Also, believe it or not, many of us can't use the cheapest tampons and pads because they are uncomfortable, not absorbent enough or cause irritation. We often have to pay more for a better shape, better applicator, allergy sensitive kind or suffer health problems as a result. https://twitter.com/WyrdWombman/status/1320484884582989834

God knows when I had periods I needed three different kinds of pads depending on where I was in my cycle, bigger ones for night time and ones with wings that would stay in place because I move around at lot at work. Ones that didn't chafe, again for that reason.

I'm allergic to the scented ones. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY SANITARY PAD BRANDS ARE SCENTED? And if I couldn't get the right shape and size in my cheapy brand I had to spend more on the more expensive ones or suffer.

And then there are simply the failures. The ones that need replaced more quickly because you misjudged your flow or a bigger one that shifted and caught on your pants in a weird way while you were lifting boxes or standing up so now you need ANOTHER fresh one...

Also can we talk about how many of the cheaper, thinner pads have that weird shiny coating that makes them less absorbant? What is the point in that?

And when the wings get stuck to each other and you're now fighting not to rip your own underwear apart trying to detach the damn things.

Then nearly crying with frustration because you're at work/school/out and the toilet doesn't have a sanitary bin or the cubicle is so small you can't actually access your bag to get the damn thing out, unwrap it, remove the old pad, wrap it up and apply the new one.

Also how many hands do you need for that?? And the cheaper ones don't have plastic wrap over the sticky bits so you're juggling what is essentially a large sticker in one hand while you twist and contort to access the sanitary bin (if there is one) without touching it...

And now you've got blood on your hands and a pad stuck to your wrist and somehow the wing got stuck on your pubes and you've hit your head off the door twice and there's nowhere to hang your bag so it's fallen onto the pissy floor and you just want to get on with your day...

I don't miss periods. I don't miss how badly public toilets are designed for them. I don't miss the pain and indignity and frustration of knowing that 99% of the issues that arise come from bad and/or ignorant design because nobody wants to talk about it.

The only reason I don't get them now is my birth control and there was talk of a shortage a while back that scared the bejeezus out of me.

Anyway periods are expensive and inconvenient and they don't need to be!

But they ARE.