Blog Archives
What Happened to Kayo’s Flow Forum? (Again)
Hi Everyone,
Long-time-no-update indeed! I know much of my menstrual faithfuls and community members have really been lost due to the disappearance of Kayo’s Flow Forum. I wholeheartedly thank a MiM reader “Caroline” for her very helpful tidbit that he has graciously posted on this blog. For those who are not familiar with Kayo’s (and I do need to stress that the site is “Viewers Discretion” and NSFW), it has been the mother-ship of all things menstrual – or rather, more of an erotic nature rather than an educational one. Kayo’s Flow Forum had been discontinued without prior notice, probably to the chagrin of many readers. It was located at http://www.dotcomjunkies.com/members/kayo/forum/ and http://www.spamfreeforums.com/kayo/index.shtml which are now no longer operational and renders an empty/defunct webpage.
I visited Kayo’s daily since the day of the shutdown and sadly, it was never resurrected and I kept on seeing a white empty page. When I thought “it was all over”….
On – Caroline said:
Ah I knew I could count on you to still be in “the flow”. Yep, SpamFreeForums closed it doors and snuck off in the dead of night, leaving no forwarding address. It sucks. I have set up a temporary forum for us to gather our thoughts and try to figure out how to get ourselves a stable home. Go here: http://kayosflowforum.freeforums.net/. It’s free… easy to register. I don’t intend to make it a permanent forum because honestly the interface sucks… but options are limited for us poor “marginal topic” folks I guess. How about a Facebook page?? lol… anyhow… that’s the news. Hope to see some familiar names at the new site!
This brings great relief to the menstrual “fan” community that we have settled and have hopefully found a place that we can call home again. I will of course be updating my navigation link to reflect the change in URL. Unfortunately, the new Kayo’s Flow Forum will probably take quite a while to show up on search engines again and push down the remnants of our old home. I’m sure many people who are wonder, “OH NO, where did Kayo’s Flow Forum go?!” are still getting redirected to the old site when using search engine queries. I panicked just as much as you guys did, as that is one of the few popular places on the internet that has a ‘beyond loving welcome of menstruation’… I am certainly seeing many other “period-positive” sites… but just not generally of that “nature”.
I’ve been told that this new landing spot may be temporary, permanent or temporarily-permanent (hah).
We all breathe a sigh-of-relief this day as we know that TFF still lives. I want to thank everyone’s effort in this, everyone from the webmasters to my “informants” who keep a watchful eye.
Now it looks like we can all “Have A Happy Period!”
And… of course for the people who just like to scroll to the bottom of blog entries without the details, THE NEW KAYO’S FLOW FORUM IS LOCATED @ http://kayosflowforum.freeforums.net/
What Happened to Kayo’s Flow Forum?
Hi Everyone,
Long-time-no-update indeed! I know much of my menstrual faithfuls and community members have really been lost due to the disappearance of Kayo’s Flow Forum. I wholeheartedly thank a MiM reader “Another_Jeffrey” for his very helpful tidbit that he has graciously posted on this blog. For those who are not familiar with Kayo’s (and I do need to stress that the site is “Viewers Discretion” and NSFW), it has been the mother-ship of all things menstrual – or rather, more of an erotic nature rather than an educational one. Kayo’s Flow Forum had been discontinued without prior notice, probably to the chagrin of many readers. It was located at http://www.dotcomjunkies.com/members/kayo/forum/ which is now no longer operational and renders an empty webpage.
On October 16, 2012 – Another_Jeffrey said:
Kayo’s Flow Forum is down at the moment because the domain name expired. It is not known if DCJ will continue in operation.
I visited Kayo’s daily since the day of the shutdown and sadly, it was never resurrected and I kept on seeing a white empty page. When I thought “it was all over”….
On November 8, 2012 – Another_Jeffrey said:
After a temporary run at periodforum.com (whose account was suspended), Kayo has restored the site at
http://www.spamfreeforums.com/kayo/index.shtml
It is physically on the same server that housed dotcomjunkies.com. The archives are still on that server, it is just a question of how to get it over to the spamfreeforums partition. No password required to post for the moment, but details of how to secure a handle are included in the first few posts at the new site.
This brings great relief to the menstrual “fan” community that we have settled and have hopefully found a place that we can call home again. I will of course be updating my navigation link to reflect the change in URL. Unfortunately, the new Kayo’s Flow Forum will probably take quite a while to show up on search engines again and push down the remnants of our old home. I’m sure many people who are wonder, “OH NO, where did Kayo’s Flow Forum go?!” are still getting redirected to the old site when using search engine queries. I panicked just as much as you guys did, as that is one of the few popular places on the internet that has a ‘beyond loving welcome of menstruation’… I am certainly seeing many other “period-positive” sites… but just not generally of that “nature”.
Please note that as per information provided by Another_Jeffrey and Kayo, that while handles are currently not mandatory, it’s suggested you get one registered for the near future where registration will be required (for posting). There currently isn’t an automated registration form, therefore you’ll have to do it the old fashion way as described here.
Hello people,
Please drop me an email and mention your desired handle. I will register it asap and sent you the password. sff_online at hotmail.com
Important; put “flow forum” in the subject. Its a busy mailbox…with this subject i can help faster 🙂
Best regards, webbie
Kayo also happened to change the current site introduction blurb, probably to reflect what happened/the current situation of TFF/TFF2. However, one of the members “Crossdresser” happened to have a record of the previous blurb which many of us has become accustomed to…:
Welcome All Menstruation Freaks!
Visit my Flow Forum II, sign my guestbook, or enter my private chat.
Why do we do this!? What’s WRONG with us!?
What ever happened to Bianca? Will she ever return? Who cares!?
Do women REALLY like talking about periods!!? Really??
Do guys really get off on this stuff? Do girls!!??Aren’t you even the LEAST bit curious?… So? Come find out.
And then finally Kayo gave an official response to the situation, minus the details:
Many thanks to Karel (our old DCJ Gremlin Guru Webmaster) for getting us back on the ‘net.
I won’t make this a long story but to answer your questions. For reasons beyond Karel’s control, he could no longer maintain DCJ on the server it was on. He was very upset about this. He did maintain a backup site for DCJ (SpamFreeForums) and I remembered that he had posted the link on DCJ some time ago, in case DCj ever went off-line. So I went to SFF, but the link to DCJ was no longer there, and I could find nothing about DCJ. Taking a chance, I wrote to Webmaster at SFF looking for an email to Karel or Spekie. Karel got in touch with me and offered to set us up here on SFF. So all credit goes to Karel!!
The page looks and feels more or less the same because he is using the same script from DCJ. Spekie owns the server where everything was archived, so it may be possible at some point to get those old posts back, but the truth is we can start fresh and make new archives here. As more members find us and register, we might revive a few threads… we’ll see.
Karel has also tweaked a few things so Google will now display links to this page when searching for the old forum. It might not be the first page or even the second, but I checked with a few keywords and we’re getting some hits already.
We all breathe a sigh-of-relief this day as we know that TFF still lives. I want to thank everyone’s effort in this, everyone from the webmasters to my “informants” who keep a watchful eye.
Now it looks like we can all “Have A Happy Period!”
And… of course for the people who just like to scroll to the bottom of blog entries without the details, THE NEW KAYO’S FLOW FORUM IS LOCATED @ http://www.spamfreeforums.com/kayo/
Scented Products – Pads, Tampons, Liners, Wipes & Sprays. Why?
So now it sucks that I have to point out this brand in particular, but, it’s right-on-topic with what I want to speak about. Being an avid fan of periods, perhaps I may not be as bothered by the idea of menstrual fluid, the sight, smell or even presence of it – but others may be, whether male or female. I can understand the fear that some girls may be self-conscious about their own smell or might even feel disgusted about their own smell that they would consider using scented products. This doesn’t just have to do with scented tampons or pads, but there is also quite a market out there of women who feel that they need to “feel fresh” by using things like vaginal wipes or sprays. My question is, “is it really necessary?”
Yes, our body does not emanate the most beautiful smells. Even those who use fragrance soaps and perfume – let’s face it, WE do not naturally smell good, we are only masking our own natural body smell. Suffice to say, it doesn’t mean we should discard hygiene and let ourselves smell like crap, but our body, especially our sensitive areas like our pubic region don’t need to smell like flower petals. Furthermore, we all know that these scents are just chemicals, so why on earth would we even consider putting chemicals near our private areas? If you don’t wash your face regularly with acid, then you probably wouldn’t want to stuff a scented tampon in your vagina. Sure, the chemicals in those aren’t as harsh as acid, but the bottom line is… that they’re still chemicals.
For many women who still continue to use conventional feminine hygiene products, disposable pads and tampons – they’re already subjecting themselves to many foreign materials and using scented products is just like adding salt to a wound. I’ve managed to persuade most of my girls who uses scented products to stay away from them or for ones who are self-conscious to only use scented products when they feel that their period smell may be exposed easily. We all like to smell good, I’m not sure how many people on this world enjoy smelling bad if they had a choice, but scented feminine hygiene products aren’t the way to go. Honestly, even a pad or tampon that has been worn to the maximum and leaking, menstrual fluid smell would still be minimal. As a female, ask yourself, how many people would even be close to your vagina? Unless you work in the sex industry or as a stripper, would there be that many people close enough to your vagina where they’d be able to smell you? It’d be perhaps, your partner or at least someone whom you are comfortable enough to be so intimately close to – so is covering up the smell that important?
Let’s consider scented tampons for a moment. A tampon goes inside the vagina and stays there until it’s withdrawn and then thrown away. Please feel free to justify the reasoning of why a scented tampon is necessary because once you pull it out, it goes right into the garbage or down the toilet. Would the smell of menstrual flow for the 2 seconds prior to disposal be so bad where it’d be necessary to have a scented product? Also, I’ve seen my fair share of scented products and really, even the most scented product isn’t enough to completely mask the smell of the menstrual fluid. Don’t believe me? If you have the guts, try it yourself. Scented pads are pretty bad because the pad is already rubbing against your pubic region the whole day and with tampons, it’s sitting inside your body for up to 8 hours a day, times the number of tampons you use per day. We may enjoy the idea of our outer regions smelling good and thus, we use heavily scented soaps or feminine wipes, but why does the inside of the vagina need to smell good? Douching has been a long-standing practice, especially for some cultures or backgrounds – but did you know that douching should be something that’s done only on the recommendation of a doctor? Douching can be bad for the vagina because it may upset the delicate pH balance of the vagina.
As I mentioned, I don’t know of too many of my girls who use scented products so for those who do or have used them, for what reason do you prefer scented products? I know some products don’t come with a choice, for instance, Stayfree pads used to have both scented and unscented versions – but not anymore as the all come slightly scented. I can understand if you’ve used a certain product for so long where you don’t feel persuaded to change products, but for those who are using a product such as Playtex tampons where they do have scented and unscented products – why would you opt to use the scented, especially knowing that it truly is unnecessary (or unless you have reasons to deem it necessary)? This is not meant to entice an argument or to say that those who uses scented products as “wrong” – but rather, let us discuss the pros and cons and weigh them as to whether using scented products is a sound idea.
For the women who use liners on a daily basis to stay fresh, then perhaps I can under that manufactures want to add scent to it to encourage the idea that a good smell is the way you stay fresh. You can’t stay fresh just by relying on a scented pantiliner, but also with proper hygiene and changing of underwear on a regular or daily basis. I understand that some women get discharge regularly or have to deal with overactive vaginal lubrication, which sometimes doesn’t have the most pleasent smell or causes that “damp” feeling against your vagina, but yet, isn’t that the point of underwear? Underwear was meant to provide us with a buffer between our bodily fluids and the rest of the world. I looked up the “purpose of underwear” and one important point that came up is that underwear is to “support and protect your genital“. With that said, a bit of gunk on your underwear isn’t going to cause major issues unless you have a very heavy discharge or soaking issue, then, I can see the necessity of wearing a pantiliner regularly.
The vagina, just like any part of our body requires “breathing space” and using a pantiliner every day prevents that. Pantiliners, as part of a pre-menstrual and post-menstrual application is reasonable, but every day is almost excessive. Beyond the consideration of having your vagina stuffed up by products, also consider wearing underwear that’s more air permeable. Wearing breathable articles of clothing may make you think that just exposes your “smell” more, but by improving the OVERALL HEALTH of your pubic area, you are helping it, not hindering it.
Remember the reasons why you chose scented products in the first place, review it and see if it still really makes sense to stick with them! If you want to smell good, consider all your other healthier options.
Buying Pads/Tampons with Your Significant Other
After a hiatus due to a prolonged illness, I am not back in action! My next topic was inspired as I was purchasing some pads to test in Walmart, seeing the reactions of male significant others, and the discomfort that was expressed between couples down the feminine hygiene aisle. I tend to take my time in this aisle, so no doubt during the very busy “back to school” season, I saw both young and old couples alike, with the females vying for these items before heading off for school or as a regular stock-up. I’m not sure how to write this article using proper wording and being sensitive to those who have perhaps gone through sexual reassignment, hormonal injections, people who have chosen to live an alternate lifestyle or even lesbian couples (since they’d be both ‘comfortable’ with the idea of a menstrual period), so I’m just going to write this in my stance of what Canadian society defines to be a male-female relationship.
So as I’m browsing the typical feminine hygiene products, I see a lot of guys walking past me with really uneasy faces – some more obvious than others, but all seem to express common-ground with each other, “let’s get the hell out of here as soon as we can!” and you can tell, because the second they leave sight of that aisle, their posture corrects themselves, their faces are no longer flush-red and they resume normal motion speeds. Of course, there are the odd guy who wanders into that section who don’t even flinch and good for you, but whenever there are males in the aisle with their female partner or friend, you can tell there’s a large air of discomfort – perhaps for both the male and female! I would say in general, most of the people who purchase these items with their significant other is when they’re living common-law or married. I’ve asked my male and female friends whether their counterpart are willing to purchase pads/tampons with them and most of them said no, or said only in major emergencies would they even consider it. Suffice to say, these are exactly “statistically proven” figures, but simply through questioning people who I happen to know – which may very well differ from “credible numbers.” Case-in-point, I recently went with a coworker to Walmart during a sale for tampons and she bought them in my presence and I even carried it for her all through checkout. It was quite comfortable and because she recently found out about my “interests” in menstruation. She admitted though, that did she not know that I was, “not grossed out by periods” that she would’ve asked me to wait in the car or wouldn’t have even bought it when she was with me.
I remember when I bought pads with bebe for the first time, it was such a comfortable experience for us both… I suppose given that bebe has always known about my “interest” that it wasn’t exactly a shocker for her or that she wasn’t used to talking to me about it. We were standing in the aisle and we were openly discussing which pads I recommend and which ones she usually buys. When I was with my coworker, I didn’t give as much of my opinion, since she only knows a degree of my interest and since we definitely don’t share the same comfort-level over her period as bebe and I do, I didn’t want to be the one “giving her pointers” about which tampons I would recommend or whatnot.
So to the guys, how many of you would actually go with your partner to purchase feminine hygiene products and to the girls, how many of you would let your male partner accompany you to buy these products?
Naturally, guys may feel uncomfortable in this aisle because it’s foreign to them and perhaps a bit embarrassing. After all, guys would not be accustomed to going down this aisle since they have no need for these products, therefore being there is almost like being that one guy who walks into a girls-only school or something. Sometimes, when a guy walks into this aisle, he gets a lot of looks from the females too, although luckily I haven’t been a victim myself of those “disapproving-stares” walking in… perhaps I look natural, lol. Once the guy “detects” the discomfort from others in the air, he will often try to escape quickly, for instance, you’ll often see guys trying to push the cart away, glance at other “non feminine hygiene things”, play with items inside the cart or he’ll put pressure onto his female partner to hurry up so they can leave. This is unfair as well to the female since she needs time to look at her options and choices and after all, shopping should be a pleasure and enjoyment right? We should not be rushed to make decisions. Guys will often look disgruntled as well for being in the aisle and you can tell the sigh of relief they have once they exit the section. It’s a privilege and an opportunity for us guys to be able to join our female partners to buy these items. It shows that they have comfort and trust and also it’s an opportunity for us to learn about our partner/periods. Remember that the discomfort may actually be two-way and the more discomfort you show as a male partner, the more your female counterpart may feel embarrassed, pressured or upset. Most females are quite open to buying male items, so why should we as guys feel embarrassed to accompany our female partners to buy her products? Don’t forget that for some women, it’s hard for them even to buy these items for themselves, so we should not heighten their existing discomfort as it is.
For the females, how comfortable are you when you buy these products with your male significant other? Do you let him pressure you into buying things faster, ask him to go look at something else or do you just take your time despite his discomfort? I saw an older man, who was buying some pads with his wife and he kept on pointing his cart out the aisle. The second his wife turned around and dropped one of the packages in the cart and while she turned around to choose another, the guy was already half-bolting out the aisle. The woman had to yell after her husband and told him to wait because she was not done. The guy sighed in exasperation and turned around and now with the extra attention attracted towards him now, the situation became even more embarrassing as you could see the man’s face going red like a tomato. A female entered the aisle shortly later and was browsing some tampons. I assume her partner came in (not sure if it’s a boyfriend or husband), but he wandered over and stood there with her. This guy seemed a lot more comfortable, but the girl did not. She stopped browsing and kind of glanced around – and gave the guy a really disapproving look. It appeared he didn’t clue in and it was clear she couldn’t comfortably concentrate on looking at her products with the guy’s presence. She prodded the guy to go, but he said to her, “I’m done getting what I need, just waiting for you now” – but the girl still asked the guy to go elsewhere. It was just kind of unfortunate that she was not comfortable with him being there. One could argue maybe they’re not that close, but looking at their buggy, they definitely seemed like a “couple” based on some of the stuff they bought together. Therefore, when it comes to buying feminine hygiene items, discomfort can and does exist on both sides of the fence.
Let’s all try to make shopping for ANY item a comfortable experience and be reasonably inclusive of each other, especially if there’s a relationship involved. If this person will be or already is a “special someone” in your life, then buying feminine hygiene items together should not be alarming. Achieving equality should be for both genders, not just women. After all, it’s pretty typical for women to buy male underwear, but yet, when a guy goes to buy female panties, he is likely viewed as a creep, pervert and is generally frowned. When a female buys male underwear, people will assume it’s for her son, boyfriend or husband, but when a male buys it, people will probably think it’s for him to wear or masturbate in, but not that he’s simply buying it for his daughter, girlfriend or wife. When you show patience and comfort with your partner as you shop with him/her, it makes the experience so much better and is fair to everyone. If she patiently waits for you to pick your choice of condoms, why should you not patiently wait for her to choose the right product so she doesn’t bleed all over you? 😆
Rarity: Women Who Love Their Period?
Having spoken to many women before, I have to admit that it is a rarity to hear them say that they actually enjoy having their period. Certainly, women do have their fair share of inconveniences and pains, so I’m not surprized that some, if any, would be excited over their monthly visitor. There are of course those very lucky women who have little discomfort or inconvenience when they get their periods. For instance, one of my god-sis is quite fortunate to be one of them, with a very light menstrual flow and a short period, usually only 2-3 days per cycle. Her pad and tampon consumption is very low and her period has never once debilitated her enough from carrying on her normal lifestyle. There is beauty in menstruation, because not only does it signify the beauty of the female body maturing, but also giving ladies the responsibility of taking care of your personal hygiene by bringing the proper amount of product(s) with you! Maybe that’s why, women are much better at taking care of their bodies (and even in general) than men are capable of 😛
There are however, women who I spoken to who suffer from PCOS, period-related anemia and even sometimes just bad cramps/heavy flow that it severely disrupts their lifestyle, preventing them from attending class, going to work or even something as simple as going out for a walk. One experience I had personally was that one of my ex’s had such a bad period that she didn’t even want to go to the mall with me, in fears that she would need to change her feminine hygiene product urgently that she didn’t even want to endure the car ride or the possibility of not being close enough to a washroom and prevent a leak. Just like anything in life, there will always be women on either ends of extremes. I’m glad my bebe has a fairly normal menstrual experience, although it’s a bit longer than I would usually expect, as usually her cycle is into the 40-ish day ranges.
To put it into words, women have just learned to cope with their periods, but not necessarily embrace it. I cannot say I even know half of the feeling of what women go through during their periods and nor am I a psychologist, so I cannot say how easy/hard it would be to truly ‘love’ ones period. As a period-lover, I also can’t imagine not loving periods, despite the pains involved, so I may not be the person who can accurate describe how to help others change their mentality towards their own (or other females) period. Suffice to say, with women commonly in the workforce, many of them are forced to cope with their period at work, even if they may be highly affected by discomfort, pain or hygienic inconveniences. I wish from the bottom of my heart that every woman can have a pleasant and comfortable period, but unfortunately that dream for me is unlikely to come true. I know girls who have passed out from the pain of their period or have to use both an overnight pad and ultra tampon just to avoid leakage.
A few of my girls do enjoy their period, but not so much the menstruating factor, but more of the fact it gives them an opportunity to test new products, including ones which I suggest or recommend. I’ve had a few female readers send me complimenting emails on how they look forward to their period because they have been inspired to try new products every period as a result of reading my blog. One of my regular reader also tells me she looks forward to her period every month as she enjoys trying a variety of pads and tampons. Both of us amusingly, stock up excessively on the number of products, haha. We both wish there was a way to quickly go through all the products, that way, we can move on and try something new!
This blog exists not only to encourage men to learn and embrace menstruation, but also in hopes that the ladies will enjoy having their period and see it as an opportunity each time it comes along. I understand it’s hard for those who suffer from menstruation or menstrual-related disorders to view their period in the same way, but we can only make the best of each period! I know I’ve accomplished quite a bit with this blog and continue to hope I can touch the lives of my readers, because I’ve receive much positive feedback on how the blog has allowed them to view menstruation from a whole other angle. Persuasion is indeed a hard thing, particularly because it’s hard for me to put myself in place of a female who has experienced what periods feel like, including the “negativity” that surrounds periods. I had a lengthy discussion with a friend the other day about her period and it was tough for me to try to convince her that her period is a great part of her life. Unfortunately she suffers from some pretty wacky stuff with her period, so it’s hard for me to persuade her to enjoy her period in any way. On the bright side, I’ve got her to try a new product that she never tried before, so I’m trying to open up the doors for her to feel more comfortable with her period and get something positive out of it.
Do you or do you know women in your life who enjoy their period or perhaps even learned to love it?
Opening Up About Menstrual Interests
Having been almost a year and a half since I started this blog, I’ve received lots of comments both on-site and as well as through IM and email. People often ask, how is it that I can be so open about a topic that is not native to my biological gender? Easy, it is an interest! With that said, the topic itself should not be embarrassing or shameful to tackle, as menstruation and is wonderful and mystical element of the female body. Women may not bond over the fact they share breasts, a vagina or long hair – but, many sisterhoods are formed over a common ground, their periods and naturally bleeding body. Suffice to say, one of my god-sis’ best friend was actually formed inside the women’s bathroom in high school. How could that happen? Simple, she lent one of her tampons to someone she didn’t know who was begging for one. After 7 years, they still remain close friends, despite facing the trials of life, finishing post-secondary, getting a job and working on starting their “adult” life – all through the small act of lending out a tampon. While this may be a rare circumstance to have such a friendship formed, it is but a simple example of the bond formed through an act of kindness over the pains and unfortunate appearance of menstrual flow.
Regularly speaking to my female friends and some male community members over the fascination of menstruation, I have come to realize that particularly for guys, opening up to fellow friends or a female partner is a daunting situation. Particularly in the case of a female partner, whether a girlfriend or wife, I think it’s necessary that two people are able to speak keenly about their own interests, both personality-wise and sexually. After all, if two people are in it for the long-run, why should they not know everything about their other half? Being able to share things openly with each other is an essential part of a functional relationship. Every girl I’ve been with in a romantic relationship knows about my menstrual interests, because I think it should be fair I can share it with them and fair that they need to be aware of it. There needs to be acceptance both ways, the fact that I fee lcomfortable enough to share such intimate details with them and also that they can accept my interest. Accepting in my mind, does not necessarily mean participating in my interest, but simply allowing me to “do my own thing” so to speak. Also, because this interest, generally speaking, is not something of destructive nature I believe wholeheartedly that it should not be something to cause alarm. For instance, if I were to start using illegal drugs, it would definitely be in any girlfriend or wife’s place to say STOP IT, but she should have no right to TELL me to stop. Suffice to say, if bebe asked me today to give up my interest in menstruation, I probably could because of my love and devotion to her that I would be willing to make such a sacrifice. With that said, it doesn’t mean any male or female should have the right to demand that the other person suppress their right to have a menstrual interest, despite whether they want to “take part” in it.
How did I approach the girl’s I’ve been with about my menstrual interests? Well, I would not be able to answer that in any concrete way, because just like any individual, each girl had a differently personality type, predisposed openness to menstruation and comfort level with their own body. I definitely found the girls who had the most comfort with their own body and open-minded personality that they adapted easily to my interest, including ones who even LOVED my passion with menstruation. Each girl is different so I can say for sure that the way I introduced my interests to Girl #1 is definitely differently compared to Girl #2. As I’ve mentioned before, I never had any girls in my life (who I shared a romantic relationship with that is) who did not at bare minimum accept my love for menstruation. Even bebe with her semi-frigidness seems willing to accept my interest in it and try to share herself with me when it came to such discussions. While she is far from being as enthusiastic as my ex over it, her efforts to do so make it extra heartwarming. Sharing such an interest comes with great danger, because it may very well make or break a relationship – or even – friendship. Remember that even in such an “advanced” and “modern” society, many people still ‘have a problem’ when it comes to the subject of menstruation.
Yes, I agree that menstruation, especially one’s OWN menstrual cycle is a personal detail, many people take it beyond the fact that it’s just “personal” – but the fact they themselves resent it or feel disgusted by it. I have no problem with a girl feeling exposed or that she rather keep her menstrual details to herself, but those who feel that their menstrual cycle is shameful is where the ‘problem’ occurs. Just like our sex-lives, some like to share, some do not, but one should not shelter information about periods for the wrong reasons. With each of the girls I’ve had a relationship with, I took many different approaches and anecdotes, with some I could literally blurt out, “Oh by the way, I love periods” and other ones, where I had to play little games of injecting hints over a period (heh) of time.
One thing is for sure, before any one considers telling their partner or someone about their own interests in menstruation, you really have to “feel out” the other person. What kind of person are they, do they seem receptive of such information? What do you have to gain from them knowing, but also, what costs are involved should it fail? The best way is usually to try to engage them in “period talk” of sorts by somehow directing a conversation towards that subject. If the person veers the conversation away, it may mean they’re very sensitive towards that topic, in that case, I would be very cautious about expressing open interest. Likewise, if they engage in that subject and also seem passionate about it, you may have a green light. These are NOT set-in-stone rules, because while a girl might be open about menstruation or even her own menstrual information, she may not always be accepting of you being interested in menstruation. I remember one conversation with a girl I had who would participate strongly in any conversation about menstruation, including divulging many of her own experiences and intimate details of her, but when I ‘tested the waters’ on how she would react to know that a male was interested in periods, she furrowed her eyebrows. Therefore, one must be cautious about indications of openness to menstruation, in alignment with the whether it shows true openness (to all genders) or whether the openness is present under the consideration that it is a “female-only topic”.
While I would love to share my interest of menstruation, there are some girls who are simply object to men knowing anything about periods, let alone be interested in them. It’s up to you to decide whether it is worthwhile to consider pursuing the chance to open the topic or whether it is best to never touch upon it again. Furthermore, you have to ask yourself, if this is a woman who you are interested in, would you be able to go the rest of your life without expressing your interests or perhaps, even suppressing them? Of course I am not saying just because the girl doesn’t share the same love or acceptance to menstruation doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be with her, but you just have to consider the long-term impact and your own willpower. After all, there are several members even of Kayo’s community who has admitted that for years they have sheltered their own fetish and interest in menstruation in fears of that it would affect their romantic partners. Opening up to your partner about your love for menstruation is hard, particularly if every aspect of the relationship is “right” that you don’t want to risk the loss of such relationship over your own passion.
While I do not restrict the knowledge of my love of menstruation to girls I date, I definitely keep it close-knowledge because girls that I’ve known for a long-time and built a solid relationship with, or girls like my god-sis’. Also, with each girl, you can get an idea of their comfort level to the degree of which they are willing to share about menstruation, whether in general or about their own bodies. I suppose I’ve achieved comfort in a lot of these girls because they share the most intimate details about their periods with me and sometimes when we’re out, they won’t even say something like, “I need to use the washroom” – they’ll be like, “Hey, I gotta go change my pad!” and that’s just totally cool with me 😛 I have to say though, when it comes to girls I’ve dated or am dating, I also “restrict” the amount of information I share with them based on what I perceive to be their comfort level. Even with bebe, as much as I love her and want to be with her for the rest of my life, there are still some reservations that I make when it comes to my interest in periods with her. Timing and comfort-over-time is a very large factor when it comes to how little/how much you reveal and with proper timing.
Writing this entry, I’m hardly saying I’ve “perfected the art of revealing my menstrual interests” – but with a handful of relationships and 2 serious ones under the belt, I can say I’ve had at least ‘experience’ with displaying my interests of menstrual within the scope of a relationship. Having girls who appreciate my passion in menstruation is a really wonderful feeling and for the guys who share similarities like this with me, I can definitely tell you it is a liberating feeling being able to tell trusted friends and the special person in your life about your own passion. While such interests differs from hobbies like playing basketball, interest in menstruation can still be a respectful interest and with much to learn about. Remember that loving menstruation isn’t just about benefiting yourself, but also about the benefit of others. With knowledge about menstruation, one can better themselves by knowing that when a girl is angry, it isn’t a matter of her (not always at least) PMS’ing or that she’s “on the rag” and knowing the realities and separating the myths of what menstruation is about. It’s about using your love and education in menstruation, that you may be able to help girl-friends, girlfriend and/or wife to cope with her changing needs over the years. With your love of menstruation, you should help your fellow females feel comfortable with menstruation in generality and personally. It is your love of menstruation that in the most painful times of need, that you are there to support your friends and lover and to help them overcome obstacles in their periods and throughout the rest of their lives.
Remember that knowledge of menstruation comes with great responsibilities in knowing that what other women may confide in you when it comes to their period, they may not want to share with the whole world. I am lucky to say, many of the girls who I associate with and who share many details about their own experiences and regular monthly habits, that they openly share with me and feel ok that I share it with the world at-large. Of course since I rarely define names in my posts, I still hold the information which they provide me with in highest regards and if a girl is open enough to share these details with you, that you return the favour of their secrecy. I always welcome passer-byers and regular visitors alike to share their own stories, comments or feedback with me, on the blog or by other methods of contact. I hope you enjoy reading this blog, as much as I love writing it!
Today, I sneezed so violently that my tampon came out. FML
Well as I was reading through my morning feeds, I could not help but snicker at this “FML”…
I took a picture of it in case it gets removed or something, but here’s the transcription of it:
Today, I sneezed so violently that my tampon came out. FML
That must’ve been quite a sneeze or someone didn’t put their tampon in properly (which apparently, is not that unheard of).. Maybe I’m spending too much time thinking about this, but if this was while she was clothed (or at least had underwear on), I can’t imagine the tampon being able to go too far as it’d be constricted by a piece of undergarment (I guess the assumption is that she was wearing them). Otherwise, if this was over the toilet or something, it’d be pretty cool to be able to eject the tampon out without having to pull it – quite some talent I’ll say!
Cheers to strong vaginal muscles!
Link to the actual posting here, some of the comments are amusing.
What Makes This Site Worth It
I have a habit of checking my emails every morning, just to see if I need to “expect” anything during the day. Since I have all 5 of my email accounts hooked up to my iPhone, they all get pulled onto my phone once I switch it on. As I’m sitting there to “do my business” for the day, I saw 2 emails pop up in my MiM mailbox. One of them was particularly touching and really, emails like these are really what make running MiM worthwhile. Besides being an output for my menstrual interest and public discussions, I really enjoy hearing feedback from readers about their experiences with MiM. Certainly, not every experience or readers think that MiM is a great thing. Despite my efforts to bring menstruation out in the light of beauty, many, men and women alike, still find menstruation an abhorrent subject to be talking about, let alone from a heterosexual male. The email I got simply wasn’t a “I like your site” – but it was an expression of personal rapport, which is a very rare thing to receive over the internet. I felt deeply touched reading through the email and though I still have to reply to it, I decided to write this entry because I haven’t done one in so long. Rest assured, MiM is not going to become a past-legacy, I am still devoted into maintaining this blog and keeping it up-to-date as time permits. After all, the blog is secondary to my life and certainly friends and family alike are more important.
Recently, I was also featured on a pro-menstruation site, it was very exciting. I’m actually trying to sign up for Tumblr right now just so I can follow them, but apparently the workplace firewall is not a big fan of Tumblr and keeps blocking it. I suppose I will just have to wait until I go home. And yes, while working in the I.T. department I can probably break through it, but let’s just be on the safe side 😛 For those who are menstrual enthusiasts, I recommend you check out the following site: http://itsjustaperiod.tumblr.com/ — furthermore, the site is all about being inclusive of all lifestyles, which I felt grateful for. After all, there’s nothing more frowned upon it would seem, than a man writing about menstruation. Nevertheless, rather than being ridiculed over my interests, I was happy to see on their site that they gave the thumbs up to several of my posts, yay! I’ve of course added them to my links navigation because it’s a site really worth checking out!
I missed my bebe’s most recent period, that made me sad… but I did however, give her a few of the pads that I purchased in my most recent posting of Stayfree products that I purchased, hopefully she has found them comfortable and provides her with a sense of security! I’m rather pleased to hear that quite a few of my girls have really gotten great results using Stayfree pads, which makes me smile because feeling secure and safe with a product-of-choice makes those period days feel easier to get by, no one wants protection which scares them whether it will stand up to the flow!
One last site I wanted to make big mentions of is Kayo’s Flow Forum @ http://www.dotcomjunkies.com/members/kayo/forum/ — Even though they’ve been listed in my links navigation for ages, I thought they deserve some EXTRA credit because of how long they have been around for, what the site stands for and the history behind it. I’ll have to admit, before I even became of legal age, I had already been visiting Bianca’s (a pro-menstruation community) and when the site became overloaded with spammers, Kayo’s Flow Forum came to rise. I have been a member of Kayo’s for ages, again, even before I turned 18 (shhhhh….). Because the menstrual community is quite small in comparison to the vast world of the internet, it’s often hard for those with similar interests to find a place they can freely share information and their own personal thoughts. As such, there may be many out there interested in menstruation who don’t even know that this site exists. I should however mention that Kayo’s Flow Forum does have adult content and may or may not agree with your own interest in menstruation. The board itself welcomes (to everyone of legal age) everyone from the curious, the learner, menstruators, the interested or even the true hardcore fetishists. I’m not quite sure where I fall on that line, lol, but that’s irrelevant as the board is a fantastic place for you to meet people who are genuinely “into” menstruation. There, you will rarely find those who are object menstruation (that is unless we get a troll in or something) and while individuals interests vary, the board is oppression-free. There casual discussions over menstruation as well as those that are visually intensive. If you are the type of person who is easily offended, then I’d recommend you stick to the posts and not follow any of the links within the content. Also, we do have several female members who make huge contributions just with their presence alone as it helps align the male views of menstruation. If you feel comfortable with menstruation, as a male or female, we extend our open arms to you to join the community. You may or may not find what you want at Kayo’s, but it’s a great experience and will help expand your horizon over the interest of menstruation that you would never thought once existed!
Stayfree Ultra-Thins with Thermocontrol Has Arrived In Canada!
You may have seen an entry I made a while ago, regarding that Stayfree Thermocontrol Pads may be arriving in Canada soon! It was just suspicion then or rather, not a clear indication that other than the overnight version of the ultra-thins would be switched, but now it’s becoming quite apparent that they’re squeezing their way into Canadian markets. Of course, the Canadian Stayfree site still does not show any representation of these new pads, but with that said, I’ve only noticed 2 of the many stores that I visit on a regular basis that has even begun stocking the new Thermocontrol pads. This may either be due to old stock that hasn’t been depleted yet, or, the store is not willing/does not offer the newer pads yet. Regardless, if you’re interested in seeing what potential differences of pads may be offered at some point locally, you can always visit the American Stayfree site, which shows the full line of Thermocontrol pads, ultra-thins and regular maxi sizes.
While the pads themselves have not changed in terms of the general look, rest assured the pad feels a lot cooler when worn and even when saturated, keeping the feeling of almost a “crisp wind” near your skin. This may be almost a very foreign feeling for some and rather unnatural due to it feeling cold despite it being between warm body parts and with menstrual flow upon it. One thing that is new to the ultra-thin line in Canada is that they’re also offering the super absorbency in an ultra-thin form, previously only available to the maxi series. What was weird though when I went to pick these up at Walmart is I noticed two things:
1) Only the ultra-thin pads were available with the Thermocontrol technology
2) The ultra-thin pads with Thermocontrol were only offered in the “bonus” packs, there were no ‘regular sized’ packages
In these pictures, I have a ruler stretched across the lengths and widths so that you can see the differences of sizing between the SUPER and OVERNIGHT ultra-thins. Rest assured, I am cautious of not exposing pads to germs, bacteria and humidity and thus, these pads that the ruler “contaminated” were not reused for testing purposes by any of my girls. I take sanitary conditions seriously, particularly when any exposure to these elements may affect the vaginal health of my girls and I certainly would not want that to happen! One thing that is hard to notice in the picture (I tried to use a different surface for the picture-taking, but didn’t work out so well) is that the wrappers have slight differences. The super version of the pad came in a white-coloured wrapper, while the overnight version of the pad actually came with a wrapper that is a very light lavender. The wrapper material has stayed mostly the same.
Since the qualities of the Stayfree pads are very similar, both maxis and ultra-thins (other than the obvious difference in size/thickness), I’ll leave you to read my previous review on the Stayfree pads “in general” and simply refer you to the changes that the Thermocontrol technology has brought as noted in the content of this entry.
Both of these packages were 5.97 each, which were on sale in “last sale week” at Walmart. I had a coupon that bebe gave me (since I had it sent to her house, hehe) that was expiring next week, so I really wanted to use it before it went to waste! Also, I’m excited about Stayfree Thermocontrol arriving in Canada not only for my girls and I, but for bebe, because this technology in the Stayfree products were already available to her back at home. To come to Canada where you can’t buy the same product sucks, so now that Thermocontrol pads have arrived, it’ll make her monthly period that much better. Speaking of which, it seems like I will be missing her period this month 😦 I am sad, but I will definitely continue doing my usual of getting her flowers each month to remind her how special she is to me and how much I care for her and want to be there for her 😛 The cashier rang my items through properly this time, only charging the GST (5%) portion of the HST implementation in Ontario for feminine hygiene products. The total came to $7.54 after the coupon and taxes, for 44 Stayfree Super Ultra-Thins w/ Thermocontrol and 40 Stayfree Overnight Ultra-Thins w/ Thermocontrol pads. These pads all together were only 8.97 cents each!! Looks like these pads will definitely keep many of my girls stocked-up for a while, especially when a few of them took-on this sale with me!
Poh Ching
MEN in Menstruation 