our Lord and savior menstrual cup?
Period havers, it’s the most wonderful thing. Try it.
Hey, when you are donating those products, don’t forget to check how your country treats female prison inmates in this regard. In my country, it’s horrible, so a girl I know made a little campaign to gather them tampons. It was so nice!
Also, about the menstrual cup. Well, I am not a rich person, and I bleed way more than normal. I even used adult diapers. I used toilet paper instead of pads so I could use less pads. It was very difficult. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t have 60 reais/month to buy it, but it just was not worth it. There were more important things.
And then feminist Brazilian groups created a system of “godmothers”. It’s like this: women choose the model of the cup they need and ask for it, and get in the line. Maybe they pay partially too. Then anyone can make donations of whatever value and become a “godmother”! You can choose someone specific to donate to, or just donate to whoever is first in the line! Everything is done in public so there’s no way there will be any fraud of the organizers.
And I tell you, it was life changing! Menstrual Cups are even being donated in Africa, because their relative cost is so much smaller! A cup can last 10 years and all maintenance it needs is boiling it for 15 minutes before and after the cycle. You should do something like this in your local community! I got my cup for half the price. It is worth every penny. You have no idea how wonderful it is not to have to ratio the pads and worry about your smell all the time.
I have seen women who use the cup mixing the blood with water and watering plants. This is real and I find it a wonderful idea. It’s very good for the plants and doesn’t stink at all. It’s better not to use in plants you may eat if you use any medication, especially birth control, but other than that, I see no negative sides.
While I wouldn’t eat a popsicle or a menstrual blood pancake (I saw that too), I would eat basil cultivated with hormone free blood, if it’s well washed. The good thing of the cup is also that a lot of our cultural disgust for periods go away.
Chiomara:
Yeah, menstrual cups are also something that is worth considering as well as a donation item. Less landfill waste, lasts for years. +1
Sex education in America is a joke. I got one crappy course from my home ec class in high school (We spent more time on SEWING) that basically taught me “Penis exists. Vagina exists. Somehow, they fuse and babies happen”. Seriously, everything I actually know about sex had to be told to me by my parents and the Internet.
And of course, so many states try to teach Abstinence only But always for the girls. Boys can have sex before marriage because boys will be boys and all that. Girls who have premarital sex are, and I qoute, “Like a chewed up stick of gum”.
My state had 1-2 week sections once a year starting in 5th grade (your parents could opt you out, but mine didn’t; it’s timed to fairly reliably teach people before entering puberty so they aren’t caught by surprise) in health or science classes. There were diagrams showing general layout. The education was abstinence only to start with but discussed birth control in high school with reliability breakdowns, and contained dire warnings about STDs and pregnancy all the way through even when the classes were split by gender. I’m not sure if there was a policy change on birth control or if it was divided by time period. Apparently they’ve recently approved a curriculum change to discuss gender identity issues too. They mentioned that abortion was a thing and people had different opinions on it, but the teachers were prohibited from discussing it in any greater depth.
Admittedly, when we learned about periods we heard about tampons and pads but not cups; are they new?
Nearly all of the jails and prisons in the U.S. semi-privatized corrections industry which house women require inmates to have funds ‘on their account/books’ with which to purchase pads or tampons along with various other ‘extras’. This means that low and no income women who don’t have friends or family willing to help them in this regard will only get however many pads the facility is willing to be charitable with (usually a total of 3 in my area jails) and must ‘figure something out’ for the rest of their period. Correctional facilities weren’t created to be luxury hotels, but they should have to meet a minimum standard when it comes to human dignity – and shrugging when it’s pointed out that women without feminine hygiene products to use for the entire duration of their period because they’re poor is so far below acceptable it’s in the lowest (9th) circle of hell. I’ve donated to a few charity drives that provide low income women in jail and in the community with the essentials such as hygiene products along with the various needs when re-entering the workforce (makeup, interview and job appropriate clothing), and I encourage others to do the same with the charities who help groups or causes of importance to them.