Around half of all humans, at some point in their lives, experience menstrual cycles. Keeping track of different parts of that cycle is part of paying attention to general health, and there are plenty of mobile phone apps designed for that purpose. That’s why when Apple announced that a central repository for health information, HealthKit, would be part of iOS 8, many people assumed that menstrual cycles would be in there, right along with blood glucose levels and blood pressure. It wasn’t, until today. [More]
lady parts
Jockey Wants To Change How Bra Sizes Work. Can They Succeed?
By 5.31.13
The standard American bra size consists of a number and a letter: the measurement around the wearer’s body in inches, and the lettered cup size, which indicates the difference between the bust measurement and the measurement around the ribcage: in other words, how big the breast is. As anyone who has ever bought a bra knows, this system has its flaws, including vanity sizing, variations between manufacturers, and variations in sizes from one style to another. Jockey is out to change that, but does their new bra-sizing and trying-on system solve the problem or create more? [More]
Hey, Ladies! This Grocery Store Knows You’ll Need Chocolate To Go With Those Tampons
By 5.16.13
Consumerist reader Jason was cruising the aisle of his local grocery store when he spotted a deal sure to win over anyone sporting lady parts — free chocolate, just for purchasing feminine hygiene products. [More]
Female Athletes Beware: Your Boobs Are Your Own Worst Enemy
By 3.4.13 — Updated: 3.5.13
You don’t need to tell me twice––or even once, really––that for many women who are “blessed” with a lot of mammary tissue, finding a good sports bra is a challenge. I’ve been on that hunt since approximately 1994. This ad campaign from UK lingerie retailer Nod & Wink sets out to be a saucy and funny ad for sports bras, but ultimately ends up haunting and sort of sad. [More]
Don’t Worry, That’s Just Bread Mold On Your Tampon
By 3.28.12 — Updated: 1.28.13
Normally, Danielle wouldn’t have pulled her Kotex tampon out of the applicator for inspection before using it. I mean, who does that? One happened to fall out of the applicator, though, and that’s when she saw them. The splotches of blackish mold. “Makes you wonder how many times things like this happen to tampons and we don’t have a clue,” she wrote. Um, yes. [More]
Finally, A Feminine Hygiene Product Ad Acknowledges The Existence Of Blood
By 7.7.11
Finally, an American ad for feminine hygiene products implying that shed uterine linings are not a thin blue liquid. This print ad for Procter & Gamble’s Always brand acknowledges, if only in the form of a tiny red dot, what actually happens to the pads that they once marketed by showing women doing cartwheels in white pants. Or something. [More]
At Least It Isn't Oozing Blood
By 10.28.10
Aaron discovered this item in the Halloween costume department of his local Target. It is supposed to create the illusion of a wound beneath your clothing. On the shelf, it looks like… um. [More]
The iMaxi Is A Disturbingly Appropriate iPad Case
By 2.26.10
There are a lot of people who don’t like the name of the iPad, Apple’s upcoming device that will save the news industry, destroy the nettop market, cure cancer, and save the princess. This is because the name makes them think of feminine hygiene products. An Etsy seller took the product’s name as inspiration, and has produced the iMaxi: a handmade, utilitarian case designed to protect your iPad and look exactly like a gigantic menstrual pad. [More]
Easter Creep: Now Right Next To The Tampons
By 1.23.10
At an unidentified drug store last week, reader H. found something strange next to the tampons: a display of Cadbury Creme Eggs. Whoever decided to pair these products together is some kind of marketing genius, considering the kinds of chocolate cravings that some women get during their Special Time. But there’s nothing unusual about having the Easter candy out early. Why, at some Walmarts, it’s been out for a month now. [More]
New Vulva Dye Doesn't Really Work, But Is Quite Tasty
By 1.16.10
We mentioned the existence of My New Pink Button a few days ago. This new and exciting product promises to “restore the pink to a woman’s genitals,” since women don’t already have enough things to be insecure about. While Consumer Reports doesn’t have this on their testing schedule (yet), one enterprising blogger has tested the product so you don’t have to. And there are pictures. No, not that kind. [More]
Vaginal Mints Are A Very, Very Bad Idea
By 10.24.09
Jen Philips over at Mother Jones received a sample of an exciting new candy from a PR rep. Called Linger, it bills itself as “the intimate mint.” Or “feminine flavoring system.” Because you’re supposed to put it in your vagina.
Blue Shield: Bleeding From Your Breasts Is Not An Emergency
By 9.27.09
One day, a California woman woke up to discover her t-shirt soaked in blood. The source? Her breast. She immediately went to the emergency room, and the cause of the bleeding was eventually found to be a benign tumor. However, her health insurance denied the claim, stating that she “reasonably should have known that an emergency did not exist.” Yes, copious amounts of blood flowing from your nipples is really something you want to wait out.
Steak WIth A Side Of Used Tampon Allegedly Served To Tourist At Waldorf-Astoria
By 7.30.09
The image at left has been redacted for the protection of our more sensitive readers. The events of this story, if true, simply boggle the mind. A German tourist visiting New York City alleges that his delicious steak was somehow served with a used tampon on it. Warning: blissfully grainy photo and video inside.
Putting Tampons Through Rigorous Comedy Testing
By 7.7.09
The last time Consumer Reports tested tampons was in 1995. Fortunately, Ball Saxbury is here. He bought a variety of tampons and tested them to see which is the least absorbent. Because, who better to test tampons than a man using next to no actual science? Exactly.
