Sex, Periods, and Equality

     Let's have one of those uncomfortable conversations. You know, the ones about sex, periods, and equality. There have been a lot of people sticking their noses where they don't belong as of late. Have you noticed? It's uncomfortable and rude. Is what I'm doing affecting you in any way? Am I hurting you? Am I forcing you to participate in my activities? No? No. So worry about yourself, not what I'm doing.

     Sex. Sex is fun. Sex is awesome. Sex is healthy. I am so tired of religious nuts shaming people out of sex as if it's some sort of evil activity. "Satan's doorbell" comes to mind when a religious person is talking about a woman's vagina. The truth of the matter is, not everyone is religious, and those of you who are need to respect those of us who exercise our own free will even if it doesn't fall in line with what you choose to believe and follow. Which leads me into birth control. Why is this a controversy? First of all, life does not begin at conception. It is a scientific fact. Life begins at about twenty weeks into pregnancy when the brain begins to develop and the fetus can then be viable outside of the womb - with a ton of wires and machines attached to it. So using birth control to prevent pregnancy is not the "willful murder" of human beings. Yes, I was actually told this. No, it is not killing babies. You can't kill something that doesn't exist in the first place. And another thing, why is all the shaming pointed at women? I have heard maybe one man - ONE - tell another man that sleeping around with multiple women wasn't cool and wasn't something to be proud of. According to society, it's perfectly okay for a man to sleep around, but the moment a women chooses to have multiple partners, she's slut shamed. Hell, women are even slut shamed for being raped. This is the messed up world we live in! End the hypocrisy. Respect our choice to be sexually active for the fun of it without objectifying us. Respect our choice to not reproduce. Women are not baby machines.

     Periods. Yes, they're gross, but so is a lot of other stuff. This is a natural cycle of life that a lot of people have very little understanding of, including a lot of young women thanks to our poor educational system. We can't help it, it just happens. Blood start flowing from our vagina about once a month, if you're lucky enough to be on a regular cycle. Some women - like me - are on very irregular cycles. Periods are finicky things, really. You can breathe wrong and suddenly you're three days late for no reason at all. Okay, maybe not that finicky, but periods are affected by what we eat, what we do, the amount of stress we have, etc. You could be three days late because you're stressing about work, you started a new exercise routine, you changed your diet, etc. Unfortunately, periods also bring with them some pretty awful side effects such as bad cramps, and in some cases, *gasp* diarrhea. This is particularly problematic at work. You have to use the restroom several times a day to change your preferred period product, which is a hassle if you work with customers who may get annoyed at your constant need for a break. Periods suck, anyway, but now you have angry people to deal with. You would be cranky in this situation, too.

     Equality. Women deserve this. Respect the decisions we make for ourselves. We aren't hurting you. And no, you can't hit us. Stop using this tactic to scare us back into submission. This isn't a power struggle. The only thing you are losing is the ability to be a self righteous ass. Your opinions of our sex life and our periods are none of your concern. Stop cat-calling us. Stop harassing us. We don't owe you anything. Sex won't stretch our vagina; it's a muscle not a tendon. Plus, we push mini humans out of those things, you really think that women who have had kids now have gaping craters down under? Your penis isn't that awesome, sorry. Periods are gross, but not as gross as misogyny. No, women aren't man haters, and if you spout off "not all men" then you're likely part of the problem and you need to evaluate yourself. Let us be human beings. Stop shaming and belittling us for our choices - choices that harm NO ONE. And mind your own damn business.

     Thanks.