I was blessed by the Johnson & Johnson lady when I was 11 (shortly before my first period actually). She came to our school and had open frank discussions about periods and anal sex. Showed us the archaic pads of the past and left us with adorable samples of tampons. (Which I promptly destroyed a red pen to…

Oh god, we all know that feeling. That 'how many seconds will it take between standing and reaching the toilet?' math. I would always yell that if anyone was in the bathroom they needed to get out ASAP, then double and triple check before leaving my safe sitting position.

I think the main reason period empowerment has never been my deal is because most of the men in my life are not babies about it. I think I'm more weirded out about discussing my period than they are. I always feel lucky hearing all these stories about guys getting upset about just hearing the word "period."

My mother's idea of discussing periods/ sex to ask me with a red face and in a pained whisper if I "knew about all that." I really had no idea, but I just nodded since it seemed like the thing to do.

Right, I really don't have that much of an issue with people thinking it's gross. Hell, I get grossed out by my own period. But in the same way that I think my own piss, shit, vomit, or boogers are gross. Gross bodily secretions are gross. But they're normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Gross should definitely not be…

exactly this. I think a lot of natural bodily functions are sort of gross and would rather not have images of them on my Instagram timeline, but that's not the same as thinking they shouldn't be allowed to be posted at all.

Yeah, and when I got mine I really couldn't believe it. I remember being shocked that it just kind of leaked out all the time. I had had some vague notion that it was more like peeing blood, something you could mostly hold in until you were ready (thanks to a video that had more flowers and dippy music than facts and…

anyone coming down here to be like "that pic is gross" is part of why i find this "my period blood is sacred and empowering" angle to be a little bit theoretically empty — it equates that "it's gross" reaction to the "it should be censored" reaction, when the two of them need to be separated. finding it gross is…

I still remember my shock and disbelief when I was finally told about periods when I was 10. I couldn't believe that all these women were walking around pretending like THEIR VAGINAS WEREN'T FUCKING BLEEDING.

So many angry dudes in the comments whining already! LOVE IT.

It saddens me how many women responded to this on the feministing facebook page with disgust and outrage. One woman said that it's "extremests like you that give Feminism a bad name. You are actually hurting the cause." Another woman, responding to comments that we should not be ashamed, said that she should post a…

That's the type of crazy we just don't need.

So glad that Jia pointed out that periods don't need to be sacred hippy-dippy bullshit to be regarded as something normal and not shameful. Ghod, I hate hippy-dippy bullshit. But the secrecy around periods is profoundly misogynistic - and, talking about our periods is HILARIOUS AND GREATLY TO BE ENCOURAGED.

I never thought the internet would force me to be #TeamPeriodStain, but here we are.

Mine was Bridge to Terebithia. My mother had to take the book from me I was crying so hard. These poor parents. Also, this is a reminder that I'm glad that I grew up in the pre-internet age.

I can't even with this shit. I was 14 when Kurt Cobain died, and I assure you, everyone showed up for school the next day.

My conversation with my younger teenage sister.

Even as a teen, I never reacted this way to pop culture -type stuff. I find all of this both incomprehensible and hilarious.

I'm not one of those "your problems are small because people in place Y dont have X".

"The only way to be kicked out of a university should be a criminal conviction." - criminals who haven't been convicted