Space, Mountains, and Other Places Blood Soaked Tampons Have Been
Whether it is space, or Olympics, or Titanic’s film set, blood soaked pads have always been carried by women.
Back home, from khoon bhari maang to khoon bhari taang, there’s so much to dread about the Bharatiya nari, right?
Is it respectful to take bloody pads into God’s House? The Bharatiya nari is asked by Union Minister Smriti Irani.
Now, fake news might have prompted the line, but the minister’s comment was 100% real. As it turns out, not just friend’s places, blood soaked pads and tampons have travelled all the way into space, and even to the mightiest of mountains. And no, they aren’t dunked into women’s bags (overflowing as they already are), and neither into their pockets (as if there are any in women’s clothes anyway).
Tampons have always been loyal allies to women astronauts in space, although their use may not be that common among them, especially while they are on mission.
But way back in 1983, for Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space, NASA engineers ensured that her tampon supplies while on her space mission were abundant. For a week’s mission, Ride was asked if 100 tampons would be the right number. To which she replied, ‘Well, you can cut that in half with no problem at all.”
Needless to say, way beyond friend’s homes and familiar territories, women took their bloody tampons to zero G, and did not make a big deal out of it.
When you have blizzards and uneven ice peaks to battle – while carrying logistics weighing over 135 pounds – you aren’t too bothered with bloody tampons, as the mountaineering Malik sisters inform us.
From the heights of adventure, to the depths of art, a good menstrual management system can help in any situation. Don’t believe us, it’s probably what helped Kate Winslet sail through the shoot of Titanic without accidentally shooting for a Shark sequel. And she did sail through it, as everyone found out in the end.
Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui’s admission about being on her period in the Rio Olympics brought about a discussion on tampons in China, where they aren’t that common.
So yes, whether it is space, or Olympic swimming pools, or Titanic’s film set, blood soaked pads/tampons/menstrual cups have always been carried by women in person. And guess what? It is no one else’s bloody business.
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