hello, friends

[squeezle]

I think that Xmas tree is pretty funny. It makes me smile especially because I don't need those products anymore. Ha ha ha, bitches!

Sy "upside to hysterectomy" bil

the tree is great, but i just take offense to equating snarkiness with natural biological functioning - especially since there is copious research that demonstrates women do not experience any more variation in mood (due to monthly hormonal cycles or anything else) than men do - while the physical symptoms of PMS are not in question, the 'emotional' symptoms of PMS is a myth to perpetuate the oppression of women underpaid and underappreciated in the workforce. PMS is a catchall category that gets used to pathologize the female body and its functioning. in fact, the peaks PMS research have all occurred at time in which there has been an interest in pushing women out of the work force (after WW & WWII when GI were returning and wanting to reclaim the jobs filled by women during the war and the 1970s during the second wave of feminism when women were entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers). there has been some theorizing, however, that PMS is a syndrome that is adopted by women as a means to act in a way that is socially incompatible with the dominant gender roles. i have a 20 page research paper detailing the research on the topic within biomedicine, psychology and anthropology if anyone is interested.

if you think i'm bitch, just call me a bitch - leave biology out of it

[Sybil]

Thank you Sqeezle, it gives me so much hope to see that reports of the death of feminism have been greatly exaggerated! Back in the day I revered and admired women like Gloria Steinem and Betty Freidan - I really thought their legacy was just ashes, buried by the likes of The Pussycat Dolls (girl power my ass). Maybe not.

Sybil

[Irock]

while the physical symptoms of PMS are not in question, the 'emotional' symptoms of PMS is a myth to perpetuate the oppression of women underpaid and underappreciated in the workforce.

I thought the physical symptoms were in question; that there are some people who say there's no physical, observable cause that should result in cramps. I say that only because when I lived at home we had a doctor who was pretty old school - he believed that PMS was just a complete myth. I'd probably have stopped going to him if I had a choice; when we did stop going to him it was because he retired.
I always thought that was sort of bogus, because since tissue coming off the outside of person hurts, it follows that tissue separating from the inside would too... but I've never tried to research it.

I know there are people that believe the world is flat, too, so maybe my doctor was just a whack job?

Aside from that though, being in pain can make people bitchy, no?

[squeezle]

I know there are people that believe the world is flat, too, so maybe my doctor was just a whack job?

i vote for whack job, bloating, cramping and back pain are all very real physical symptoms

Aside from that though, being in pain can make people bitchy, no?

no doubt, but to automatically assume that menstuation=bitchy is false

[monet2u]

Aside from that though, being in pain can make people bitchy, no?

no doubt, but to automatically assume that menstuation=bitchy is false

yeah cuz honestly, I am total bitch most other times anyway. fact!

Actually I don't even get really bitchy around my period...mostly cuz I'm in PAIN and just want to cry.

[Dalya]

*snort* Yeah, well I think it doesn't really hurt a guy that much when you knee him in the jewels... That doctor sounds like a jackass.

Cramps DO have a proven cause... I posted the long explanation below for those who care, but basically you have mini contractions to get the old uterus lining out. The pain varies from woman to woman because people's pain threshold varies, and some women require smaller "contractions"... much like childbirth is more bearable for some women than for others.

Long explanation:

"When the old uterine lining begins to break down, molecular compounds called prostaglandins are released. These compounds, specifically prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha), cause the muscles of the uterus to contract. When the uterine muscles contract, they constrict the blood supply (vasoconstriction) to the endometrium. This contraction blocks the delivery of oxygen to the tissue of the endometrium which, in turn, breaks down and dies. After the death of this tissue, the uterine contractions literally squeeze the old endometrial tissue through the cervix and out of the body by way of the vagina.

The cramping sensation is intensified when clots or pieces of bloody tissue from the lining of the uterus pass through the cervix, especially if a woman's cervical canal is narrow.

The difference between menstrual cramps that are more painful and those that are less painful is apparently related to a woman's prostaglandin levels. Women with menstrual cramps have prostaglandin blood levels that are 5-13 times higher than women who do not experience cramps. Menstrual cramps are very similar to those a pregnant woman experiences when she is given prostaglandin as a medication to induce labor. "

source: http://www.medicinenet.com/menstrual_cramps/page2.htm

[Dalya]

and from personal experience, getting cramps only makes me bitchy if other people are totally inconsiderate of me. As in, "[boyfriend/roomate/parent], I have really bad cramps today so try and leave me alone." and they don't listen or pick a fight or something.

what also makes me bitchy is being bloated... i only started "believing" in bloating recently, when i realized i weigh at least 5 pounds more duringmy period and my jeans don't fit. so automatically you feel pain and can't find anything that fits... not a good way to start your day.

p.s. applause to shauna for pms rant.

[Irock]

Lookit, I learned intersting stuff today. Thanks, ladies!

[mr_j]

if you think i'm bitch, just call me a bitch - leave biology out of it

i do apologize if i hurt your feelings or pissed you off. i simply used your unnecessarily rude comment as the basis of posting a rather hilarious picture i'd seen.

but i can't call a woman that. even you, squeezle. that's just wrong.

[squeezle]

i do apologize if i hurt your feelings or pissed you off. i simply used your unnecessarily rude comment as the basis of posting a rather hilarious picture i'd seen.

but i can't call a woman that. even you, squeezle. that's just wrong.

no hurt feelings here, just annoyed by the patronizing overtones. and, fyi, not calling me a bitch just because i am 'a woman' is also patronizing. gender should not be a consideration in how you treat a person - you should have the same respect for all regardless of gender.

[ifihadahifi]

your unnecessarily rude comment

Damn your sensitive, J. You sound like a bleeder.