Dear Mr Finley,
Thank you for your terrific site, which, if your mail is anything to go by, seems to be helping undermine the menstrual taboo. I have enjoyed and recommended it and you might be surprised to know how many women know about it in Australia.
My one note of concern has to do with the Libra link on your letters page. One of the strengths of your work is that you do not promote any company's pads or tampons and for this reason I was surprised to see this link appearing. Advertising under the guise of information is one of the insidious ways in which companies who sell pads and tampons try to reach their target market and I do not feel comfortable with this appearing on your site.
Thank you again for your work,
Yours sincerely,
Janet Fraser
P.S. The word "grot" is the current adolescent form of the older Australianism, "grotty," meaning unclean.
Consider this: The government of the state of Maryland, here in the U.S.A., recently closed down a highway-beautification program rather than let the racist Ku Klux Klan participate, which would have earned the right to advertise itself on signs on the stretch of the road it cleaned up.
The American Civil Liberties Union vigorously protested the government's action - actually, the woman director's action - saying it's better to have too much information available, even offensive or incorrect information, than not enough. Let the public discuss and judge the information. That's my attitude.
Please consider my page to add to your links. We provide information and products for PMS and even a free tracking sheet to track PMS symptoms. I already have a link up on my site to your page. I love it!
www.PamperMeSoftly.com
Thanks,
Caroline E. Roos
Pamper Me Softly, Inc.
www.PamperMeSoftly.com
Mummy,
Found your Web site through a bleeding friend of a bleeding friend and thought you might want to link to my short story, The Curse Of Falling Off The Roof, an extract from The White Trash Cook Book (an autobiography of a female alcoholic, with recipes and attitude!) .
Said story was e-published in Grrowl, an e-zine for nrrdgrrls.
You may find this story at:
http://www.nrrdgrrl.com/grrowl/vol1/roof.html
Kat McElroy
North Pole, Alaska
Dear Mr. Finley,
I want to thank you for your fine Web page and museum. I have been using your site as a reference for the past few years on both women's health issues and ways that I can change my menstrual routine.
Several months ago I was fortunate enough to find Instead [menstrual cup] in my hometown drug store. I bought a box and tried it. I found that it didn't leak, but I could feel it inside of me. As some other women have noted, one size does not fit all, and I'm afraid that was my problem. I ended up giving most of the box away to girls in my dorm. I even convinced my mother to try it, though she hasn't come back with a verdict yet.
Another girl in my dorm told me about GladRags [washable pads]. She has been using them for about six months now and swears by them. I had read a little on your page but hearing another woman's testimony had me convinced. I found a box of three at the organic grocery store in my town and have been using them since. I love my GladRags. I always hated having to throw away wrappers and pads, and even more than that I hated having to carry around extras with me. Using the cotton pads I have only had to change once in the morning and in the evening, leaving me unencumbered all day in class. With disposable pads I found it necessary to change much more frequently due to plastic backings which cause sweat and therefore more moisture. I haven't experienced that wet feeling with cotton pads.
I just wanted to thank you for providing so much information on a topic few are open to discuss. I feel very liberated knowing my options for my menses. Please keep it up.
Please, may I post a letter on your letter page?
I'm researching a documentary for the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] about menstruation - myths and facts and blessing or curse.
I have much information about the curse and predjudice but I am finding scant information about the blessing! I was thrilled to find medical information linking surgery for breast cancer and the menstrual cycle and the New Scientist report about differing medication levels required during the 28-day cycle, and the research about eating requirements differing during the cycle etc., but I want to hear from women who have evidence of the cycle as a blessing, for example, artists, writers, etc., who are at their most creative whilst menstruating.
I also want to meet women who practice menstrual seclusion, as with menstrual huts of the past [and of the present; women still use menstrual huts].
And anything and everything to do with research into menstruation.
Next week I am interviewing Mr Peter Redgrove and Penelope Shuttle who wrote the first book on menstruation that offered positive information, The Wise Wound, 1978. I am very excited about asking many questions resulting from the book. If you have any questions for them pertaining to the book or their second book, Alchemy for Women, about the dream cycle corresponding to the menstrual cycle, I would be delighted to forward them to them on your behalf. They are not on the net so any questions would have to have addresses!
Thank you so much for this glorious Web site [many thanks to you for saying that!] and I look forward to hearing from visitors to your site.
Ali Kedge.
ali@shortkedge.freeserve.co.uk or fflic.zip@business.ntl.com
Irregular menses identify women at high risk for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which exists in 6-10% of women of reproductive age. PCOS is a major cause of infertility and is linked to diabetes.