To think stop shaming sanitary pads!

[BooFuckingHoo2]

I’ll call eat this by saying I have ASD.

From high school for me it was encouraged by teachers (PE) to “use tampons”. So from 12 I used tampons (painfully) because sanitary towels were considered “gross” or girls were worried they could be seen under their PE kit.

This carried on with “friends” causally by them being like ew who used pads.

I was twenty fucking six until I dared use a pad because I had a bad UTI and by god the relief was immense, no longer having to reluctantly shove things up myself. It’s not like “wearing a nappy” at all.

AIBU to think there’s a social pressure to use tampons?

I know where you're coming from OP - when I was younger tampons were definitely seen as what you should be using, because they meant you could still do swimming, they couldn't be seen through your trousers (the shame of the outline of a pad!) etc.

I didn't mind them at all, although I switched to tampax as I preferred an applicator (perhaps I have short fingers or something, because lilets never seemed to get high enough). Post kids though I just find them uncomfortable.

I've used cups, the pants etc. and these days I use big, thick pads and couldn't care less! If I'm going swimming I'll whack in the cup or a tampon, but for everything else, a massive pad sees me through.

Makes you realise how heavy your periods really are. I always had to use both. Super plus tampons I would bleed through in an hour, pads stand up and gush floods and bleeds through trousers.
I have period pants and reusables but they are useless.
In an ideal world I would just use a tampon as I Hate the feeling of blood, gushing and irritation/thrush from pads.

totally agree, i hate tampons, tried once or twice and really don't get on with them

Never had any pressure.

Hated pads as they would have stopped me going swimming and I hated how they felt riding a bike.

Literally no one gave a shit at my school.

I personally have never felt pressured, however I have noticed recently whenever the topic comes up on social media that women are being shamed into using menstrual cups which are reusable and better for the environment that pads or tampons. I find this unacceptable. There are many many reasons why a woman chooses to use the sanitary protection she prefers and we shouldn't feel the need to explain ourselves.

I think a lot will depend on when you started you periods. I was born early '70s - we had a school visit from the Tampax lady when I was about 10. At that time, the choice was only tampons or pads.

My mother was prepared for me and my sister starting and she left me in the bathroom with a selection of pads and tampons, saying to call her if I needed help, and reminding me I did a lot of swimming. She'd always left her own box of Tampax by the loo, so I was familiar with what the leaflet said, and I got on with Tampax minis, and never really had a problem with them. My sister turned out to be a pad girl, at least at the start.

Although thin pads were starting to be available, they weren't commonly available till later in the '80s, and pads were uncomfortable. Now there's the choice of thick pads, thin pads, pads with wings, organic cotton pads, gel-filled pads... Not to mention menstrual cups and period pants, but they've only been available for the last decade or so. Girls today have more options than we did back in the '80s.

If there's any pressure these days, it's more about reusable than tampon vs pad, but I don't have a teenage girl to know what they experience these days. I don't remember any pressure at school, or even much discussion. Early on, there were a few discussions about whether you had started yet, but then not really anything till about 15 and occasional panics about someone being late (there were a handful of pregnancies), but nothing about pads or tampons. Maybe I just missed it all, or it wasn't a big deal in an all-girls school.

These days, I mostly use a menstrual cup, but I do often back it up with a pad at least on the first couple of days, because there's a lot more blood to deal with than 35 years ago. I never really understood how much things would change over the years, either - I don't know if I just ignored it as irrelevant, because when you're about 10, anything over 25 or so is basically so ancient you're almost dead, or if it wasn't mentioned - I suspect mostly the latter, because the focus was on what happens to your body through puberty which will happen soon, not stuff for decades' time. I hope these days girls are told about all the different options for period protection, but I get the impression at least for some women, what they learnt about periods growing up was less than we did in the '80s, and it's difficult to make informed decisions if you don't really know what's going on.

@Chrissiemcghee

I personally have never felt pressured, however I have noticed recently whenever the topic comes up on social media that women are being shamed into using menstrual cups which are reusable and better for the environment that pads or tampons. I find this unacceptable. There are many many reasons why a woman chooses to use the sanitary protection she prefers and we shouldn't feel the need to explain ourselves.

What do you mean by “shaming” exactly? I suspect you mean “mild encouragement”.

As a teenager yes! Especially for swimming lessons. But they couldn't make us. So I always used a pad and missed them once a month. ;)

Still use pads now. I hate tampons.

@BooFuckingHoo2

Maybe I am projecting but where I went to school using tampons definitely made you a grown up! I also remember going on a family holiday and my mum giving me a makeup bag full of tampons and being expected to sort myself out so I could join in, I was early high school age and it was horrible!

I've never felt that pressure, or heard it being applied to anyone - I've always used pads, and in recent years a mooncup. It's not something I ever discussed with friends, maybe this puts me in a minority though! Sounds like your mother is the root cause of your issues with pads? Pretty mean of her to be so unsupportive.

I agree there is or there certainly was when I was at school And given boxes of mini tampax

Tampons hide away the awfulness of a period pads didn’t that seemed to be the message

Girls for religious reasons were excused but anyone every other girls was absolutely encouraged as being in our period was no excuse not to go swimming

Pads as so much better now then they were thick then and bulky

I still use tampons through use a pad if I’m staying at home (I personally feel cleaner wearing a tampon)

@Chrissiemcghee

I personally have never felt pressured, however I have noticed recently whenever the topic comes up on social media that women are being shamed into using menstrual cups which are reusable and better for the environment that pads or tampons. I find this unacceptable. There are many many reasons why a woman chooses to use the sanitary protection she prefers and we shouldn't feel the need to explain ourselves.

Can you give an example of someone being shamed on social media to use a mooncup, or asked to explain themselves? I've only seen it as a suggestion, and I suppose people that get on with them are quite enthusiastic about them, as they do feel a bit life-changing. But I'm interested to know how people are being shamed into using them, as that sounds unacceptable.

I'm 33 and I can still remember when I was a teenager the female assistant head at our school telling all us girls at an assembly that we should be using tampons not pads and that her daughter, who was younger than us, used only tampons - the background to this was that someone in our year group, they didn't know who, had been sticking used sanitary pads on the walls in the girls toilets and all the girls in the year had been gathered for this assembly and this was where she made this comment. I can remember feeling a bit upset by it at the time because as a teenager I thought there must be something wrong with me that I couldn't use tampons. I just couldn't seem to get the hang of them at all, didn't like putting them in, couldn't get them in the right place etc. It actually took me until I was about 28 to start trying to use tampons again and that was only for convenience as I had an active job and didn't like the sweaty feeling of using pads when I was running about all day. It sounds a bit silly but through my teens and 20s I occasionally used to think about that teacher's words and wonder if there was something wrong with me that I couldn't seem to get the hang of tampons. Now, in my 30s, I use both tampons and pads but still more pads - I think it's a personal choice. I'm actually a bit worried at some point there's going to be pressure on women to use all these new reusable methods of sanitary protection like mooncups - it took me almost 15 years to get the hang of tampons, I don't know if I fancy trying to get the jist of getting a mooncup in the right place.

I agree with you OP, Tampons are really uncomfortable for me because my uterus is retroverted. For years i couldn't figure out why i couldn't wear them and in my school sanitary towels were called 'nappies' and no girl should wear them. I use pads still now and i feel so much better knowing why they were so uncomfortable!

I also dislike tampons and only use them for swimming. When I used disposable pads I did find them a bit nappy-like tbh but now I use reusable ones which are much nicer.

I’ve met other people with the same preference too, a work colleague asked me if I had a spare pad and I only had tampons (as I don’t buy disposable pads any more) which she declined.

I know what you mean, OP. I remember a friend, back when I was in my early 20s, deriding pads as 'nappies'. Such a weird thing for women to judge other women on - it's such a personal choice.

I agree, in my day 80/90's sanitary towels were very much seen for beginners. I never used them. I thought they were too visible and too smelly. Now I am older I happily use them towards end of period but i think technology has improved and they are thinner than they used to be.

You were pressured by TEACHERS to wear tampons???!!!!

Also I've always been told you shouldn't sleep with a tampon on.....

I agree there is an embarrassment attached to wearing SanPro and me and my friends would always do the awkward "take a few steps in front" so we could check if you could notice the pad. Of course we couldn't ever.....

@grey12 I use reusable ones now which are very thick and comfy but I always get DH to check if you can notice them through my jeans! Always no!

weird... I almost felt the opposite at school - everyone seemed to start with pads and be afraid of tampons! I felt like a weirdo for not having a problem with tampons!
I think I only used pads the first couple of periods, then I hated the feeling of the "wetness" in my pants, and sitting in blood...

I'm having a baby in feb, and am actually nervous at the thought of having to wear maternity pads post-natally! Apparently you shouldn't use tampons due to infection risk :(

I've never heard this ever. Women I know have been free to use whichever they want. Even at school there was no pressure to use tampons. Nobody cared.

This is the first time I have come across this issue in many decades of menstruation

I remember in our school you weren't allowed to be excused from games (inc swimming) for having your period. Our PE teacher (female) was harsh/v big on not letting it stop you participating in normal life etc. You either had to get your parent to write a note (making up something other than having your period!) or forge a letter yourself!
My dd is so much more fortunate these days as the PE wear is much less ridiculously skimpy - joggers, skorts etc you could even wear a pad and no one would notice (although possibly not gymnastics....)
What does make me sad is that many girls start to abandon all their sports around a certain age due to periods (and also becoming increasingly body conscious) and I think it's such a shame that it becomes another barrier to accessing sport and fitness.

Like another PP I also had a boyfriend when I was younger who thought periods in general were gross, but particularly pads. He used to say the thought of women wearing “fanny nappies” made him sick .

I think this contributed to my “shame” feelings as I thought pads would gross men out and put them off me if we were in a relationship.

Now I’m older I don’t give a fuck - being comfortable is more important to me than worrying about appealing to men, but it makes me sad that I used to suffer days of discomfort because of pad shame.

I'm 33 with 4 children and still never used a tampon. Never felt any pressure at all.

I remember this too. I remember the girl who showed us all her thong and said ‘I wouldn’t be able to wear this if I wore Granny pads’. Some girls referred to pads as nappies too and said they ‘wouldn’t dare wear them’.

I always wore pads and still do. I’ve tried tampons various times over the years but I hate the feeling of having something inside me all day long, just really uncomfortable.