From sceptic to believer; How my opinion on reusable menstrual products changed the more I learned about my body
By Jess Matthews
When I first heard about reusable menstrual products my first reaction was one of disgust. I had been conditioned my whole life to not talk about my period, to keep it to myself and only have short and basic conversations around it. This line of thinking for me started in school when we were taught the bare minimum about menstruation and products that are available. It led me to not want to talk about a process that naturally occurs in my body. For so long menstruation has been treated as a taboo subject in society. This gave me so many questions, is my flow normal or heavy? Is this level of pain normal? Are periods supposed to last this long?
Since I started working with The SuPer Project, I have learned more about my menstruation than I ever did in a formal educational setting. I’ve been able to find what's my normal instead of comparing it to other people who menstruate or what I have been taught about periods previously. Through having open conversations with fellow menstruators, I now know that everyone has their own normal and this can change but what matters is that we are aware of our body and its processes and when something is different than usual. This was a turning point for me in my mind, periods are unique while still being a shared experience. Once this clicked in my brain, I found I was more open to the idea of reusables. So, I started looking into which reusable option would be best for me. I learnt that there are so many reusable menstrual products beyond conventional disposable pads and tampons. From period pants to menstrual cups there are so many different types of products that are on the market. I decided that reusable pads would be best for me, they are highly absorbent, easy to clean but also something I didn't need to put much thought into throughout the day. I can just change and go.
Since I made the switch, I have continued to learn more about my body. I truly believe that my unequivocal conviction for reusables has made it easier for me to talk to people about periods. I am a true convert, something I never saw possible a few years ago. I can now have an open and honest conversations with someone about our periods. For me this means I have since discovered that my periods are slightly abnormal compared to most other menstruators. This led me to seek medical advice and I have since been diagnosed with endometriosis. This is something I don't believe would have happened without open discussions happening. Which ultimately makes me think, if I didn't make the switch would I still be in the dark about my health and unknowingly thinking that this is everyone's experience of menstruation?
Overall, my experience is not unique, when we start to have discussions, we learn more about our bodies and reproductive health. We have been conditioned as a society to see periods as an off-limit topic and something that is only thought about by people who menstruate.Even if you haven't made the switch or even don't want to make the switch the main take away for me is that the more we talk about our menstrual health with each other the more we will learn about our own bodies. Talk about your period more, you'd be surprised how many people will also openly talk about theirs.
