| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 08:41:25 AM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mgv0LeVKJiA
let's talk about it....
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~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
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http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| 22 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Carolinagirl |
Posted - Feb 17 2008 : 05:52:40 AM
I can't watch youtube (I'm on dial-up) but I saw the commercial (again) last night on tv, and at the end it says "Have a happy period" (not sure if this is the same commercial as the one on youtube). It's for always, not Tampax, and it says that because the girls miss school they get behind, which could force them to drop out. Saving them several days a month of absenses sounds like not such a bad thing.
I think that the opinions on this thread are being expressed with the idea that we KNOW what "those people" are thinking, needing and wanting. There is no way to determine that from here, unless someone who has spoken has physically been there and experienced the lives of these girls. In the opposite way, the opinions here are being placed upon these girls as much as the western ones being ranted against. Until one can say "I've spoken to these women and here's what they want or need," we know no more than anyone else. Reading a book about it, studying it, watching a documentary on tv- none of these equal talking one on one with the girl who may be forced out of school because of her absences. |
| PlumCreekMama |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 7:30:30 PM
I hated this commercial when I first saw it too. Seems to me if Tampax wants to do some charity work, they could find something better. I agree with Elizabeth that a keeper cup would be tons better for these people. |
| Leezard |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 6:57:40 PM
I can't say I have an opinion here or there on this right now. I do think it is important to preserve cultures but I also think that if people, namely the women in Africa, were concerned about this changing them then they wouldn't use them? I don't disagree that this might not be a great thing but I'm also not certain if it's a horrible thing either. My hope is that if there is a woman out there who is being kept from making her life better because of having her period and something like that can help her I hope she makes the choice that is best for her.
http://ruby--slippers.blogspot.com/
www.leezard.etsy.com |
| babysmama |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 3:34:37 PM
I agree! I have seen this commerical and thought nothing of it but when you point it out it is stupid. First of all, if this girls are so poor that they can't afford tampons than why not give them a "keeper" cup that they can reuse for decades or cloth pads that they can reuse? Those are the smartest of answers.
I also agree with the baby formula thing. When mothers are so poor that they can't afford formula why is Nestle handing it out instead of educating about breastfeeding, which is FREE and makes a healthier baby which is so important in such poor countries where medical care is hard to come by. Not to mention that formula takes water to mix it with and in these poor countries there isn't many places to find clean water. DUH!!! It is all about money, not helping the poor or needy out.
-Elizabeth |
| Rebekka Mae |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 2:22:16 PM
Absolutely Julie...These amazing cycles that follow the moon aren't for nothing! My menses is a time for me to slow down, pamper my body and I resent the idea that it is undesirable. Perhaps if you are always told that it is dirty and that you must go buy things to cover it up you will feel it is a bummer. I did until I met some very honest, awesome women in college who turned the whole idea around for me and now I can't believe what I was missing out on with that view.
www.bebebella.etsy.com
As a woman I have no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.
Virginia Woolf |
| joyfulmama |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 11:43:23 AM
same thing with them handing out formula to african women- they have been nursing their babies for years.. the babies were probably the most healthiest of them all because the mama's breastmilk was made just for them.. then let's give them formula instead and they are sickly- getting bacteria from the water to make the formula... big business- hate it!
Blessings, Debra
Psalms 23:1 "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want."
http://myvintagehome.blogspot.com
http://woolieacres.net |
| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 10:42:39 AM
No I didn't say that but right on...well, maybe I said it in another way, really...CELEBRATE instead of DESPISE your Moon!
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~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| willowtreecreek |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 10:38:57 AM
Tasha you may have said this and I missed it and if you havent yet I am surprised! One of the things that bugs me most about the commercial is at the end when it says "Turn your period into something good" Is't the whole purpose of our cycle to allow us to bear children. I don't have kids but if I wanted to I am glad to know I am able. That's a pretty good thing about my period.
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.willowtreecreek.wordpress.com
Felt and Fabric Crafts
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www.willowtreecreek.com
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| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:58:18 AM
Jessie-I see what you are saying, and that is just the point. In their culture it is totally acceptable for a woman on her Moon to possible be put in a bleeding hut, but who says she isn't joyful that she is doing that? Among the men as well in some African traditions it is seen as a joyful time, the most MAGICAL time of the month for a woman...we have ZERO business pushing this kind of crap on them.
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~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| Rebekka Mae |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:55:18 AM
RIGHT ON TASHA- tampax, nestle, and companies of the like....drop this stuff off in third world countries with no regard for local custom to make money and act like saviors because they do it at a discount (still at a profit). There are surely cultural differences as Jessie said that are WAY outside just having a little box of bleached tampons. If women and girls in Africa want to use western menstrual products that is fine of course but really- when was a commercial EVER about anything other than money for a corporation? If you want to sell something just tell me what it is, why you are proud of it and let me decide for myself. The last place I want my money to go is to a company owned by men that deceives women into thinking that their periods are so disgusting that they need to risk life threatening illness to control them.
Use cloth, sea sponges, etc!
Rebekka
www.bebebella.etsy.com
As a woman I have no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.
Virginia Woolf |
| JessieMae |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:39:08 AM
I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here, but are we missing something? Is there a cultural reason why girls on their periods aren't going to school? Some cultures do believe that a woman on her period is "unclean" and thus she is more or less quarantined for the duration. Of course, if that is the case, then I don't see how a tampon is going to help her fight social stigma.... |
| Firemama |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:33:24 AM
I guess my thing is do we KNOW for a FACT that the reason they dont go to school is cause of their periods? Nope we dont, and probably never will unless we go over there, right? You are right in saying this is their tradition,and I agree with you in saying , why mess with their tradition. BUT we dont know for fact what goes on over there. Alot of the reason is I am sure because of reasons you mentioned civil war,genocide,and gang rape. I have family that has lived over there and none of it is pretty. But who are we to say, dont use pads or dont follow your own traditions? either way we all feel differently about it, right? "Opinions are like Buttholes, everyone has one and alot of them stink"
I do think its sad that they have to miss school because of ANYTHING.
Mama to 2
FarmGirl# 20
Rich or Poor, It Dont matter We're all the same everybodys hungry in a different way....
http://myfarmdreams.blogspot.com/
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| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:22:35 AM
It isn't about helping them or not helping them, it is about making money. period. (no pun intended.) As I said above, I do believe in helping them, but helping them with the things that matter to their survival. I doubt if someone is starving, thirsty or in danger she is wondering if her period is going to make her miss school...
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~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:21:04 AM
The same notion comes across in the artificial baby milk industry as well...namely by Nestle and why we boycott them. Tell a nurisng African mother that her breastmilk is inferior to the formula you are handing out for free. She stops nursing in favor of this miracle milk. Soon she runs out of miracle milk powder that she has been mixing with water nearby....her breasts are dried up and quite possibly knows nothing about re-lactation, her baby is starving and worse is sick because the miracle milk was mixed with water from nearby which is the same water where the animals drink and bathe, where locals bathe and do their wash. Soon baby dies of starvation, even if Mother gets more miracle milk, because the germs from the water are taking all the nutrient benefit from the miracle milk, leaving the baby emaciated and starved....and why? because breastfeeding is bad, and heathen and only poor people do it, so be rich like we Westerners and feed your baby this powder!!!
I don't get it. I really really don't.
And before you ask if I do anything about anything, I do. I am a letter writer, a contributor to causes that aid women and children world over and an activist....that there is little change in preservation is why I get so angry. Human beings are like a virus and when there is a dominate one of us, it takes over...making everything the same. It makes me soo soo soo sad.
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~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| Firemama |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:18:53 AM
Either way its sad they are missing school, so do you think we should be helping them at all? Because people who arent educated , such as myself I guess, when they see this commercial think it really is about periods and "helping" these young girls.
Mama to 2
FarmGirl# 20
Rich or Poor, It Dont matter We're all the same everybodys hungry in a different way....
http://myfarmdreams.blogspot.com/
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| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:11:07 AM
If they are missing school it probably has to do with tradition in how they handle their Moons, not because they CAN'T go....it's that they DON'T go. And as I mentioned above, they are likely also missing school for other reasons like civil war, gang rape, genocide etc. or just purely the need to find food and water and make sure they stay alive. There is more that can be done than telling them their Moons are dirty and they need tampons, like fresh water and food and safety and health.
It's about preserving culture is all...how they handle their Moons isn't wrong or dirty, it's just HOW they do it.
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~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| Beemoosie |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:08:39 AM
I agree with you on this Tasha. You put words to my feelings beautifully. The last couple years I have been putting together these feelings of "why does it have to be THIS (fill in your thoughts here) WAY to be right?" on a lot of issues. You can't make me believe that it's anything but business. ~Blessings
My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. Luke 1:46,47
www.beequilting.blogspot.com
http://beemoosie-picture-diary.blogspot.com/ |
| Firemama |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 09:05:08 AM
"We need to leave our noses out of their vaginas and help them out with things to save their lives, not make more sales for the male owned and designed feminine hygiene industry"
Thats hillarious,and I see what you are saying ,but if they dont have to, why should they miss school?If there is something to help them be able to go,when they get their periods?Education doesnt come easy over there, while it is a catch 22for me, cause I sure as heck wish we would keep our noses out of their vaginas,and everyone elses too.
Mama to 2
FarmGirl# 20
Rich or Poor, It Dont matter We're all the same everybodys hungry in a different way....
http://myfarmdreams.blogspot.com/
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| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 08:59:51 AM
here is another example of the very same notion:
I take nothing from the notion that the little girl loves her doll...it's the notion that unless it is someone from the Western world where Barbie reigns, the chances of an African girl coming into contact with a blonde haired blue eyed person is nill...I truly don't get why we can't leave other cultures alone. Why we have to continue to destroy...
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~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| yarnmamma |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 08:58:30 AM
Amen! you made a very good point. I had some wierd feeling about the commercial but didn't realize why.
****************
May we always be in thankful contemplation of God who presides over us all.
Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
farmgirl #71 Linda in PA |
| GaiasRose |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 08:53:18 AM
because once again we are working at making the whole world Western. Women in Africa have handled their Moons in their own tradition for EONS and here we are trying to hand out bleached cotton tampons that have the risk of giving girls and women toxic shock syndrome. And why? because periods are icky and disgusting and something to be DEALT with so you can go on with your life, instead of cherishing it as part of your life.
There are women here is miss days of school each month (I was one of them...had painful periods when I was younger until I had babies) and still manage to come out okay....or miss WEEKS because of something like mono and still graduate. And while I understand that education is different there and very coveted and cherished, I don't think that changing the way women and girls are told to deal with their periods is going to change the fact that it isn't their periods that keep them from school so they have to drop out...it is disease and gang rape and ensuing pregnancy and civil war that keep them from school.
We need to leave our noses out of their vaginas and help them out with things to save their lives, not make more sales for the male owned and designed feminine hygiene industry.
"Make the World England..." is still the going mantra with a bit of a change...."Make the World American..." Makes me ill.
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs: http://gaiarose.wordpress.com
http://womonandsprout.wordpress.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=GaiasRose
Homepage:
http://ForestFaeries.etsy.com
"Joyful chaos, working in tune with the seasons, telling itme by the sun, variety, change and self-direction; all this wwas replaced with a brutal, standardized work culture, the effects of which we are still suffering from today." - Tom Hodgkinson in 'How To Be Idle' |
| Firemama |
Posted - Feb 16 2008 : 08:47:25 AM
You despise it because??
Mama to 2
FarmGirl# 20
Rich or Poor, It Dont matter We're all the same everybodys hungry in a different way....
http://myfarmdreams.blogspot.com/
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