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shit i bought and liked no. 69: period talk
Shitters.
I wish this was getting to you all under better circumstances, but it is yet another devastating day in America. Sure, this is where the right has been taking this country for a while, but if your feelings haven’t yet caught up to the gravity of this particular moment, let this clip of Elizabeth Warren shake you into the fight. For now, this opinion is still a draft, and abortion is still legal, which means you can still help people around in the country who are in the most desperate need of abortion care. This fund splits your donation between 80+ critical abortion funds around the country—I highly recommend making even a small donation if you can.
I had a whole different email written out and ready to go for this morning, but given the above, I don’t think travel pants are really the vibe today. However, I have been sitting on a rec for quite some time that is highly relevant to people who can get pregnant, so we are doing a full 180 to talk about that.
Maybe we should start first with why I’ve been sitting on this draft for so long. I don’t really think of myself as an oversharer… I guess I do shit on the Internet for a living and post stories about what I’m up to for “fun,” but there’s definitely a line. That being said, it’s pretty fucked up that when I first thought about writing about Flex I had a momentary panic about whether or not it would cross the line.
Why would I think that? Wtf is a Flex? What are we even doing here?! I’m getting there! Flex is a “disposable menstrual disc,” aka period products, and for everything that I will publicly shout from the rooftops about, apparently singing the praises of an invention sent from the heavens (slash a start up team in LA) to turn my periods from an inconvenience to the least big deal of all time seemed oversharey?
Honestly, that’s pretty stupid. Periods are a bodily function. Half of humans got or get or will get them, and the feelings that accompany that can range from relief all the way to devastation. I get why people don’t always love to chitchat about them—it’s not like I’m sitting here yapping about all my other bodily functions either—but it seems like we as a society have become more willing and interested in doing so over the past couple years, which I think is a great thing.
Back to Flex. These are truly LIFE CHANGING, and I do not say that lightly. The best way I can describe them is like a disposable period cup. You can buy reusable versions (Flex sells a reusable version of their disc and the more traditional cups), but as someone who travels/is away from home a lot, having disposable options has been really convenient for me.
Basically, you wake up, you pop one in*, you go through your whole life in whatever articles of clothing you do or do not desire (hello white jeans, bikinis, birthday suit!), doing whatever activities your little heart desires (hello workouts, swimming, sex!) without fear of leaks or having to sneak a tampon into your pocket during the perilous walk from your desk to your office bathroom, or someone pulling you aside to tell you there’s a stray string coming out of your a bathing suit (the stuff of nightmares), or any of that other inconvenient stuff. At the end of the day, you pop it out, empty it, and toss. HOW EASY?
*If you, like many I have recommended it to over the years, are nervous about the insertion, you reeeeally do not have to be. The company includes super detailed instructions about how to put them in/take them out (it’s VERY easy, I promise), and once you get the hang of it, you’ll have it down for life.
You can’t feel them at all, you don’t have to change them throughout the day, and you can just live your life and do your thing and not have to feel uncomfortable/wonder if you need to change/think about your period at all. And that, my friends, is truly amazing.
I’ve been using them for three to four years at this point, and the few instances I’ve had to go without them have felt like the fucking Stone Ages (not unlike the way many of us are probably feeling while looking at Republican lawmakers and the Supreme Court…). These days you can also find them in some Targets and CVS’s, but that’s a gamble I’m generally not willing to take, so I recommend starting a subscription on their site—this link gets you $5 off your first order. Bless my beautiful friends Juliet & Grace who originally introduced me.
There you have it—my topical Shit I Bought And Liked. All at once I’m so excited for the people who get/try these, because they really have made my life better, and despondent over the larger circumstances we are all living in. If you saved that $5, I really hope you send it to these abortion funds and people who could really use the help.
Sending you all much love always,
Priyanka