a curse? or a blessing?

I'm a woman who does not see her period as a curse. I get cramps, yes. I ache, yes. The monthly discomfort is only a small price to pay for the glory and grace that goes along with being a woman.

I read this book called Cunt, by Inga Muscio. She illuminates how much money women spend on disposable sanitary napkins (what an old lady word) and tampons per year, and how big boss companies like Tampax and Always, and etc, etc.. make big money by exploiting a women's cycle by telling her what she needs, and making her feel like her period is more like a "condition," and how the big bosses of these companies are men, (who probably don't care at all about a woman's cycle, and don't know what it's like anyway.)

So in this book, the author makes her own pads out of a sewing a towel into a shape and size of a pad. She treats this towel as she would a comfort blanket, and suggests that women all over should reevaluate how they see their periods.

Is it a curse?

Or a blessing?

At the Lama Foundation, (my mountain spiritual community) we refer to it as our moon.

Pardon my long introduction, I'll now begin my story.

So all these ideas from Cunt are milling around in my mind, and I pop in the Herb Shop, on Central avenue. They have the sandalwood soap I like.

On a rack, I see some snazzy looking cloth pads. a.k.a. PIMPs.

These babies are made by an actual woman herself, in Wisconsin. They have cute little snaps, and come in all sorts of sizes and fun patterns. They made me feel excited about my period.

So, I bought two.

Then, I went back and bought a third.

The rest is history, because I love using my PIMPs.

Unless you are basically in denial about the state of the world, everyone knows we need to live in a more sustainable way, because mother earth just isn't going to keep on giving.

My PIMPs save a whole lot of non-biodegradable sanitary napkins being thrown into dumps.

More importantly to be being a Feminist, I feel like I've taken back my cycle. I feel like I've been given choices, and I've made the best choice for me. I also feel good about supporting a woman's small business enterprise.

If you have more questions about PIMPs, or are interested yourself, go to

http://www.partypantspads.com/