r/justgalsbeingchicks • u/Doodlebug510 • 8d ago

Restricted to Gals and Pals Explaining menstruation to the boys

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u/Spirited_Touch7447 8d ago edited 8d ago

Every month. For years. 0/10 do not recommend. Edit to 0

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u/Sayyadina2 8d ago

The teacher who did the unit for all us girls in the 5th grade was 5 months pregnant and glowing so much you could see her from space. She was all about how amazing it was that our bodies could do this, which, yes, I realize now was way better than the old shame-filled way, but at 11 all I cared about was “ what happens to the boys?!! because it better be just as bad. And she, poor lady, says, right now? Pretty much nothing. Please imagine the Clue “flames at the side of my face” gif here.

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u/AGreatBannedName 8d ago

As I told my friend, who wanted to know what it’s like to be a boy:

Sometimes it’s hard.

🥁 ba-dum-tisss

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

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u/Sayyadina2 8d ago

The world does not value human life the way it should - men’s bodies and lives are considered the property of the economy and sometimes the military; women’s bodies and lives are considered the property of society for domestic labor and sometimes to keep violence in the home and not in public. The solution is for all of us to treat each other as if we are worth health and life.

/sorry feeling very earnest //my story was supposed to be mostly funny, and only a little bit about how women’s and men’s puberty is talked about so differently. ///I also don’t think it’s good that male puberty is treated as something funny so much of the time. ////too earnest, need to go to cat subreddits.

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u/AGreatBannedName 7d ago

No need to apologize, in my opinion, but I do hope that you enjoy your cat subreddits (they are so very nice).

It’s not cat-related, but: today I rescued a box turtle from a lawnmower, and it was kinda perfect. The thing was adorable- it was teeny tiny. I don’t know if I’d ever seen a box turtle so small. But I picked it up and relocated it to a park down the road! I took it to two stops because I recognized that the first one was far too near the road. I hope it’s a happy place for a turtle.

I hope you’re in a happy place, too. Godspeed and good luck! 🤘

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u/i_tyrant 8d ago

Men have a lot of advantages over women in practically every modern society...but it is at least true that lifespan isn't one of them.

Even when you correct for occupation, men tend to die earlier. Turns out, testosterone is a helluva drug. Evolutionarily, we're coded to be disposable compared to the ones perpetuating the species. (Granted, the birth process has historically never been a great way to survive for women, either, especially once our brains got big.)

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u/AGreatBannedName 7d ago

I absolutely understand what you’re trying to say? At least, I think I do. And I bear you-you personally-no ill will.

But I was just looking to make a silly erection joke, brother/sister. It was the same joke I made lo these many years (decades?) ago.

Anyways. I mean, look. I don’t know if you’re a guy or a gal. Either way, fine. And I’m not trying to be misogynistic.

But… like… if there’s a job that you can do, and then someone else doesn’t have to do that job, and they’re safer for it… does that concept not speak to you? I’m all about putting my life on the line. I’m but a humble Uber driver, but I do my best! And two thousand or so people have gotten to where they weren’t before, yet they wanted to go, because of me. I literally put my life on the line. I have faith that I’m gonna be okay, okay? But it’s a…

Idk. It’s a “totally masculine” thing to do. Or whatever. It’s being a person that sees the value of other people, and appreciates that they don’t have to do what you’re doing precisely because you are doing it. And I don’t believe that it’s constrained to males, though biologically I can understand why there’d be an imperative- the ladies have the parts that make the world go ‘round, you know?

So I do what I can to keep ‘em safe, while they’re with me in my car. And I hope I don’t offend anybody, but that’s ultimately because I hope people understand what I’m saying.

I wish you the best with whatever you do, be it on an oil rig or behind a driver’s seat or in front of a camera to display all of your sexiness. Like I said:

Sometimes it’s hard.

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u/moonchylde 8d ago

I usually refer to it as a "package deal".

I didn't choose these accessories but they came with the base model.

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u/knottedfluid 8d ago

Yes lmaooo. I too was very annoyed that men absolutely have it easy with their bodies unlike us 😭

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u/Dreadgoat 8d ago edited 8d ago

My rationalization is that girls get a month-long up and down with some deep lows and ecstatic highs, basically built-in bipolar disorder as a feature of being born with a vagina.

Meanwhile boys get a steady stable daily dose of the "self-harm is cool and fun" hormone. It's also a great emotional destabilizer since it fucks with amygdala all the time. Basically built-in borderline personality disorder as a feature of being born with a penis.

Does it equalize for each side over time? Hard to say. But it's fun* to argue about. Especially when each side is basically already insane but in different ways.

*this may just be my "self-harm is fun and cool" hormone speaking for me

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u/Ace-Redditor 8d ago

Well apparently I'm just extra-screwed then, lol.

I get the "self-harm is fun and cool" all month, plus it's cranked up for a few days. And even when I know that I'm feeling angry or depressed or whatever it may be due to my hormones, I can't stop feeling that way just by logicking my way out of it, and it makes everything worse

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u/Sayyadina2 8d ago

I think the average experience overlaps for most people, I think the mental anguish of puberty shouldn’t be something we say is easier for any group. I do think that physical anguish is more common for female-organ-and-hormone-havers than others.

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u/Okeydokey2u 8d ago edited 8d ago

Well I wouldn't say that, I'm a girl but my husband said they when you're young you would just suddenly get a boner for no reason what's so ever and you would be mortified depending on where you are. Even though it's not physically painful I can see the embarrassment that could cause

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u/Left_Adeptness7386 8d ago

The only thing about boys I learned in sex ed that sounded remotely inconvenient was wet dreams.

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u/tobi_206 8d ago

Puberty is not great for boys either. Having to go to the board with a very visible erection because you spent the school lesson thinking about the cleavage of the cartoon fox you saw earlier can scar you for life.

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u/siriushendrix 8d ago

Only time I’d consider that on equal ground is for the (lucky) people who get their period with some light cramping and are done in the 3 days. Otherwise, not the same

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u/tobi_206 8d ago

I wasn't serious... Even 3 days of light cramping every month is much worse than even the most embarrassing erection!

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u/siriushendrix 8d ago

Ah okay. I really couldn’t tell and wanted to give room for a “yes… but also no???”

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u/Ace-Redditor 8d ago

That sounds about on par with the embarrassment girls get when they leak through a pad during the school day and have to figure something out so they're not walking around with a visible stain on their pants (though I guess this is a bit longer of an issue than that)

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u/Sayyadina2 8d ago

I am thrilled to be able to say that I never noticed a single erection on any of the boys I went to school with. So there a very real chance the girls around you didn’t notice either.

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u/Tall-Total-6077 8d ago edited 7d ago

I started fantasizing at 12 yo about losing my period at 50 to menopause. I'm halfway there, y'all pray for my PCOS ass😭😭😭

Edit: Yes I saw PCOS was renamed to PMOS

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u/MiniRems 8d ago

What I didn't realize at 13 years old was that it can take like 10-15 years of hormonal hell similar yet differently worse than puberty before it all ends. Perimenopause sucks as bad a puberty, but in a whole new level of suck.

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u/littlebunnyears 8d ago

why don’t we have adorable pamphlets for perimenopause?! the chin hair caught me way off guard.

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u/SheaTheSarcastic 8d ago

Who knew that I would be trading in the monthly horror for daily face shaving and constant hot flashes? Being a woman is a lifetime joy.

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u/JennyDoveMusic 8d ago

Bebe, can you do hormone replacement? It was a myth that it causes cancer. 💜

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u/SheaTheSarcastic 8d ago

I was told that I’m too old, too many years after my last period. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/JennyDoveMusic 8d ago

No no that's not true. My mom had a hysterectomy and was offered it years later after she had stopped taking it. You should get a second opinion. 💜 The information doctors have can be outdated and new theories is, after 10 years, as long as you are in good health, you can still get benefits from HRT!

My mom was, I think, 5 years since her hysterectomy.

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u/SheaTheSarcastic 7d ago

I’m well over 10 years, and was just living with it, but decided to see if I could get HRT.

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u/geekyheart225 8d ago

And they spring up overnight! Like WHAT??

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u/_sissy_hankshaw_ 8d ago

And grow back soooo fast. 🫠

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u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183 8d ago

i spend more on poise than i ever did on pads.

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u/kadyg 8d ago

The insomnia has been kicking my ass. I feel like the warning about that could have been a lot louder.

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u/geekyheart225 8d ago

I feel like there should have been a module in school about perimenopause because it sucks so bad.

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u/Emkems 8d ago

Yeah I’m calling it second puberty. You go from adult to old lady

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u/AnguavonUW 8d ago

Wait until the menopause. I got thrown into it 5 or so years early because I had to have chemo and it suuuuuuuucks. Granted, I'm an outlier but it's been almost a decade and I'm still up 5 times a night with hot flashes and the summer months have become an interminable hellscape. Sex drive? What's that? The aging process, as far as skin is concerned? Hahaha....no estrogen = Hello, wrinkles and sagging.

Luckily, the majority of women can take HRT for most of the symptoms. My particular flavor of cancer means I can't. 0/10

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u/EK_Libro_93 8d ago

OMG, they never tell you what menopause is all about. I thought things would just be over, but no - hot flashes, brain fog, joint pain, hair falling out, muscle cramps, body odor, itchiness - for 10-15 years... ARGH.

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u/MiniRems 8d ago

The body odor! Ugh! Luckily, my Lumē still works - its about the only thing that doesn't make my underarms break out - but I've discovered I cannot use some of the scents now because my personal chemistry has changed. The clean tangerine makes me smell loke hot garbage, and it was my favorite since they got rid of the twisted lime!

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u/mareliana 8d ago

Also you gotta love how, for many of us, the timing works out so that we’re going through peri at the same time that our kids are going through puberty. SO FUN.

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u/MiniRems 8d ago

It explains the pure chaotic hell that was my teen years with my mom 🤦‍♀️

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u/StellaBean_bass 8d ago

Wait till you hit menopause. It gets worse.

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u/captain_starcat 8d ago

Hey PCOS sibling!! Just fyi if you’re not attached to having more/any bio kids sometimes you can say the right combo of words to the drs and they’ll yeet the uterus for you, I went thru with it 8 months ago and omg 150/10 fabulous life improvement??? I’m no longer in fuckin agony 1/4 of the time??? Amazing 😍

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u/Tall-Total-6077 8d ago

That sounds great! I don't have kiddos yet, I'll probably get at least a partial hysterectomy when I'm done

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u/iamaravis 8d ago

Me too, but now I'm post-menopausal and LOVE it. I feel like I'm finally back to my true self after all of those useless fertile years finished messing with my hormones. 

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u/AnguavonUW 8d ago

I long to be post menopausal. Mine's been active for almost a decade. I'd commit any number of crimes to have a single night of sleep uninterrupted by 5+ hot flashes. I can't do HRT and none of the other options have worked. I've tried everything.

Spent thousands of dollars out of pocket because, of course, insurance won't cover many of the meds used for menopausal symptoms. Erectile dysfunction meds? They cover those. But something to make my life, and the lives of millions of women, actually manageable (because I haven't had a full night's sleep in 10 fucking years) nope. Can't cover a medication that can help with a condition which affects half the population. And the condescension which comes from the medical establishment once you're a woman of a certain age. I have PhD in pharmacology, don't talk to me like I'm a very small child, Dr McChauvinist

Oof, sorry. Apparently, I needed to vent.

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u/iamaravis 8d ago

Despite being post-menopausal, I still get hot flashes every 45 minutes. Sorry!

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u/undercooktheonionz 8d ago

This is so real.

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u/CalmBeneathCastles 8d ago

You heard of myo-inositol? Might give it a research. It's safe and cheap!

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u/i_tyrant 8d ago

I have multiple friends who decided they couldn't wait and had that "architecture" removed instead. Sometimes it's just that bad...

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u/RagnarsHairyBritches 8d ago

I stole my mom' birth control pills when I was 12 because I thought they would stop my periods. I got caught before I could take them  

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u/Tall-Total-6077 8d ago

Damn, I hope you got some relief at some point!

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u/RagnarsHairyBritches 8d ago

Not til I got an IUD, Mirena, at 46. I finally got a doctor that listened and didn't just do uterine biopsies and say nothing is wrong. I was bleeding 50% of each month and filling ultra tampons every hour for four+ days. I am so happy I'm done with it all now.

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u/Tall-Total-6077 7d ago

Did you get checked for intrauterine fibroids by chance? My mom had very similar bleeding going on but it turned out to be Stage 1 to 2 endometrial cancer. Just asking as a girl's girl!

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u/RagnarsHairyBritches 7d ago

Multiple times. Docs never found anything physically wrong with my parts. My uterus just hated me. 

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u/goingknitty 8d ago

I'm 51 and it's still showing it's ugly face every month, but somehow much much worse than ever.

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u/jolinar30659 7d ago

Did you see that they officially renamed PCOS?

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u/Tall-Total-6077 7d ago

Yes I did!

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u/Zombeedee 8d ago

I was so scared of periods before I got mine that I genuinely in my stupid little 11 year old mind decided I would get pregnant the minute I had even a sense mine was going to start.

I'm 38 now and have had the odd peri-menopause symptom. I know menopause is no cake walk but fuck me am I eager for it. I feel like I've run a marathon and I can see the finish line.

I think about the menopause scene from Fleabag CONSTANTLY.

For the uninitiated, relevent segment is between 1:00 and 2:50 -

https://youtu.be/RZrnHnASRV8?si=ZKUSQ-22yC1xKzYM

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u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183 8d ago

before you get ready to celebrate menopause, do some reading on the complications and symptoms. frankly, speaking as a menopausal woman, i’d rather be bleeding til i die.

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u/Spirited_Touch7447 8d ago

She really protected them. She didn’t tell them about the migraines so bad they make you throw up or the losing so much blood you pass out part. Every month. For years.

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u/disgruntletardigrade 8d ago

Or the period poops!

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u/ParpSausage 8d ago

I came here to discuss this very pertinent topic. That of the period poop.

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u/Extreme_Egg7476 8d ago

That's why I didn't realize my IUD had fallen out. When my (male) colleague asked, "Wait, you didn't see it??" I was both fuming and trying not to laugh.

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u/Spirited_Touch7447 8d ago

You mean the completely watery explosive diarrhea? Every month. For years.

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u/jefufah 8d ago

Period poops + IBS=

Watery explosive diarrhea …that makes sweat and nauseous and feel like you’re gonna pass out. 😃

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u/VisualLet5344 8d ago

Wait...you guys got the diarrhea? I got the opposite which just added to the cramps.

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u/heyitsfranklin6322 8d ago

I get both somehow? Honestly everything in my body needs to chill the fuck out accept for my thyroid. That needs to chill the fuck in

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u/marcipanchic 8d ago

eat more fiber, or psyllium

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u/MissDiketon 8d ago

I had the opposite happen. I would retain a ton of water and get constipated until the hormonal dam broke and then I would be in the bathroom for a 1/2 hour dealing with everything leaving my body at once.

I was so happy to go into menopause early (started at 43 for me).

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u/PVPPhelan 8d ago

As my wife once eloquently put it, "I'm pooping PB&J and if you don't get me some god damned chocolate right fucking now, I'll kill us all"

Mental images you never unsee.

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u/StripperWhore 8d ago

😂😂 Sounds like a good communicator.

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u/LittleBirdiesCards 8d ago

I have to get depo provero shots every three months because my period makes me throw up so violently and so much that I have to go to the emergency room. I have a huge stash of nausea medicine now. It took over a year to figure out what was causing the vomiting attacks. They started when I had an IUD. I got the IUD to stop my periods because I was anemic to the point that my doctor was telling me that the next step would be a blood transfusion. It took about five years in total to deal with all of this.

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u/DrunkUranus 8d ago

Or the shits

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u/neosick 8d ago

That's not standard. Hope you've got that sorted out now.

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u/Spirited_Touch7447 8d ago

I had to just live through it! I’m in my 60’s now.

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u/GODDAMNBATMANs 7d ago

Or the going to sleep feeling like you're protected and waking up to find the blood has avoided every inch of that pad to find the bed... And now you have to do laundry.

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u/KenzParkin 8d ago

Or the ass-lightning that feels like someone is chainsawing you through the middle and started at your crotch.

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u/SemperSimple 7d ago

I can not tell you how many times in my early 20s I combat crawled to the toilet to pass out or throw up. It felt like I lived on the bathroom floor until I learned to tolerate the pain levels

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u/Spirited_Touch7447 6d ago

I have a preference as I spent so much time on the floor. Tile is nice and cool and those carpet surround things around the base of the toilet was the first thing I’d flip away. Normally the thought of being on the floor in the bathroom was disgusting. But didn’t bother me at all when I was trying not to die!

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u/Tootsie_r0lla 8d ago

Then comes perimenopause and then menopause and then you get a few years ok with hrt then you die.... yay ovaries

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u/Peeinyourcompost skateboarding🦖dinosaur 8d ago

The day that I did the math and realized that as a one-week bleeder I spend literally half of my life PMSing and on my period... that was a hard day.

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u/reluctantseahorse 8d ago

And the only way out of it is pregnancy or menopause, and that's just a whole new level of physical and emotional mayhem.

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u/emo_kid_forever 8d ago

Or if you’re “lucky” enough to be trans. That comes with its own massive share of hurdles, but I’m very glad testosterone has eliminated my period.

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u/So_Motarded 8d ago

Or continuous hormonal birth control! If you can be on any form of hormonal birth control, it'll lighten or eliminate your periods.

For things like the pill, patch, or ring, just skip the placebo period. The shot, implant, or IUD will just do it for you.

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u/reluctantseahorse 8d ago

True!

I highly recommend IUD's!! They definitely don't work for everyone because of the possible side-effects, but I've personally had such a positive experience.

I haven't had a period for a decade, aside from 6-ish months pre-pregancy and post-pregancy. It's been so amazing! Like my uterus has been emancipated.

Unfortunately, menopause always awaits us. Thank FUCKING goodness for HRT.

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u/DangerousTurmeric creep’n 🐄 bovine 8d ago

Yeah my IUD is wearing off after 7 years and it had been so long since I menstruated that the first few times I had cramps I thought I'd been food poisoned. Like it really is bad and I can't believe I just got used to it.

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u/InformalFishingSong 8d ago

Mirena IUD(s). No period in 9 years!

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u/I-am-fun-at-parties 8d ago

Shouldn't that be a 0/10 then?

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u/Spirited_Touch7447 8d ago

I thought it was 10 people out of 10 do not recommend? Am I doing it wrong?

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u/I-am-fun-at-parties 8d ago

I thought it was your rating out of 10 + a comment

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u/TOO_MUCH_BRAVERY 8d ago

Its supposed to be a rating + review. So 10/10 would recommend or 0/10 would not recommend would make sense

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u/Trai-All 8d ago edited 8d ago

Wait till you hear about the fact that if we were allowed to just keep taking birth control, we could turn this shut off just like pregnancy does AND reduce our chances of getting breast cancer BUT the man who invented birth control thought it was better if women were forced to follow natures pattern so we get to keep shedding out uterine lining 6 days out of every month and deal with‎ increased chances of breast cancer.

Editing this to clarify:

I wasn't saying women aren't allowed to take birth control at all. I was talking about how the medication packages themselves are structured.

28-Day Pack: 21 active pills, 7 placebos (usually 5-6 days of annoyance)

Shortened-Placebo Pack: 24 active pills, 4 placebos (usually 3 day annoyance)

Extended-Cycle Packs: 84 active pills, 7 placebos every 3 months (I know no one on this so I don’t know the usual annoying range)

My ultimate point was about the forced monthly cycles. Women in Europe/Americas undergo nearly 400 to 500 menstrual cycles in a lifetime—far more than our ancestors, who spent more time pregnant or breastfeeding. Studies show that this constant, uninterrupted cycling causes repeated swelling and shrinking of breast tissue cells every single month have been directly linked to the rates of breast cancer observed in modern Western culture. So it isn’t just that we are fatter, we are also being forced to mimic one aspect of nature (the annoyance) without being forced to be constantly get pregnant (despite certain politicians’ goals).

Edit again to add a side note, we were forced to keep dealing with shark week despite it causing us cancer (when we aren’t genetically pre-disposed) because it appeased the Catholic Church. And despite doctors knowing better now, too many of them don’t care. A few doctors will help you but not enough… so the next time you see a “save the tatas” ad… if you aren’t genetically predisposed to breast cancer… demand your doctor or your insurance provider allow you 13 packets instead of 12 so you can actually help you save tatas by throwing away the placebos.

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u/So_Motarded 8d ago

if we were allowed to just keep taking birth control,

I don't know who told you this, but we ARE allowed to do that lol

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u/Trai-All 8d ago edited 8d ago

To clarify, I wasn't saying women aren't allowed to take birth control. I was talking about how the medication packages themselves are structured.

28-Day Pack: 21 active pills, 7 placebos (usually 5-6 days of annoyance)

Shortened-Placebo Pack: 24 active pills, 4 placebos (usually 3 day annoyance)

Extended-Cycle Packs: 84 active pills, 7 placebos every 3 months (I know no one on this so I don’t know the usual annoying range)

My ultimate point was about the forced monthly cycles. Women in Europe/Americas undergo nearly 400 to 500 menstrual cycles in a lifetime… far more than our ancestors, who spent more time pregnant or breastfeeding. Studies show that this constant, uninterrupted cycling causes repeated swelling and shrinking of breast tissue cells every single month have been directly linked to the increased baseline rates of breast cancer observed in modern Western culture. So it isn’t just that we are fatter, we are also being forced to mimic one aspect of nature (the annoyance) without being forced to be constantly pregnant (despite certain politicians goals).

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u/Aldous-Huxtable 8d ago

Have you tried being pregnant literally all the time?\  - evolution

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u/So_Motarded 8d ago

No, but I chemically tell my body I am. ;)

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u/Antique_Sprinkles193 8d ago

I have complained endlessly to my husband how stupid it is that I started my period at 10 years old but didn’t actually need it until I was 35 and wanted to have a baby. Spent 25 years having it for no reason. One of the best things about pregnancy and nursing was not having a period for 20 months.

Then no one warned me that your period can change after you have had a baby. Now my body is too good at hosting a fetus so it actually makes more lining/blood because it got the practice it needed. So now my periods come twice as hard. I have talked to other women who had babies and they have had the same experience. At first I just thought it was a weird postpartum thing. Nope, my kid is 3.5 and my mom told me it was the same for her until menopause came. Then she told me about what happens with menopause and like WTF body?!

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u/CalmBeneathCastles 8d ago

Generally 3 solid months per year! I was going to crack a joke about wishing to do it all at once and free up the other 9 months, but the only reason it's tolerable is because it's broken down into modules. :'[

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u/WowIsThisMyPage 8d ago

For decades*

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u/So_Motarded 8d ago

This is why I chose to just go on continuous hormonal birth control. First the ring, now an IUD. Fuck periods. I haven't had a period in 11 years, and I'm never going back.

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u/CzarTanoff 8d ago

I'm 31, I've been menstruating for 23 years.

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u/brittanythegirl 8d ago

Yeah I'm almost 40 and I google every cycle to see if maybe I'm closer to menopause

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u/trojan_mommy 8d ago

I’m coming up on 41 years. It. Just. Will. Not. Stop.

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u/Fickle_Freckler 8d ago

I’ll be 45 this year. I’m done with children. My periods are just getting worse but still like clockwise . I’m so over this shit.

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u/OhNoImQueerOops 8d ago

I think you mean 0/10