Woman runs marathon "openly" during that time of the month

The news headline exactly says "Woman Runs London Marathon Without a Tampon, Bleeds Freely to Raise Awareness".
But I feel certain things just need to be left unsaid.
News article
Part of my post is a slight rant, so I apologize. I read this earlier and am still thinking about it, and will probably touch on a few subjects.

I am all for "feminism" in the correct form of the word. I suppose me being a woman business owner in a male dominated industry, while raising my 3 boys alone makes me a bit of a feminist.

I'm also all for raising awareness about things that are unseen. I think the prices of feminine hygiene products are obscene and I recall a time in my early 20's when I had to steal a box of tampons one month. Not my proudest moment by far.

I feel that a woman's menstrual period is a god awful week out of EVERY SINGLE MONTH for YEARRRS and it is something that men need to recognize as being extremely uncomfortable for us ladies.

But.

Nothing was more uncomfortable and slightly embarrassing as seeing the pictures in this article. To me at least.

What are we doing as women? There are certain things that need to remain somewhat of a mystery. What I do in the bathroom, nobody needs to see!

I do admire her courage though. Having pictures of myself all over the media in that state would absolutely be the most embarrassing thing that could ever happen to me. And she is proud of what she did.
She certainly made a point.
And I suppose I joined her efforts in creating a very uncomfortable thread on ATS.
You're welcome.

That's pretty knarly. While I can appreciate the sentiment, I agree with you that not everything has to be put out there in such a manner. But you are totally correct, the price of feminine products is absurd. I never stole any, but there were times I may have been awfully close.

This shouldn't even be posted or talked about.

When you spread the word about this kind of garbage it just adds more power to it, and more people do even more stupid stuff like this.

This is not making a statement to raise awareness, this is being frakking gross to see how far someone can push something & get away with it. It's akin IMO to running with anal leakage and saying that's to raise awareness for people who don't have access to sanitary items or treatments for the issues that caused said leakage.

People don't need to be disgusted to get the point of basic hygiene issues. Physical afflictions beyond one's control to do anything about is one thing, but something everyone knows the basics of? Oh please. Feminism has lost damn near all it's value to humanity if honing in on shock value is how they try to get crap accomplished now.

I find this a little disgusting myself and I am a woman. There is no one over the age of 12/13 who is not aware that women have periods and they can be painful. No one. As for affordability, rent a billboard or something.

If this was not a woman/PC issue people would raise a fuss. How many diseases are spread by blood/bodily fluids? This woman is proudly being unhygienic IMO.

It's good to have a cause but if this were a man bleeding freely trying to raise awareness for HIV or hepatitis something tells me that people would be openly livid about it. Since it's a woman with woman issues... Everyone is proud and brave.

It's a double standard is all I'm saying...

a reply to: hutch622

That is how I feel too! Why did I read it, and look at the pictures. THEN GO BACK AND LOOK AGAIN! And post.
I guess it just seems so unbelievable for what ever reason.
My mind is blown regularly by society. On both good and bad levels. This one kind of makes my head hurt a little.

***ATTENTION***

Please keep the discussion on topic and polite.

Thank you.

Anyone who has any women in their life is aware of the issues that come with periods. As a male, the prices of tampons aren't on my mind 24/7, but prices are the last thing I think about when I see a woman bleeding. There has to be better ways to talk about this.

I really hope making this same statement doesn't become a trend.

Not that I agree with what she's displaying her per see-from turning into a rash and to probably turned off people more than for the cause. Though, as it brings up the topic anyway: Of course, I hope more hygiene products become available in areas without what is traditionally available.

Speaking of going without, how about when the SHTF? This thread was a good one on the survival forum:
"Mature topic for women and men with daughters.- Feminine Survival Hygiene" - www.abovetopsecret.com...

I would just like to thank this woman from the bottom of my heart. She showed great courage in this action and I hope more women would follow suit.

Maybe they could start a trend and all women could leave the house like this.

God bless Kiran Ghandi, If there were more upstanding young women like her, this world would be a better place.

That was sarcasm by the way, but I didn't want to be "off-topic"

Well she raised awareness, but her vague quote about women not having access to feminine hygiene products alone isn't going to do a thing. If anything she made a mockery of women, feminists and people that don't have the ability to purchase sterile feminine products.

There are some real issues about this in some places. It's gross, it's uncomfortable to talk about, but it exists. I don't think this was about anything other than getting a few seconds of fame. I completely support raising awareness about the lack of options some women face in certain areas, but not like this. It's period blood, people that can affect any change are well aware this is a thing, we don't need to see it. It's just mildly gross, it's not shocking, it's not something people were unaware of, it's just mildly gross. I know I'm going to regret this, but it's like raising awareness for incontinence by pooping your pants. Yes, I understand period blood isn't poop. Yes, I get it's natural. Yes, it's a lazy comparison. Yes, there is a stigma. Yes, it may be a bigger problem than incontinence in some areas of the world because of prevalent patriarchal views. Yes, I think new wave feminists are obnoxious, annoying and are doing more harm than good for women's rights.

So, of course women have their periods and shouldn't be ashamed of it. I don't think the point needs to be driven home by bloodying your pants and making a spectacle out of it. I have a lot of bodily functions too. No one wants or needs to see the evidence on my drawers. I can totally buy that it's more comfortable to run a marathon without a tampon. I've yet to shove one in my orifices, and lack any that the "devices" were made for, but I imagine it's not the most comfortable proposition. Fine, run without one.

I'm not shocked, I'm not actually grossed out, and I haven't learned a thing. This woman just seems like a dumbass, willfully dirtying her own pants.

She clearly shaves her pits, I wonder if that's honestly more comfortable than leaving them hairy if you're jogging. Bet she showers regularly and puts on deodorant too. Dumb stunt for attention, not some profound lesson for repressed Westerners.

a reply to: Domo1

For the record tampons are not uncomfortable IMO. I have never heard another woman say such either. You don't even know it's there. What I would find severely uncomfortable and distracting would be having a mess in my pants. I'm not going to get into specifics here because it's not needed, but I'm sure most any other woman understands what I'm getting at. There are also alternatives to tampons one can use if they don't want or like to use tampons.

In the end I agree with you. This seems more like a grab for attention than any real attempt at raising awareness. People here can't get over the fact that she did this. That's what everyone else will be talking about as well. Not the lack of feminine products in any locality.

a reply to: alishainwonderland

The only thing this woman acheived is a series of pictures that will follow her to the day she dies . If anything the prices will go up . As for people with no access , i cant see an emergency meeting of the UN authorising an emergency shipment of tampons anytime soon .

a reply to: hutch622

I'm assuming she means the prices of disposable products in 3rd world countries are expensive. They're not expensive here in the US to me. I can get a big box of O.Bs for $6 or $7 on sale, and they'll last me 2 or 3 cycles, depending on how badly mother nature wants to torment me any given month. Cheapie Kotexs will run me about the same price. They're not exactly expensive.

I also have a few reusable cloth pads. Don't always use them, tampons generally work fine on their own. But I have them just in case. Haven't had to buy pads in 6 years, and they're easy to sterilize when I do use them. You can't seriously expect me to believe women in 3rd world countries or banana republics can't make like women have for ages and sew some cloth layers together for pads. I'm calling BS on her reasoning for that alone. It's not a new concept anywhere in the world. Disposable stuff is.

a reply to: alishainwonderland

I thought it was more about not wasting clothing than anything else. Those pants are ruined.