GladRags Gab

Happy National Poetry Month! In a last ditch effort, before April, also known as National Poetry Month (www.poets.org) is over, I have penned a poem that has some relevance to menstruation, though barely. Maybe not surprisingly, menstruation has inspired many people to poetry, Sandra Cisneros and Lucielle Clifton among them. The website for the Museum of Menstruation, www.mum.org, has a category for poetry, with many other bleeding-inspired works. Perhaps poetic inspiration will strike you!

Wait ‘Til Jordy Hears This
by Michelle A.L. Singer

My email address differs from
Jordy Singer’s
By two numbers,
9 and 8.
If anyone forgets to add 9 and 8
To jmsinger,
The message goes to Jordy
And he or she
I don’t know which
Never asked
Kindly
Forwards them to me.

When we lived in China
And established our first ever email account
There was plenty of confusion
About email addresses
And Jordy came into play quite often.

When I didn’t get my period for three months
We’re pretty sure Jordy got an earful
Of the ensuing drama.
It turns out that I wasn’t pregnant
And that it sometimes happens
When you live abroad-
Your cycle stops
As if to see what’s going to happen next.

Ten years later, we’ve both
Kept the same email addresses
(Unheard of)
Though my physical address
Has changed eight times
And who knows how many for Jordy.

Ten years
And the other day
He (or she)
Still not sure
Still haven’t asked
Forwarded a wayward message my way.

Ten years,
And I’m late
Waiting to see if I’m pregnant
Again.

P.S. I’m not. Two days after writing this, I got my period. Even though I had taken two pregnancy tests that showed negative, nothing is the final word like bleeding. At times like these when technically I should be wishing not to bleed, I can’t help but still enjoy getting my GladRags out. Somehow they still seem fun to me.

-Michelle 

This announcement below is from Marwin, who is doing a menstrual forum. Thanks Marwin, for letting women know about their options.

-Brenda 

Hey everyone!

I am hosting an event called “On the Rag”.  It's a forum night….about your period!This event is taking place on Monday, April 14 2008 at 7:30 PM.  It will be at SUNY Albany in Albany, NY in the Humanities building room 116.
I am going to give a talk about the history of disposable feminine products, the problems with them, and alternatives that are available to women.  Then, a forum-style discussion will follow.  I received donations of cloth pads from women who make their own pads, as well as Gladrags pads!  The ladies at Gladrags made a generous donation of several pads in various colors and styles which I am going to raffle off at this event.  I also received a sample Keeper and Mooncup that I unfortunately cannot raffle off.

I am so excited preparing for this event!  A lot of the preparing I had to do for this forum was looking back into articles I wrote a few years ago from a zine I made.  It featured several articles about radical menstruation.  One was about finding out about cloth pads, buying a few, and then moving on to making my own cloth pads!  These experiences really changed my views about menstruation and my body 180 degrees.  I used to hate my period so much, but I felt a lot better about it after putting the effort into taking care of my body.  Making pads was fun for me, improved my sewing skills, and it actually made me excited to get my period because I wanted to try out my new Hello Kitty island print flannel pads!  Come to think of it, the first pads I actually bought were Gladrags seconds and I based my own designs off of Gladrags.

I wanted to do this forum because I really want to promote the usage of cloth and/or menstrual cups/sponges to other women.  SO MANY women do not even know that these things exist!  Or, if they do, they have negative views about cloth (it's dirty/smelly/leaks/it's gross etc.)  I want to dispel these myths with people by providing them with information, and giving them a hands-on experience with really beautifully made cloth pads which were generously donated by several companies.  Having the pads is great; there are so many styles to show people!  I also want to hand out patterns or websites with printable patterns and encourage women to make their own pads as well.

I am going to write another blog entry after the Forum night, so check back within the next week for more info (and possibly pics!) of how it went.

Anyone in the Albany area hopefully see you there!

–Marwin Margolies

We just sent off more GladRags to Chris Hanley who works with the Mekele Blind School. She sent us these photos and note. Chris, thank you for your good work.

Ethiopian School for the Blind
LOVES GLADRAGS

When I saw for myself that the 38 girls at the Mekele Blind School in northern Ethiopia had nothing to use other than found rags during their periods, I was determined to find a sustainable solution to the problem. Disposable pads wouldn’t be practical, as the school has no way of disposing it’s garbage and the expense would be prohibitive for them. Gladrags was a wonderful, welcome alternative. During my next trip to Mekele, in June of 2007, I packed about 100 holders and 300 liners. They are in constant use. I have just received an additional order of more than 400 liners at a considerable discount from Gladrags, and will be carrying these over with me when I go to Ethiopia in May, 2008.
So, from the 38 beautiful, bright girls at the Mekele Blind School, Ethiopia,
THANK YOU GLADRAGS!
Christina Hanley
Friends of Mekele Blind School
www.mekeleblindschool.org

Besides working with Chris Hanley, we're continuing to offer our Goods4Girls Kit (in which we donate a carry bag when our generous customers buy the pads). Deanna Duke founded Goods 4 Girls and is compiling pads and carry bags from cloth pads companies around the country to send to organizations in Africa.  It's amazing how that Always pad commercial has galvanized the effort to get washable pads to these girls instead of just disposables.  It seems like we are getting an email a day from organizations wanting us to donate cloth pads. It's women working for women!