Tuesday 2 August 2011

Disposables, Reusables and Guilt

I frequent a number of cloth pad communities (yes, there are communities dedicated to cloth pads!), and every so often, somebody will talk about the guilt they felt (or feel) about using disposable pads.

This makes me sad.

There are lots of reasons to switch to cloth pads - including a desire to minimise your impact on the environment - but guilt should not be one of them. Finding cloth more comfortable than disposables, or being attracted by pretty fabrics are equally legitimate reasons. How you deal with your period should always be your choice, and nobody should feel guilt-tripped into using (or not using) a certain product.

We women already have enough guilt inflicted on us by the unrealistic standards touted by the media. We do not need guilt about our choice of menstrual products added to this load. The right choice of menstrual protection is whatever works best for you, be it disposable or reusable. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, remind them that your body is nobody's business but yours.