Lunapads Blog

Hi everyone, Lisa here! I am really excited to share this post from Queernetic, aka Samson, who offers their perspective as a genderqueer person who has opted for eco & body friendly menstrual products. If this post interests you, you may also want to read my related post, A LunaRevolution for All Genders, All Bodies.

In light of my last post, since this is something I’ve been pondering writing anyway, I figured I’d talk about how I deal with my period, in a physical and psychological way, as a genderqueer person. I feel a little shy talking about sex-specific things; not only is there a shame culture about some of the female body and its workings, I feel like I’m “blowing my cover” as an androgynous and genderqueer person–like people aren’t going to take me seriously if they hear me embracing something so “essentially female” about myself. But you’re going to take my identity seriously, right? (This is Samson fixing you with a narrow-eyed glare.)

If you’re squeamish about periods, the female body, or the body in general, you should probably skip the rest of this post. (Even if you’re uncomfortable about the idea of you having a period, there are plenty of us who get ‘em and are all right with it. So, if you’re uncomfortable about the ideas of others having periods, regardless of their sex or gender, I politely suggest you work on getting over that.)

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Yesterday we had the extraordinary good fortune to be visited by some remarkable people working for change for Ethiopians, the leaders of Partners in the Horn of Africa, and Hope for Children.

Yewoinshet Masresha is an engaging and charismatic Ethiopian woman and the founder of Hope for Children, an organization which has received worldwide attention for its pioneering work in the care of women and children affected by HIV/AIDS.

A social activist from her early teens, Yewoinshet joined the Red Cross at age 17 during a period of political instability and war in Ethiopia. When she refused to marry a high ranking military official she was imprisoned in solitary confinement for three years. She emerged with a renewed strength and commitment to help women and children in need. The impact of  HIV/AIDS was having a profound effect on the country and many children were losing one or both parents to the virus. It was in response to this HIV/AIDS crisis that Yewoinshet founded Hope for Children, the first NGO in Ethiopia dedicated to the care of children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Yewoinshet shared her personal story with us firsthand, as well as describing life for most women and girls in Ethiopia. In many communities, for example, girls are expected to wash male visitors’ feet, and are given undesirable bits of meat, while their brothers receive choicer pieces. Education for girls is widely seen as being pointless, since they will end up married often before they even reach puberty. Yewoinshet also described a deeply negative and shame-based culture around menstruation, and the devastating effect that it has on girls’ self-esteem and education (a sadly familiar story, which for our part we are seeking to address in various nations via our Pads4Girls program.)

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Ashley’s LunaRevolution Video
Watch More LunaRevolution Videos >>

Ashley is the winner of The People’s Choice Award for our recent LunaRevolution Video Contest – Congrats, Ashley! She is also an avid maker of videos reviewing various feminine hygiene products and sharing her menstrual experience with her peers on her YouTube channel.  We are excited to share our recommendations for this Lunagal!

Name: Ashley

Age: 14

How did you hear about reusable menstrual products?
I heard about reusables from YouTube videos!

Please describe your monthly needs:
My flow varies from month to month. Typically 2-3 days super light, 3 days average and 3 nights average to heavy. Also, light discharge throughout the month.

If you are currently using disposable products, which ones do you use, and for what needs?
Pantyliners for the first day or two. Regular tampons for about three days. For 3 nights thin overnight pads. And pantyliners throughout the rest of the month.

Why do you want to switch to reusable menstrual products?
I want to switch to reusables for several reasons! First, Lunapads are so cute! Secondly, they are discreet and quiet! Thirdly, I’d love a more comfortable option without rashes!!

Anything else you would like to share about yourself?
I am a teen girl who loves to make YouTube videos!

Our recommendations for this teen who is out in the world sharing about positive periods with her peers!

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To say that we were blown away by the response to our LunaRevolution Video Festival & Contest is a seismic understatement – it was literally one “WOW” after another at yesterday’s staff viewing. Thank you so much to all of you who participated; we are deeply honored by your efforts.

The overall experience has been more complex than “WOW” suggests, however, and I want to address that it was not as easy as sitting down with a bowl of popcorn and basking in the Luna-love. I cannot go any further without first acknowledging the efforts of Nancee, our Video Intern (here for her second summer, woot!) and our IT wonder Lisa. Nancee is a fabulous tech-geek workaholic super-smart/nice person who is constantly seeking more ways to be helpful (if you can’t think of them, she will!) and then executing them with dizzying speed and efficiency. With equal dedication the perennially brilliant Lisa waded through the maze of technical issues with her consistently calm and sensible demeanor.

Clever Lunagals and all, were there flaws? Oh yeah! We have not had a video contest in years, and naturally technology has advanced a notch or two. We decided to go with a Facebook application called Wildfire, which involved a bit of a learning curve and proved to have its shortcomings. Thank you to all of you who were smart enough to point out the not-totally-clear bits and have been patient enough to bear with us while we worked it out.

We received 21 (TWENTY ONE!!!) submissions, which we considered to be totally amazing. Twenty-one Lunagals felt inspired enough to take the time to tell us how our products have changed your lives: how incredible is that?!?

It was a massive challenge to choose the top picks, and if we have any regrets it’s that we didn’t create more categories and/or Honorable Mention spots in the first place (it would have looked pretty silly if we had created a dozen categories and only had three submissions, for example). Finally, we didn’t all agree about, for example, what made a video particularly “creative”, and so I want to highlight what we felt was uniquely awesome about the videos that may not have fit into a particular category.

Our 5 Honorable Mention Prizes:
another drum roll, please…

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As you may recall, back in May we were contacted by Helen McGuirk, a volunteer with the US Peace Corps working in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. Pads4Girls donated $344 to fund her project to teach young girls how to sew their own cloth pads.

The project has now begun! Here is an update from Helen on it’s progress:

Hello Lunapads readers! We’ve started our sanitary pads educational program this week here in the Nyanza Province of Kenya. I ended up picking a design similar to the Lunapads design, for convenience and ease of use for the girls. They are also very quick to make, about 1.5 hours for completion!

We started with a small group of ten girls from Omiro Mixed Secondary School. This school was priority number one due to the girl’s daily interactions with the opposite sex (some schools in our location are female only). The schools has 110 females enrolled, so we are planning on 4 moregroups of 25 girls before the term ends in August.
We discussed the high cost of disposable pads and then I explained about the donations made so that they could have the materials to make their own re-usable pads, they are very grateful. Here is an online album that I will update regularly with photos of the project: http://bit.ly/kncnQ4.

The girls were so excited to work on this project and began asking many questions relevant to the subject. More to come soon, as the project is quickly gaining momentum! -Helen

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We received a tonne of great name suggestions for our new fabric print. We’ve managed to narrow it down to the top 6 and now we want you to tell us your favourite! Head on over to our Facebook page and cast your ballot! Here’s a reminder in case your forgot what it looks like:

We’re working on sewing up Pads and Pantyliners in this new print as we speak. Watch out for it in our July newsletter! Sign up here if you’re not already on our mailing list.

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Name: Laura

Age: 28

How did you hear about reusable menstrual products?
Eco Friendly Website

Please describe your monthly needs:
2 days and nights light flow, 2 days and nights heavy flow and 1 day and night spotting.

What reusable menstrual products do you currently use?
Lunapads- long pads, liners, and panty liner.

Why do you want to switch to reusable menstrual products?
I switched because I didn’t like the number of pads I was using. I calculated over 4,000 pads by the time I am 35!!!

Anything else you would like to share about yourself?
I love to cook, I love to sing and going green!

Based on your own experience, what message do you have for other women who might be thinking about reusable menstrual products?
It’s much more comfortable then wearing plastic!!!

Our recommendations for this musical cook!

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We’ve giving Lunapads Starter Kits away to 5 Mothering Community Members this week. Visit MDC now to find out how you can enter to take the Lunapads Challenge!

Lunapads Starter Kit includes:
2 Mini Pads with 2 Mini Basic Liners and 2 Mini Wing Liners
2 Maxi Pads with 2 Maxi Basic Liners and 2 Maxi Wing Liners

The Lunapads Challenge:
For one month, opt out of disposables menstrual products and use the Lunapads Starter Kit instead. Once you’ve had a chance to see the benefits of the LunaRevolution, come back to MotheringDotCommunity’s Review section and share your thoughts with the Community.

Eligibility:
Open to all United States and Canada residents. Residents must have a permanent address, not a P.O. Box.

How to Enter:
1. Visit Lunapads.com and sign up for the Lunapads Newsletter. As a thank you, Lunapads will email you a $5 off coupon code for purchases over $35!
2. Follow Lunapads on Twitter or “Like” Lunapads on Facebook
3. Post to this thread on MDC with the following statement: “I have signed up for the Newsletter, am following Lunapads on Twitter and/or Facebook, and am ready to take the Lunapads Challenge!”

GIVEAWAY ENDS THURSDAY, JUNE 16TH

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Name: Melissa

Age: 20

How did you hear about reusable menstrual products?
Searching the web.

Please describe your monthly needs:
4 days heavy flow, 3 days medium flow, 3 days light flow.

If you are currently using disposable products, which ones do you use, and for what needs?
Super tampons for 4 days, regular tampons 3 days, light tampons 2 days, pantyliners for backup.

Why do you want to switch to reusable menstrual products?
I want to switch because I hate using both disposable tampons and pads. The tampons hurt me and the pads always smell. Because of this I always hate it when I get my period and its so expensive to keep re-buying, and now that I have a baby I need to find a way to save money, and I feel that the tampons and pads are to much of a waste.

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself?
Im a full time mom with 1 baby, love arts&crafts

Based on your own experience, what message do you have for other women who might be thinking about reusable menstrual products?
I support them all the way!

Recommendations for this crafty mom!

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With Madeleine and Suzanne’s trip to Portland this week for the World Domination Summit, travel and adventure are naturally on our minds. We have been meaning to write an updated post about the whats, hows and benefits of traveling with our products (see previous posts here and here), and this seems like a great opportunity to do just that.

Who wants to waste valuable luggage space on boxes of disposable pads and tampons, or risk running out where supplies may not be available? Read on for our top tips for easy, waste-free ways to manage your period while traveling, with bonus video  from Suzanne about how to clean your DivaCup while you’re on the road.

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