Woman Shares A Story How Her Boss Told Her That Tampons Were Dildos, And People Are Furious
Everyone who experiences periods knows that they’re absolutely no fun. And if the bleeding, cramps, and mood changes weren’t bad on their own, this menstrual ghost haunts us every month and there’s no place to hide from it. Sure, pregnancy, menopause or hormone treatment can keep that boogie-man away, but other than that, one is left to fend for themselves. It is estimated that half of the world’s population needs to use feminine hygiene items a week each month, every month, for over 30 years. That, of course, can be pricey, considering that those products are subject to value-added tax and are not tax-exempt like other products regarded as basic necessities. One Tumblr user pointed this out, and it sparked quite a debate, with people sharing their own stories, speculating where it all stems from and even talking about the much needed change. Scroll down to read what people had to say below and tell us if you agree with them or have your own stories to tell! (Facebook cover image: shelley brunt)
One Tumblr user reminded everyone about the tampon tax and sparked a discussion
Many started speculating that the problem (which is evident in the government) stems from lack of sex ed at schools
They returned to the topic of taxes and how there was some change in the air with Australia setting to remove the tampon tax by January, 2019
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Like...I just CANNOT!!! Wait...WAIT!!! The conversation would have ended with me when he asked me WHY I had to go to the restroom!!! WHO TF is THAT inappropriate??!! WHO TF, as an ADULT...must ASK FOR PERMISSION to go to the restroom???!!! Is it me?!?! I am 54 years old!! I have NEVER had a employer that required me to ASK PERMISSION to use the restroom!!! WT ACTUAL F??!!
When I was a little girl watching TV at a neighbor's house, a tampon commercial came on and the father absolutely flipped out, screaming at his son to change the channel that this is disgusting, and on and on. I was horrified and felt so bad for my friend (a girl). That was my first, memorable glimpse of how some men think women are truly gross and dirty.
Men thinking girls are gross and dirty is one of the reasons women were treated like c**p since ancient times. And well, sometimes they still are treated like that.
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Unfortunately, this is all too believable. I have been married for seven years and just this spring I told my husband I didn't want to go on a long hike because I was on my period and one it's tiring but two I probably wouldn't find a bathroom on the trail. He just said... "well can't you wait until later?" I was flabbergasted because when I am on my period I am very vocal about how it all works. So for seven years he just wasn't listening.
Oh my... I feel sorry for you. Hope everything is fine now.
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As a young man my mother and sister would send me out to buy all their self care products. I knew what this was when I was 10. I would even ask other women in the store for help finding the right brand for the ladies in my life, which was met “aweeees.” I would walk down the isles with them slung over my shoulders. Any man who grew up with women knows. You have to live under a rock or grow up with extremely ignorant men to believe any of that man’s nonsense. Stupid!
Your future wife is lucky (or husband, doesn't matter).
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How do they even think a tampon is a sextoy? First of all, it's fabricy, won't feel slippery and nice, secondly, what exactly is a dildo that size gonna pleasure?
Right? Maybe the guy had a comparable sized unit and was deluded into thinking he was a total stud? (Yes, the size of the boat matters if it's not connected to someone you love...) *bracing for downvotes *
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If I could turn off my period any time I want, I wouldn't have a period. I don't want to pay lux prices to keep clean, I ain't Gucci McPrada!
You can't turn it off when you want? Poor you! I choose to have mine when I am rollerblading with my dogs in a park whilst wearing a lycra one-piece. Oh and my period is like blue water which NEVER spills over the edge of my pad.
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Wow. And in even more appreciative of my boyfriend now. After only five months, he's already figured out when my cycle is and I dont even have one. I get the symptoms but no period. He can tell bc I'm starving to death, cranky, and sleepy. And anything I say during n the time is null and void. He said he just lets it roll off. That good man he is.
Sounds like a nice guy. Best of luck to you two! My husband also knows and understands how the human body works, and only recently I found out how much I took his intelligence for granted.
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I don't know how some guys can be so ignorant. My sister used to make me go to the store to buy her Kotex. 52% of the population is female. How have some guys never learned about menstruation?
I'm cursing him to get a blood nose at work. Then one of his female employees hands him a tampon ....
Taxes on femenine hygiene products is the Government profiting from our monthly misery - do they tax bandages?
I think we should have a month in which no woman uses protection and sends her dry cleaning bill to the government, not to mention all the public seats, buses, etc that would have to be replaced, and then tell me tampons are a luxury
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We guys don't know how it works, so many different ways period affects women, but we SHOULD know the basics of it and be supportive, helpful and thoughtful about it.
Unlike every other generation that has ever been, we LITERALLY have the worlds knowledge at our fingertips!! There is absolutely NO excuse for men not to know how the female body works!
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What fuckery is this? If some bloated old wrinkled nutsack said this to me, I would literally open my faucet and f*****g bleed on him and all he holds dear after stapling the biggest maxi pad I can find on his forehead. I propose two things 1) an IQ test to be in politics at ANY level and 2) a stupidity tax - number 2 alone would wipe out the national debt in about a week. I may have some anger issues ;)
I...I'm speechless. I probably wouldn't have known what to say. Sadly, this way of thinking and false assumptions seem to be nothing unusual for men who never learned about the female reproductive system and how it works and about female hygiene.
Many years ago when I was married and suffering hellish periods, somehow during tampon change I had accidentally caught one against the underside of the front of the toilet seat without realising. Half an hour later my husband came rushing in a mad painc - "OMG I'm bleeding down there" -from a microscopic speck of blood on his bits. I'm like "welcome to my world"
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I've got this sinking feeling that there are guys out there who are reading this thinking it's all lies or at least hyperbole. I promise you it is not: menstruation happens suddenly, with no warning, cannot be paused or delayed in any way, and just plain sucks.
my period was so irregular I was wearing tampons days in advance of it occurring - just in case - didnt want to be caught out blood everywhere - there is no bigger shame for a teenage girl than to be leaving bloodstains wherever she sits
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If you work in a very small office, even today, you can run into tin pot Napoleans who rule the office according to their whims because employee protection only kicks in over a certain number of employees. I worked at a non profit that usually only had 3-5 people, including me, and was run by a board of directors comprised of our 'clients'. The boss had massive anger issues and because I was a female in a position he didn't think women should be in (embalmer, and he firmly believed women should be front office only) I was his favorite target. He threw full coffee cups at me, chairs, glass ashtrays, etc. Let male employees call me a c*nt, treat me like c**p, ignore me when I tried to teach them protocol. Walked through my prep room with a lit cigarette while I was embalming (phenol is flammable, kids), etc. When I complained to the board (3x in 7 years, once after going to the hospital because he had injured me) I was told 'there was no proof' and 'my word agaisnt his'. Never mind that he and I were the only employees that were there for longer than a year. So yeah, since my ex-boss exists in 2018, men like him existed whenever this happened.
Point #2: My ex boss, my step father, and a few rapidly ex bfs believed things close to this jerk. That women made up periods, cramps, etc. just to mess with men. At the same time, I was supposed to be ashamed that it happened and take every precaution possible to hide its existence. I have debilitating cramps and menses onset migraines every month. That means for several days a month I am a quivering ball of pain hiding in the darkest quietest room possible. Of course I was just making it up so I could get out of work/school. Because bleeding like a stuck pig, feeling like my abdomen was trying to rip itself out of my body and like my head was being repeatedly hit by a wrecking ball was so much more fun than going to work. Feh.
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Why the fak you go to school for? What you study there? Bioligy - Human anathomy, 8th grade, 13y olds - country Bulgaria. Human anathomy is important, bc thats us ffs. There were lots if exams and tests on the subject. Most importantly we were all questioned cross gender - boys on female anathomy, girls on male one. It is made this way bc it is easy to figure out own anathomy, harder to understand opposite gender. As far as I remember, pleasure centres were explained too. We have no other sex ed, I think is important to have, in order to explain more - relationships, human interactions, consent etc.
I think 'muricans must revolt! Education sux, health care sux, credit system sux etc. Muricans are enslaved by their government. The most important thing - your country has the power to fak up all the rest of the world and is doing it. So ffs pls revolt!
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It's not surprising. I have a VERY educated friend that asked me if we need to remove the tampon to pee. Something is seriously wrong with the education in this world.
I read a post on another forum where someone claimed they did that. She was worried about peeing on the string!
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I've heard of females who don't even know this sh*t - yes, really! My dad's girlfriend once decided that we should go on a hike, but it was that time of the month and I was in real bad pain after walking for a while, and she said I was just "faking" it.
Some people seem to need to experience something themselves before believing it. Not a very intelligent way to go about things really - as if everyone in the world only works the way they do.
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When I was in 5th grade or whenever it was that we had sex ed class, they separated the boys and girls to teach us. The boys all argued that we wanted to know what the girls were being taught because there was clearly something different they were learning. We definitely should have learned what they were being taught. I didn't know about this stuff until after high school. Most guys don't.
I always hated feeling embarrassed when buying pads at the store. I had to almost look away from the vendor while paying, sneak into my house without my father noticing, like...... I couldn't understand the secrecy, as if it was something immoral and unnatural.
Who was imposing the secrecy - just your father? If they are in a bag - why would he notice? The people selling the pads at the store are doing selling these and other embarrassing items all the time so don't let that matter. Or use an online pharmacy perhaps? Tesco brings mine!!
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It was still happening in the 90's at my school. All the girls got taken out of class to learn about periods and pads and things and all the boys got taught chivalrous things to do, general etiquette and manners. Had to learn by asking folk.
Doug Ford, premier of Ontario and asshat has removed the current sex-ed program and replaced it with the one from the 90s--nothing about consent, respecting others' boundaries or keeping yourself safe online. Back to "girls, you will get your period" while the boys sit in a classroom playing thumbs up heads down
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The comment by 'coolfaybunny' [almost bottom] had me in stitches. They tried to be so understanding that they said "women [or those that identify as...] should get personal hygiene free". LOL I am quite sure that those who are not biological women but identify only as such will not actually menstruate...[forehead slap]
Yeah, I think if they wanted to be inclusive, it should be the other way around... people that menstruate, or people with an uterus. Since there are trans men that still have periods, but a trans woman will not.
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I had to explain to TWO of my girlfriends (not simultaneously) that pee and blood come out of two different holes. No I do not live in a third world country or the US. Some people just don't pay attention in biology class, even if it concerns their own bodies. A friend of mine had no idea that testicles only contain sperm and the rest of the fluid is provided by the prostate.
This is just stupid.... I live in Germany and we had comprehensive (age appropriate) and fact based sex ed when I was 9 years old. Then again later in secondary school in a more scientific way. It didn't even occur to me that religious motives could play a part in educating students about their own body and sexuality or, to be more precise, that they could be used as a reason to teach any other things as actual fact-based information. We had religious studies but that was it. We talked about religion during that class and all the other classes were fact-based, as they should be! Sex ed in elementary school was taught in a subject that rouhgly translates to "General Studies". There we learned all the stuff you actually need to know: basic geography, economics, and stuff you actually need to know about like f****ing sex ed!
Not just men. My SIL JUST found out we have 3 holes "down there". She's NEVER used a tampon because what if she has to pee? We are 55 years old. My new favorite expression is someone is REALLY dumb if they're "3 hole dumb".
So, why did the OP not spread this moron’s shame to every media outlet at the time? You don’t let scum of the earth like this go unchallenged and secure in their offices.
Maybe it looks like it was genuine ignorance, no need to publicly shame someone if he's willing to learn and change. Or maybe because she was an intern and could have lost her job
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If any guy asks me this I'm going to ask them if they can hold in a bloody nose.
WTF??? This woman should´ve let the blood run out to show her f*****g boss or collegue WHAT happens when you get your period & don´t use tampons, sanitary napkins or the modern menstruation cups, at the beginning, when I got my first period at the age of 12, I had to use sanitary napkins because my mum thought the blood might get stuck with tampons, but my 3 1/2 years older sister already used tampons, so I asked her to give me some of them to try at the 3rd or 4th period, which worked & made it possible to go swimming with them, then I told this to our mum, but she said if I wanted to use them there wouldn´t be enough household money there for them, so I´d have to buy them from my "pocket money", which I did (I only got 5 DM/week then, so I had to save it for 2 weeks to be able to buy a pack with 64 in them for 10 DM for one period)!!! Due to the Lupus I`m probably already through the climacterium now, had several "guest periods" now and then, last year I had them every 15-16 days for
That is awful. I feel for you - I'm so grateful that my mother at least allowed us to choose what we preferred. In the UK it's the lower rate at 5% and some supermarkets effectively scrapped that by covering the tax themselves. Still schoolgirls miss school because of their periods - these things should be free for anyone still in school at the very least.
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How is it possible in this day and age, with the internet, the media, the TV, a world full of information, for a grown, married man not to know how periods work. I don't care when he was born. I don't care about his access to sex ed. How can you live with a woman for presumably decades and not even know the basics? That's not an oversight. That's wilful and malicious ignorance based on misogyny.
That is just insane. There needs to be a 30 minute mandatory instructional video of how the female body works, specifically geared towards men. There's men out there making laws that effect us and our bodies and their entire knowledge is based on what he's heard from his buddies, which is basically nothing. Our educational system is shameful at best and our politicians are an embarrassment.
My ex husband used to think that pms was a made up thing women used to get out of having sex.. The first time we went shopping together after we started living together. I put in my monthly essentials. When we got to the check out he got all squirmy, & said, why do you have to buy those when I'm here you should get them when you are alone, I shouldn't have to help pay for those. With my usual tact I said, you're f*****g kidding right? Why would I make a separate trip to the supermarket just to buy pads & tampons? His reply That stuff is private, they shouldn't even be sold here, no one wants to see that s**t. Me, What, 50% of the population shouldnt be able to buy them cheap & conveniently, where exactly should they be sold if not between the condoms & toilet paper in aisle 15? He had no answer for that.
Not to market the products - but as a general FYI - women around the world can buy reusable menstrual cups and pads, as well as underwear you can wear and reuse for periods. There are also DIY articles to make your own pads, like women have for generations before us. You don't have to pay a tax if you don't participate in the commercialization of periods. Most of the disposable ones don't ever work 75% of the time. The people who make them and sell them to women are capitalizing on the shame put on having periods and the general disgust people show for that kind of blood BY our less educated parents and role models but telling us we are not clean w/o disposables (which are just as bad as throwing a diaper into a landfill). We don't have to participate or use their badly made, overtaxed products.
Hundreds of millions of females around the world have NO access to any kind of feminine products. Even here in the US there are millions who have access but can't afford them. Reusable products also need to be sterilized, which again many have no access to do it, or places to rinse them out and put it back in. So NO, women around the world do NOT have access to those products.
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Just curious, but why was this boss so familiar with what items were in the women's bathrooms. Did he hang out there a lot?
Well he sees how much the company is paying for those things because he's the boss.
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And this is not the first time I've heard of a man who thinks that, although I've heard some real ignorance among young women too about their own reproductive system. It's just sad.
Beside the relentless stupidity of her manager, which I agree he should be re-educated on the matter,. I am getting off topic with this next bit; what gets me is this argument of men not paying tax, at least in the UK, for their razors is ridiculous. Razors are taxed at 20% whereas tampons are taxed at 5%, the minimum tax the EU set out, not the UK. The ironic thing being, most of the people who voted stay in the EU are the one's who want this tax abolished. There are other options; the reusable 'moon cup' as disgusting an idea it is, is pretty much the equivalent to a mans electric razor. So, pay tax and be quiet until they abolish the tax for it (which I wholeheartedly agree with) or go the reusable route. but yes this girl should have ignored her manager and did her thing.
In my country we learn that (and everything sex-related) in biology class. My teacher wanted us to know all the phases of the female monthly cycle by heart.
A dildo? Seriously?? Yes we choose to turn on our period so we can experience utter pain and a horrible mood to be “lazy”. Why tf would someone think that?? Gosh, if I had the choice I’d choose to NEVER start. Also, you shouldn’t have to have permission to go to the bathroom as a GROWN WOMAN. If he said no, I’d end the conversation and go to the restroom. If I get fired then I don’t think that’s to bad if I had a boss like that. Because 1) I do not want to stain my clothes 2) I do not want to smell and 3) I just don’t want people to know I’m on it at all
Do they not teach sex ed or f*****g biology in school or something? Why are men going around getting married or just living in general without knowing this s**t?
Aren't you studying anatomy at school? The state of education in the USA is even worse than I thought.
These men are stupid. And likely, someone that raised them or taught them was stupid, too. It isn't that complicated to understand.
And I thought I had it bad, when I had to explain STDs to my 36 year old, university lecturer ex........
I really cannot believe a grown a*s man thought this s**t! did his wife not educate him? Or was she too embarrassed to say anything? My dad knew 50 years ago! My husband sure as hell knew 40 years ago, and my boys know now. I just cannot believe this, and find it hysterically funny that there are some that still need education on this subject! Go to ladies and embarrass the hell out of them until they all get the idea.
Wow! Ignorance is no excuse for being stupid. People need to educate themselves. I'm so sorry for that guy's wife.
To show the government that these aren't luxury items, women should choose a day where they just don't wear any hygiene products but still go about their lives on buses, in restaurants, at work etc. That would be a very gross but effective way to show that these things are essentials.
This whole website is blatant social engineering. Are you all bind, are you bereft of reason?
I once had a boss ask if I could "just hold it." Like, it's not p**s, man. And, if I could, don't you think I would probably hold it, like, indefinitely? Jackass.
I love my bf so much we have been together for almost 10 years and he grew up with 4 sisters yet he STILL asked me (about a month and a half ago) why I needed a tampon when we went swimming. Apparently he thought that when we got in the water it just stopped. He seemed genuinely confused when I explained that there was no way to stop the flow of blood and that even if I fully submerge my body in water I can still bleed. He was super sweet about it but it was baffling that a 32 year old man didn't know we couldn't control it.
whaaaaat?! Many many men will never understand how our period is. That´s the truth. NO matter how many times someone explains this to them.
As a man, I find this story amazing, and appalling at the same time. Just goes to show our best and brightest are not in our government, but what does that say about us who keep voting them in. On the point people make about sex ed, I agree it should be taught, but the issue many people have with sex ed today is the schools are teaching not just the basics, but a**l sex, homosexuality, and transgenderism that many Americans don't believe is necessary for a proper education about the sexes. Maybe if the cut out the unnecessary they would have time to properly explain the reproductive systems of both sexes.
But there ARE homosexuals and transgenders sitting in these sex ed classes! You can't just choose to be heterosexual any more than women can choose when to have their period. So this information isn't unnecessary. It's helpful.
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Honestly, this looks like some US "Bible Belt" issue. I cannot imagine any man I know being so ignorant about the matter, and I know some pretty thick minded guys. Damn, I grew in a catholic family and went to a catholic school, and still I know what period is and how it works since I was 8-y-o or so.
I don't know anyone who is that uninformed nor have I ever been shamed for having my period.
it's not his fault that he was not taught what half of us have to go through.
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Why did you bring that into this? I'll just assume you're trying to p**s people off and not make an actual point.
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Um, wow, nice story. What did that have to do with any of this? Pretty specific to happen "every time".
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I have NEVER seen anything like that on the internet. Where did you get that from?
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Not all women can/want to use birth control pills. In the case of some health issues/diseases/beliefs it is impossible. Besides, hormonal contraception has many cons. For example, it increases the risk of thrombosis, which may eventually lead to pulmonary embolism or a stroke.
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Like...I just CANNOT!!! Wait...WAIT!!! The conversation would have ended with me when he asked me WHY I had to go to the restroom!!! WHO TF is THAT inappropriate??!! WHO TF, as an ADULT...must ASK FOR PERMISSION to go to the restroom???!!! Is it me?!?! I am 54 years old!! I have NEVER had a employer that required me to ASK PERMISSION to use the restroom!!! WT ACTUAL F??!!
When I was a little girl watching TV at a neighbor's house, a tampon commercial came on and the father absolutely flipped out, screaming at his son to change the channel that this is disgusting, and on and on. I was horrified and felt so bad for my friend (a girl). That was my first, memorable glimpse of how some men think women are truly gross and dirty.
Men thinking girls are gross and dirty is one of the reasons women were treated like c**p since ancient times. And well, sometimes they still are treated like that.
Load More Replies... Unfortunately, this is all too believable. I have been married for seven years and just this spring I told my husband I didn't want to go on a long hike because I was on my period and one it's tiring but two I probably wouldn't find a bathroom on the trail. He just said... "well can't you wait until later?" I was flabbergasted because when I am on my period I am very vocal about how it all works. So for seven years he just wasn't listening.
Oh my... I feel sorry for you. Hope everything is fine now.
Load More Replies... As a young man my mother and sister would send me out to buy all their self care products. I knew what this was when I was 10. I would even ask other women in the store for help finding the right brand for the ladies in my life, which was met “aweeees.” I would walk down the isles with them slung over my shoulders. Any man who grew up with women knows. You have to live under a rock or grow up with extremely ignorant men to believe any of that man’s nonsense. Stupid!
Your future wife is lucky (or husband, doesn't matter).
Load More Replies... How do they even think a tampon is a sextoy? First of all, it's fabricy, won't feel slippery and nice, secondly, what exactly is a dildo that size gonna pleasure?
Right? Maybe the guy had a comparable sized unit and was deluded into thinking he was a total stud? (Yes, the size of the boat matters if it's not connected to someone you love...) *bracing for downvotes *
Load More Replies... If I could turn off my period any time I want, I wouldn't have a period. I don't want to pay lux prices to keep clean, I ain't Gucci McPrada!
You can't turn it off when you want? Poor you! I choose to have mine when I am rollerblading with my dogs in a park whilst wearing a lycra one-piece. Oh and my period is like blue water which NEVER spills over the edge of my pad.
Load More Replies... Wow. And in even more appreciative of my boyfriend now. After only five months, he's already figured out when my cycle is and I dont even have one. I get the symptoms but no period. He can tell bc I'm starving to death, cranky, and sleepy. And anything I say during n the time is null and void. He said he just lets it roll off. That good man he is.
Sounds like a nice guy. Best of luck to you two! My husband also knows and understands how the human body works, and only recently I found out how much I took his intelligence for granted.
Load More Replies... I don't know how some guys can be so ignorant. My sister used to make me go to the store to buy her Kotex. 52% of the population is female. How have some guys never learned about menstruation?
I'm cursing him to get a blood nose at work. Then one of his female employees hands him a tampon ....
Taxes on femenine hygiene products is the Government profiting from our monthly misery - do they tax bandages?
I think we should have a month in which no woman uses protection and sends her dry cleaning bill to the government, not to mention all the public seats, buses, etc that would have to be replaced, and then tell me tampons are a luxury
Load More Replies... We guys don't know how it works, so many different ways period affects women, but we SHOULD know the basics of it and be supportive, helpful and thoughtful about it.
Unlike every other generation that has ever been, we LITERALLY have the worlds knowledge at our fingertips!! There is absolutely NO excuse for men not to know how the female body works!
Load More Replies... What fuckery is this? If some bloated old wrinkled nutsack said this to me, I would literally open my faucet and f*****g bleed on him and all he holds dear after stapling the biggest maxi pad I can find on his forehead. I propose two things 1) an IQ test to be in politics at ANY level and 2) a stupidity tax - number 2 alone would wipe out the national debt in about a week. I may have some anger issues ;)
I...I'm speechless. I probably wouldn't have known what to say. Sadly, this way of thinking and false assumptions seem to be nothing unusual for men who never learned about the female reproductive system and how it works and about female hygiene.
Many years ago when I was married and suffering hellish periods, somehow during tampon change I had accidentally caught one against the underside of the front of the toilet seat without realising. Half an hour later my husband came rushing in a mad painc - "OMG I'm bleeding down there" -from a microscopic speck of blood on his bits. I'm like "welcome to my world"
Load More Replies... I've got this sinking feeling that there are guys out there who are reading this thinking it's all lies or at least hyperbole. I promise you it is not: menstruation happens suddenly, with no warning, cannot be paused or delayed in any way, and just plain sucks.
my period was so irregular I was wearing tampons days in advance of it occurring - just in case - didnt want to be caught out blood everywhere - there is no bigger shame for a teenage girl than to be leaving bloodstains wherever she sits
Load More Replies... If you work in a very small office, even today, you can run into tin pot Napoleans who rule the office according to their whims because employee protection only kicks in over a certain number of employees. I worked at a non profit that usually only had 3-5 people, including me, and was run by a board of directors comprised of our 'clients'. The boss had massive anger issues and because I was a female in a position he didn't think women should be in (embalmer, and he firmly believed women should be front office only) I was his favorite target. He threw full coffee cups at me, chairs, glass ashtrays, etc. Let male employees call me a c*nt, treat me like c**p, ignore me when I tried to teach them protocol. Walked through my prep room with a lit cigarette while I was embalming (phenol is flammable, kids), etc. When I complained to the board (3x in 7 years, once after going to the hospital because he had injured me) I was told 'there was no proof' and 'my word agaisnt his'. Never mind that he and I were the only employees that were there for longer than a year. So yeah, since my ex-boss exists in 2018, men like him existed whenever this happened.
Point #2: My ex boss, my step father, and a few rapidly ex bfs believed things close to this jerk. That women made up periods, cramps, etc. just to mess with men. At the same time, I was supposed to be ashamed that it happened and take every precaution possible to hide its existence. I have debilitating cramps and menses onset migraines every month. That means for several days a month I am a quivering ball of pain hiding in the darkest quietest room possible. Of course I was just making it up so I could get out of work/school. Because bleeding like a stuck pig, feeling like my abdomen was trying to rip itself out of my body and like my head was being repeatedly hit by a wrecking ball was so much more fun than going to work. Feh.
Load More Replies... Why the fak you go to school for? What you study there? Bioligy - Human anathomy, 8th grade, 13y olds - country Bulgaria. Human anathomy is important, bc thats us ffs. There were lots if exams and tests on the subject. Most importantly we were all questioned cross gender - boys on female anathomy, girls on male one. It is made this way bc it is easy to figure out own anathomy, harder to understand opposite gender. As far as I remember, pleasure centres were explained too. We have no other sex ed, I think is important to have, in order to explain more - relationships, human interactions, consent etc.
I think 'muricans must revolt! Education sux, health care sux, credit system sux etc. Muricans are enslaved by their government. The most important thing - your country has the power to fak up all the rest of the world and is doing it. So ffs pls revolt!
Load More Replies... It's not surprising. I have a VERY educated friend that asked me if we need to remove the tampon to pee. Something is seriously wrong with the education in this world.
I read a post on another forum where someone claimed they did that. She was worried about peeing on the string!
Load More Replies... I've heard of females who don't even know this sh*t - yes, really! My dad's girlfriend once decided that we should go on a hike, but it was that time of the month and I was in real bad pain after walking for a while, and she said I was just "faking" it.
Some people seem to need to experience something themselves before believing it. Not a very intelligent way to go about things really - as if everyone in the world only works the way they do.
Load More Replies... When I was in 5th grade or whenever it was that we had sex ed class, they separated the boys and girls to teach us. The boys all argued that we wanted to know what the girls were being taught because there was clearly something different they were learning. We definitely should have learned what they were being taught. I didn't know about this stuff until after high school. Most guys don't.
I always hated feeling embarrassed when buying pads at the store. I had to almost look away from the vendor while paying, sneak into my house without my father noticing, like...... I couldn't understand the secrecy, as if it was something immoral and unnatural.
Who was imposing the secrecy - just your father? If they are in a bag - why would he notice? The people selling the pads at the store are doing selling these and other embarrassing items all the time so don't let that matter. Or use an online pharmacy perhaps? Tesco brings mine!!
Load More Replies... It was still happening in the 90's at my school. All the girls got taken out of class to learn about periods and pads and things and all the boys got taught chivalrous things to do, general etiquette and manners. Had to learn by asking folk.
Doug Ford, premier of Ontario and asshat has removed the current sex-ed program and replaced it with the one from the 90s--nothing about consent, respecting others' boundaries or keeping yourself safe online. Back to "girls, you will get your period" while the boys sit in a classroom playing thumbs up heads down
Load More Replies... The comment by 'coolfaybunny' [almost bottom] had me in stitches. They tried to be so understanding that they said "women [or those that identify as...] should get personal hygiene free". LOL I am quite sure that those who are not biological women but identify only as such will not actually menstruate...[forehead slap]
Yeah, I think if they wanted to be inclusive, it should be the other way around... people that menstruate, or people with an uterus. Since there are trans men that still have periods, but a trans woman will not.
Load More Replies... I had to explain to TWO of my girlfriends (not simultaneously) that pee and blood come out of two different holes. No I do not live in a third world country or the US. Some people just don't pay attention in biology class, even if it concerns their own bodies. A friend of mine had no idea that testicles only contain sperm and the rest of the fluid is provided by the prostate.
This is just stupid.... I live in Germany and we had comprehensive (age appropriate) and fact based sex ed when I was 9 years old. Then again later in secondary school in a more scientific way. It didn't even occur to me that religious motives could play a part in educating students about their own body and sexuality or, to be more precise, that they could be used as a reason to teach any other things as actual fact-based information. We had religious studies but that was it. We talked about religion during that class and all the other classes were fact-based, as they should be! Sex ed in elementary school was taught in a subject that rouhgly translates to "General Studies". There we learned all the stuff you actually need to know: basic geography, economics, and stuff you actually need to know about like f****ing sex ed!
Not just men. My SIL JUST found out we have 3 holes "down there". She's NEVER used a tampon because what if she has to pee? We are 55 years old. My new favorite expression is someone is REALLY dumb if they're "3 hole dumb".
So, why did the OP not spread this moron’s shame to every media outlet at the time? You don’t let scum of the earth like this go unchallenged and secure in their offices.
Maybe it looks like it was genuine ignorance, no need to publicly shame someone if he's willing to learn and change. Or maybe because she was an intern and could have lost her job
Load More Replies... If any guy asks me this I'm going to ask them if they can hold in a bloody nose.
WTF??? This woman should´ve let the blood run out to show her f*****g boss or collegue WHAT happens when you get your period & don´t use tampons, sanitary napkins or the modern menstruation cups, at the beginning, when I got my first period at the age of 12, I had to use sanitary napkins because my mum thought the blood might get stuck with tampons, but my 3 1/2 years older sister already used tampons, so I asked her to give me some of them to try at the 3rd or 4th period, which worked & made it possible to go swimming with them, then I told this to our mum, but she said if I wanted to use them there wouldn´t be enough household money there for them, so I´d have to buy them from my "pocket money", which I did (I only got 5 DM/week then, so I had to save it for 2 weeks to be able to buy a pack with 64 in them for 10 DM for one period)!!! Due to the Lupus I`m probably already through the climacterium now, had several "guest periods" now and then, last year I had them every 15-16 days for
That is awful. I feel for you - I'm so grateful that my mother at least allowed us to choose what we preferred. In the UK it's the lower rate at 5% and some supermarkets effectively scrapped that by covering the tax themselves. Still schoolgirls miss school because of their periods - these things should be free for anyone still in school at the very least.
Load More Replies... How is it possible in this day and age, with the internet, the media, the TV, a world full of information, for a grown, married man not to know how periods work. I don't care when he was born. I don't care about his access to sex ed. How can you live with a woman for presumably decades and not even know the basics? That's not an oversight. That's wilful and malicious ignorance based on misogyny.
That is just insane. There needs to be a 30 minute mandatory instructional video of how the female body works, specifically geared towards men. There's men out there making laws that effect us and our bodies and their entire knowledge is based on what he's heard from his buddies, which is basically nothing. Our educational system is shameful at best and our politicians are an embarrassment.
My ex husband used to think that pms was a made up thing women used to get out of having sex.. The first time we went shopping together after we started living together. I put in my monthly essentials. When we got to the check out he got all squirmy, & said, why do you have to buy those when I'm here you should get them when you are alone, I shouldn't have to help pay for those. With my usual tact I said, you're f*****g kidding right? Why would I make a separate trip to the supermarket just to buy pads & tampons? His reply That stuff is private, they shouldn't even be sold here, no one wants to see that s**t. Me, What, 50% of the population shouldnt be able to buy them cheap & conveniently, where exactly should they be sold if not between the condoms & toilet paper in aisle 15? He had no answer for that.
Not to market the products - but as a general FYI - women around the world can buy reusable menstrual cups and pads, as well as underwear you can wear and reuse for periods. There are also DIY articles to make your own pads, like women have for generations before us. You don't have to pay a tax if you don't participate in the commercialization of periods. Most of the disposable ones don't ever work 75% of the time. The people who make them and sell them to women are capitalizing on the shame put on having periods and the general disgust people show for that kind of blood BY our less educated parents and role models but telling us we are not clean w/o disposables (which are just as bad as throwing a diaper into a landfill). We don't have to participate or use their badly made, overtaxed products.
Hundreds of millions of females around the world have NO access to any kind of feminine products. Even here in the US there are millions who have access but can't afford them. Reusable products also need to be sterilized, which again many have no access to do it, or places to rinse them out and put it back in. So NO, women around the world do NOT have access to those products.
Load More Replies... Just curious, but why was this boss so familiar with what items were in the women's bathrooms. Did he hang out there a lot?
Well he sees how much the company is paying for those things because he's the boss.
Load More Replies... And this is not the first time I've heard of a man who thinks that, although I've heard some real ignorance among young women too about their own reproductive system. It's just sad.
Beside the relentless stupidity of her manager, which I agree he should be re-educated on the matter,. I am getting off topic with this next bit; what gets me is this argument of men not paying tax, at least in the UK, for their razors is ridiculous. Razors are taxed at 20% whereas tampons are taxed at 5%, the minimum tax the EU set out, not the UK. The ironic thing being, most of the people who voted stay in the EU are the one's who want this tax abolished. There are other options; the reusable 'moon cup' as disgusting an idea it is, is pretty much the equivalent to a mans electric razor. So, pay tax and be quiet until they abolish the tax for it (which I wholeheartedly agree with) or go the reusable route. but yes this girl should have ignored her manager and did her thing.
In my country we learn that (and everything sex-related) in biology class. My teacher wanted us to know all the phases of the female monthly cycle by heart.
A dildo? Seriously?? Yes we choose to turn on our period so we can experience utter pain and a horrible mood to be “lazy”. Why tf would someone think that?? Gosh, if I had the choice I’d choose to NEVER start. Also, you shouldn’t have to have permission to go to the bathroom as a GROWN WOMAN. If he said no, I’d end the conversation and go to the restroom. If I get fired then I don’t think that’s to bad if I had a boss like that. Because 1) I do not want to stain my clothes 2) I do not want to smell and 3) I just don’t want people to know I’m on it at all
Do they not teach sex ed or f*****g biology in school or something? Why are men going around getting married or just living in general without knowing this s**t?
Aren't you studying anatomy at school? The state of education in the USA is even worse than I thought.
These men are stupid. And likely, someone that raised them or taught them was stupid, too. It isn't that complicated to understand.
And I thought I had it bad, when I had to explain STDs to my 36 year old, university lecturer ex........
I really cannot believe a grown a*s man thought this s**t! did his wife not educate him? Or was she too embarrassed to say anything? My dad knew 50 years ago! My husband sure as hell knew 40 years ago, and my boys know now. I just cannot believe this, and find it hysterically funny that there are some that still need education on this subject! Go to ladies and embarrass the hell out of them until they all get the idea.
Wow! Ignorance is no excuse for being stupid. People need to educate themselves. I'm so sorry for that guy's wife.
To show the government that these aren't luxury items, women should choose a day where they just don't wear any hygiene products but still go about their lives on buses, in restaurants, at work etc. That would be a very gross but effective way to show that these things are essentials.
This whole website is blatant social engineering. Are you all bind, are you bereft of reason?
I once had a boss ask if I could "just hold it." Like, it's not p**s, man. And, if I could, don't you think I would probably hold it, like, indefinitely? Jackass.
I love my bf so much we have been together for almost 10 years and he grew up with 4 sisters yet he STILL asked me (about a month and a half ago) why I needed a tampon when we went swimming. Apparently he thought that when we got in the water it just stopped. He seemed genuinely confused when I explained that there was no way to stop the flow of blood and that even if I fully submerge my body in water I can still bleed. He was super sweet about it but it was baffling that a 32 year old man didn't know we couldn't control it.
whaaaaat?! Many many men will never understand how our period is. That´s the truth. NO matter how many times someone explains this to them.
As a man, I find this story amazing, and appalling at the same time. Just goes to show our best and brightest are not in our government, but what does that say about us who keep voting them in. On the point people make about sex ed, I agree it should be taught, but the issue many people have with sex ed today is the schools are teaching not just the basics, but a**l sex, homosexuality, and transgenderism that many Americans don't believe is necessary for a proper education about the sexes. Maybe if the cut out the unnecessary they would have time to properly explain the reproductive systems of both sexes.
But there ARE homosexuals and transgenders sitting in these sex ed classes! You can't just choose to be heterosexual any more than women can choose when to have their period. So this information isn't unnecessary. It's helpful.
Load More Replies... Honestly, this looks like some US "Bible Belt" issue. I cannot imagine any man I know being so ignorant about the matter, and I know some pretty thick minded guys. Damn, I grew in a catholic family and went to a catholic school, and still I know what period is and how it works since I was 8-y-o or so.
I don't know anyone who is that uninformed nor have I ever been shamed for having my period.
it's not his fault that he was not taught what half of us have to go through.
Load More Replies... Why did you bring that into this? I'll just assume you're trying to p**s people off and not make an actual point.
Load More Replies... Um, wow, nice story. What did that have to do with any of this? Pretty specific to happen "every time".
Load More Replies... I have NEVER seen anything like that on the internet. Where did you get that from?
Load More Replies... Not all women can/want to use birth control pills. In the case of some health issues/diseases/beliefs it is impossible. Besides, hormonal contraception has many cons. For example, it increases the risk of thrombosis, which may eventually lead to pulmonary embolism or a stroke.
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