A. sits down tonight, her usual happy self. “Hey, El! Today is International Women’s day! Yeh!” She makes the little gesture peculiar to her that is kind of a cross between a punch in the air and the thing you do when you want to spatter water on someone, flicking your fingers out.
I know her well enough to know that this is an exciting event for her. She’s just on the dizzy edge of puberty, and a day that celebrates women would appeal to her. So I do not say, “Yes. Only one day, and 364 of the other days of the year are Men’s Day, days for rape and torture, for sexual harassment and higher wages, a day to come home and demand when dinner will be ready. Days for the systemic belittling of people with vaginas.” Instead, I smile. “I know, it’s good to celebrate that we have come so far and have so many more choices.”
She grins and gets to work.
I continue to seethe.
Like it hasn’t been a little bit ‘teen size’ in terms of flow lately anyhow, but I’m going on holiday.
Speaking of ‘teen size’, does anyone remember tampons being labeled this, or am I just high and manufacturing memories? because I seem to remember a time before ‘light’ ‘medium’, ‘heavy’ and ‘super’ and ‘super plus’.
See, nowadays, tampon sizes are geared towards volume of flow. But this ‘Teen Size’ I remember seems to have been geared towards age: Teens only had light flows back then? They hadn’t had children? I don’t know. Also, were there other age-appropriate names? Was there a slightly larger than teen-size for the early twenties, and an even slightly larger one for the late twenties? Was the largest tampon called “Fucking come on, menopause!”?
Or perhaps they were all centered around (hetero) sexual experience? Teen size were tiny because dudely penises hadn’t banged their vaginas out of shape? Were bigger sizes called “Sexually Liberated”, “Whoah, Nellie”, and “Total Whore?”
I wish I could remember. Is it time for some more cold medication yet?
Some Stuff | Liz March 8, 2006 | 
Comments (2)