health

...Because I am falling apart! I finally sort of get myself together (well, as together as I could possibly be right now) and off I go and get myself a kidney infection. Lovely. Ok, so there was a little more to it than my kidneys just being out to get me, there was another incident with Nick and getting hit there, which made the infection more painful. But, my real story here (yes, there is a point to this post) is about what happened when I went to the hospital today. As has happened many times before today when I have gone to the hospital about such things, I ended up with a male doctor. This was ok with me today, I was not feeling too concerned because it was not a gyn issue and so I thought maybe I can deal with having him examine me.

This is an article I published in my school paper November 11, 2005:

Women bleed. Let’s reiterate that. Women naturally shed their lifeblood every 28 days or so. If this is such a natural, recurring thing, why do we as Americans find it so grotesque? Back in the day, American women were hidden away for one week each month. The general understanding was that menses was unclean. By the time people came to their senses, it was too late. Today, we know that menstruating women can take baths and enjoy sports. They can go out in public. They don’t have to be ashamed.

So why, then, do companies such as Tampax, Kotex, or Stayfree make such a huge profit off of women’s desire to be hide their menses? It’s a proven fact; commercial tampons and pads are not healthy. These products can cause Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), a potentially life-threatening illness. However, there is a reason these products cause TSS. Didn’t you ever wonder how they got the things so white, and so absorbent? It’s simple: companies use unhealthy synthetics, such as the commonly-used rayon, to soak up as much as possible. Then they bleach it, furthering the harm on the body.

A subject that fascinates me, often beyond belief, is how Western (mostly American, actually) peoples are obsessed with breasts.

In most areas of the world, it is a no-brainer that human milk is best for human babies. Then there is the US. Somehow, the American public is absolutely obsessed with breasts. This can effectively be called a fetish- for breasts have only the purpose of breastfeeding. So, as breasts are considered sexual organs, they are seen as taboo, bad, "private parts". Somehow, breastfeeding is mistaken for a sexual act rather than feeding a child- something disgusting that shouldn't be seen in public. This, as well as the marketing that formula is somehow best for your baby, led to many women opting out of breastfeeding or only doing it partially, despite the obvious health benefits.