March 1, 2006

• The “rag”, “time-of-the-month”, “period”, “crimson wave”…no matter what you call it, it’s the dreaded menstrual cycle–which I am currently going through, and I hate it.

  
  

  I hate it because everytime I go to the bathroom I end up seeing a toilet bowl full of blood after I’m done doing whatever I have to do. I hate it because blood clots come out of my body when I’m in the shower and flow about my toes–and in my rage and digust I end up reenacting the pivotal pig’s blood scene in “Carrie” (sans telepathic powers and massive raging fire during prom). I hate it because my used “feminine products” smell like rotten shellfish and old socks–and the accumulation of a week’s worth of sanitary napkins makes my bathroom smell like…like… <insert clever, smart word that means “stinky”>.

  
  

  But what is the menstrual cycle anyway? WHAT IS IT? Women bleed for seven days out of each month (typically), and we just take it as a part of life. But I’m not content with that! I am not okay with having to plug myself up with cotton, or sticking a fat pad onto my panties because I don’t want to risk bleeding through my clothes and subjecting myself to the stigma of being the girl who soiled herself. I don’t see why I have to do it. What is it all for?

  
  

  So I did research! Ahem…

  
  

  

  
  

  The menstrual cycle is the set of recurring physiological changes in a female‘s body that are under the control of the reproductive hormone system and necessary for reproduction. In women, menstrual cycles occur typically on a monthly basis between puberty and menopause.

  
  

  During the menstrual cycle, the sexually mature female body releases one egg at the time of ovulation. The lining of the uterus, the endometrium, builds up in a synchronised fashion. After ovulation, this lining changes to prepare for potential implantation of the fertilized egg to establish a pregnancy. If fertilization and pregnancy do not ensue, the uterus sheds the lining and a new menstrual cycle begins. The process of the shedding of the lining is called menstruation. Menstruation manifests itself to the outer world in the form of the menses (also menstruum): essentially part of the endometrium and blood products that pass out of the body through the vagina. Although this is commonly referred to as blood, it differs in composition from venous blood.

  
  

  Thank any and all omnipotent beings that Wikipedia exists…

  • 1:51 am
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