When I was scrolling on TikTok the other night, I came across a meme about periods, or, more specifically, pads. After watching the video, I took a quick look at the comments and was surprised to see a debate of which period product is the best and why the others, well, aren’t. I was confused—the TikTok didn’t even mention anything about which period product is the best. Still, it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard discourse about period products.
In middle school, I vividly remember being in the girls’ locker room before gym class. Although I was normally a little uncomfortable changing into my uniform in front of everyone, it was a whole different ball game whenever I was on my period. I never saw another girl’s pad, but I feared that someone would see mine, and so I would scurry to the shower to quickly change into my gym shorts before coming back out. Why was I so scared about someone seeing my pad?
Having lived with anxiety my entire life, tampons were a huge “no” when I first heard about them. I had no desire to risk TSS, but there came a time when I didn’t really have a choice. I went through so many tampons just trying to get it to work, only to fail each and every time. Plus, the process was extremely painful for me, and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t do it.
Quite frankly, I was embarrassed that I didn’t know how to use a tampon because I had figured everyone else did. I would hear things like “pads are gross” or “just use a tampon, it’s not that bad”. In the comment section of the TikTok I had watched, an individual’s maturity was called into question for using pads over tampons.
It baffles me how this topic seemingly causes some controversy. In fact, what strikes me even more is that there are people shaming others for what period product they use. Why does it matter what period product someone else is using? I’m not entirely sure where the stigma around pads came from or why it even exists. That being said, the dispute seems very anti-womxn. This is why we need an important reminder to lift each other up rather than tearing each other down.
Your period product is your choice and your choice should be whatever is most comfortable for you. If you like pads, great! Just don’t bash someone for preferring tampons. If you like tampons, cool! Just don’t shame someone for using pads. Everyone has their preferences, and we need to take into consideration that not everyone out there has the same preferences or needs as we do.
At the end of the day, what you choose to manage your period is your choice and what someone else chooses is their choice. Your preference is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. You know your body. Don’t let someone else tell you what you should be doing with it.