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Is Red yucky in your Book?

redbook love your life Is Red yucky in your Book?

We were really excited when we were contacted by Redbook magazine a few weeks ago.  Were mainstream women’s magazines finally ready for natural menstrual products?  Well, um, sort of.  Turns out that Lunapads weren’t the only period reference in the magazine (not counting the numerous ads for disposable pads and tampons) – check out what they had to say and see what you think…

“Your standard maxi pad might last five hours – but now you can get a pad that’ll last you five years!  The folks at Lunapads want you to add period products to the list of recyclables in your eco-friendly life.  These customizable cloth pads accommodate a wide variety of sizes and flows, and they’re machine-washable.  We’re all for going green, but this idea strikes us a little, um, yucky.”

Speaking of things that are yucky, this seems like a good opportunity to review the environmental impact of disposable pads and tampons.  A recent article by Eunice Wong at Truthdig.com spells it out in graphic detail, but for those who don’t have time to get all the way through it, here are some highlights:

There are 85 million women of menstruating age in North America. Conservative estimates are that the average woman disposes of between 10,000 and 15,000 tampons, pads and applicators in her lifetime. That’s about 250 to 300 pounds of waste per woman.  In the United States and Canada alone, more than 12 billion pads, tampons and applicators are tossed annually. (We typically quote the number as 14 billion, including applicators).

Which brings me to the article on the very next page, a laundry list of Redbook readers’ to-dos for President Obama.  Number 4 on the list is titled “Prioritize our planet’s protection“, saying “It’s time to go very green.  We must care for our world.”  Um, great idea – as long as we don’t have to wash our own menstrual pads, right?

Last but not least, 42 pages later a reader asks for advice on how to get her period-shy boyfriend into bed while she’s bleeding.  Among other options, Redbook’s Love Network expert Lou Paget suggests “point(ing) out that getting it on during your period could make for a new, different kind of fun.  The extra fluid causes more slipperiness that many couples really enjoy.”

Talk about mixed messages.  First we have Lunapads sounding great (until you get to the last line), then a stirring call to eco-arms, topped off with a strongly pro-period message (at least when you’re in the mood).  Hard to know what to make of it all, but at least we’re on the radar!

pixel Is Red yucky in your Book?
  • http://www.lunapads.com Suzanne

    isn’t it curious that redbook would bother to ask us for a picture of lunapads and write about them, but not even have someone in their offices give it a try? to me, the immense evironmental problem and the chemicals in disposable products is YUCK! it is a real shame that some women are so squeamish about their blood. oh well, at least canada’s national women’s magazine “chatelaine” gave lunapads a favourable review. gillian deacon rocks! http://www.lunapads.com/docs/chatelaine.pdf

  • Holly

    This is how I learned of your product. Yucky or not, I would rather be willing to use your product (which can’t be much yuckier than regular pads) and help save the planet. I don’t know what my friends will think, but they have gone along with all my other “green” ideas and I have a feeling they will like this one too! Can’t wait for my order to come in the mail!

  • http://quasifictional.wordpress.com Michelle

    I was going to be all “Are cloth diapers yucky? Sure, sometimes, but that doesn’t mean…” etc. But Eunice Wong already implied it.

    As for the sex advice… it’s really weird that washing a sheet or towel is fine, but washing a pad is “yucky.” I’m assuming different writers, and an editor who just doesn’t see the irony.

  • Charlene

    “We’re all for going green, but this idea strikes us a little, um, yucky”

    This is a contradiction, if you’re ‘all for it’..
    then you would presumably be willing to make sacrifices (although sticking a load of pads in the wash hasn’t really seemed like a ‘sacrifice’ to me)
    What’s ‘yucky’ is the used tampons and pads polluting the environment.

  • Diana

    Being a cloth pad enthusiast, these articles always frustrate me. I’m tempted to scream, “Get over it!”

    To be a bit more kind in my reaction…

    There is a long journey for many women out there regarding menstrual products. Most experience an adolescence rife with disposable pad and tampon commercials, and widespread exposure to products of different arenas that are also disposable and environmentally harmful. So, there’s some recovery time involved. People are trying to make an effort to be more environmentally minded, but sometimes their latent disposal culture approach rears its ugly head, and can we blame them for this? Recovery’s a process. It’s just good that you’re playing your part in that process by alerting the offenders to their hypocrisy and nudging them closer to a more sustainably minded way of living.

    Persevere and be cool and confident in your use of reusable products – leading by approachable example is an effective way to spread the good word, even if it is a bumpy campaign :)

  • katie

    Hah! Just write the editor of Redbook an email—I sure did. Articles like this are ridiculous. The ONLY way more women and girls will find out about wonderful products like Lunapads is if “we” let them know just how much we enjoy them. Their squeamish young eco-hypocritical writers need some encouragement to get over that roadblock. And I know—what’s up with “washing bloody sheets and towels is okay, but pads are yucky”?? Silly.

  • http://www.earthandbodyfriendly.com.au Coralie

    I sensed a similar reaction when I wanted to start selling Lunapads alongside my normal market stall product. I checked with head office of the product. The Brisbane distributor had asked them on behalf of me and replied to me with their original reply to her.

    They didn’t say ‘yuck’, but my intuition told me that was the reason behind the very guarded response of ‘no’.

    I guess I’ve been thinking about periods differently for so long now that I forget that some people still think it’s gross. *sigh*

    Just as Katie said, I guess it’s up to us to spread the word!

  • Liane

    Like they never had a “leak” out of a disposable product? What do they do then? Throw the panties away?!

  • Becky

    I followed katie’s lead and sent the editor an e-mail, with very similar sentiments… apparently their readers should be fine with washing a bloody towel but eek! Heaven forbid they wash a pad. Uhh… what?

  • http://green-behavior.com/ Terri

    Wow nice quote – though I’m going to assume that she’s one of those people who reviews something without ever trying it. I’ll admit my initial reaction to using reusable liners or cups igged me out but then I did my research and tried em out.

    Two months of cycles with Lunapads and I will never go back. Goodbye Tampax ;)

  • eternalcanadian

    I actually agree with Redbook’s review of Lunapads. I share the laundry room with 339 other people, and I’m not always able to wash the Lunapads right away so it is quite the hassle. I did try Lunapads for 3 months and decided to go a different route for period time for the convenience and time factor.

    I think each person is different when it comes to their period and how much effort they want to make. There are quite a few wonderful menstrual products out there, and it is a matter of trying them to see which one works, and in my case it was the Diva Cup for long work days or trips where I can’t access a washroom for several hours and Seventh Generation tampons and pads (which are a lot like Tampax and Always, imo) for regular period days and backups.

  • http://www.www.lunapads.com/blog Morgan

    Eternalcanadian,
    It’s true that Lunapads are not for everyone. They do require some extra involvement when compared to a disposable product. That is the case with most environmentally responsible products or actions, like recycling. Some people don’t, or think they don’t have the time or resources to put in that extra effort. Not having an ideal laundry situation can definitely put a hitch in your cloth pad cleaning regiment but there are ways of working around this, for instance; hand washing your pads instead of machine washing. Again, not for everyone but still an option. It’s great that you’ve found another option for dealing with your period in a more natural way with the DivaCup and Seventh Generation products.
    The problem with the Redbook review was that it didn’t offer any of these options or even touch the issues at all. It just dismissed the idea as “yucky” without a reason. It doesn’t sound like anyone even tried them. To offer up a “reveiw” of something that you’ve never even tried or thought about in a serious way is just flippant and un-helpful which is what bothers me about it.

  • TetchyLady

    I just wanted to add something nobody touched on…

    So let me get this straight, according to Redbook – menstrual blood just in general is “yuck” unless it’s a kind of kinky sex lube – then it’s good stuff? Am I the only one who thinks that’s lame? “Remember, girls, your body is naturally sorta gross – unless of course you are using it to give sexual pleasure!” Blah!

  • Dorothy

    I sent the Redbook editors an email too. It really irks me that they would provide women with such a disservice, suggesting that we should be happy with toxic disposables simply because their perfunctoy asessment is that the alternatives are “yucky”. It’s like they got into publishing without having graduated from the seventh grade. Women are looking for ways to live more responsibly, and we deserve accurate information to inform and support our choices.

  • Springtime in Georgia

    Thank you TetchyLady for bringing that up. The mixed messages about blood is definitely a disappointing surface issue, but I’m glad you brought up the deeper (subliminal?) issue regarding mixed messages about the natural functions of our bodies. I’ve worked with a “positive body image” group at a local university for 3 years and this is exactly the kind of thing we’ve been trying to counteract. “You’re body’s kinda gross unless you use it for sexual pleasure” is a hugely destructive message! To be honest, I was surprised LunaPads had anything to do with RedBook. I’m not super familiar with that magazine, but I kinda put it in the same category as Cosmo and Maxim…really just pedal-pushing the harmful female stereotype to sell the mag and get paid for running ads on make-up and shoes and disposable menstrual products. I say, take LunaPads to a RedBook rival and show them we can spread the word without playing their dirty game!

  • Emily

    Having to deal with disposables is much “yuckier” than having to deal with a diva cup, which means you see even less “red” throughout the day and you don’t have to constantly think about the next bathroom trip or even about leakage… I alternate between a diva cup most days and lunapads on my lighter days and at night. The lunapads just go in the wash with towels and dry in my bedroom if I have guests, or out on the line otherwise. It works for me and I feel much healthier without the plastics/chemicals and I feel I am helping to reduce waste at the same time… There are only positives for me…

  • Snooty

    Oh wow. It’s just a bit of blood. What about the blood in the steak they are cooking for dinner? Is that yucky, too?

    There seems to be such a disconnect in our culture from the normal and natural functioning of our bodies. Heaven forbid we have to have anything more than a fleeting relationship with our menstrual discharge; out with the tampon, and into the pretty pink bin beside the loo, never to be thought of again. Perhaps if we have to get in contact with our “primitive”, organic selves, we’d realise how unsatisfied we are?

  • Jennifer

    As I’ve always said concerning men “If you can’t handle the menstrual cycle you don’t deserve to be with a women” – same to Redbook editors/article writers “If you can’t handle the menstrual cycle you don’t deserve to BE a woman”.

  • Elizabeth Van Gool

    It seems amazing to me that blood is considered so “yucky” and women are taught to feel so ashamed of natural processes. Shame on you Redbook for your promotion of shame on women’s bodies and natural processess.

  • Megan

    To me, the ick factor with disposable pads had to do with the smell they always seemed to get. I thought that was just a normal fun part of periods til I tried cloth pads. Of course there’s a funk with plastic! Plastic doesn’t breathe! Cloth is totally the way to go.

    Another ick factor? Disposable pads in a public restroom. I’m cool with touching my own menstrual blood but I don’t always want to touch the public receptacle for used pads. Though I’m a DivaCup user, when I have had to change a cloth pad in a public restroom, I just folded it up and put it in my nice waterproof pouch in my bag. Easy and no mess. And no touching sketchy surfaces.

    I still get crazy looks when I tell people I’ve been using a menstrual cup for almost 8 years. Some people just don’t get it.

  • Chrystel

    I have to admit that I was one of the women that thought washable pads were something for the dark ages. But after a sudden reaction to all disposable menstrual products after the birth of my third child I decided to give Lunapads a try. I could not believe how easy it is to just soak and then wash. And as for coming in contact with my own blood, I find that quite funny since I come into contact with much worse form my kids!

  • Happy and Healthy

    Check out this link about the great benefit of the monthly cycle for helping keep women healthy and how to best make use of this resting time, from the perspective of Ayurveda.

    http://www.mapi.com/newsletters/maharishi_ayurveda/march_2009/wisdom_for_the_grandmothers.html

    I’ve been using Lunapads for years and love them! So much more sanitary than “sanitary napkins” and easy to pack, never have to go to the store and with organic cotton, not a single chemical. Thanks Lunapads, and I think the redbook editors will be getting a heads-up soon.

  • Julie

    Ugh. Why do grown women think that their own menstrual blood is “yucky.” Get over it!!!! It’s natural and totally amazing. Besides, please tell me how disposable pads/tampons are any less “yuck” than something like the diva cup or cloth pads? Girls and women are grossed out by these alternatives because they aren’t talked about!! Magazines won’t take ads for menstrual alternatives that aren’t disposable, because that would be going against capitalism (god forbid)! The diva cup and luna pads last for years, which means that no one’s making any money and that’s no good right?! Ridiculous if you ask me. I’m so in love with my diva cup I tell everyone I know about it…as long as menstruation is marketed as the most shameful and embarassing event of a woman’s life, alternate products won’t become mainstream.

  • Shirl

    I think the green aspect of the article was just lip service to the whole environmental movement. Write an article about it because its trendy, do a slipshod job because we don’t care to be responsible journalists and check out the angles.

    But you know in the long run, Lunapads got a mention. Hopefully, some readers will not just take their word for it and look into it further. Those ones will think outside the box and find their way. It maybe that they pick up the magazine at a doctor’s office or somewhere off the usual realm of the average Redbook reader. Keep on trucking!

  • Zaniah

    I totally agree with Shirl. Despite the ignorance of the person who wrote the review, Lunapads’ name will now be in the minds of many women who would never have heard of them otherwise. I think, in this case, any publicity is better than no publicity.

    I also think that TetchyLady makes an excellent point. I cannot even begin to express my disgust at how the “mainstream” male gaze impacts women’s choices to the point that many women shape their behaviour around what they perceive men will or will not find sexually desireable. Get a blow-up doll or come out of the closet, buddy, because you’re not attracted to women.

    Lunapads, you do wonderful work and I would like to give each and every one of you a virtual pat on the back for doing what’s right for women everywhere. Thank you.

  • http://www.lifeofcarla.blogspot.com Carla

    I can certainly understand that a person who grew up in a climate where 1. everything about the human body, and especially the female body with all her changes and excretions of life-giving blood and milk, has been melodramatically demonized, and 2. where the ubiquitous use of disposable products has completely divorced our natural human bodily functions from our everyday lives (everything that goes in the toilet is quickly swished away, everything that gets dirty is thrown heedlessly into a thick, odor-eliminating trash bag), would consider the idea of having to “deal with” the reality of their own body as yucky. I understand. I just hope it changes. And I am confident that most women can be brought around with the right words.