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Women are shocking their boyfriends by showing them how tampons actually work

The viral videos are a great way to educate men on a sensitive topic.

via TikTok

Menstrual taboos are as old as time and found across cultures. They've been used to separate women from men physically — menstrual huts are still a thing — and socially, by creating the perception that a natural bodily function is a sign of weakness. Even in today's world women are deemed unfit for positions of power because some men actually believe they won't be able to handle stressful situations while mensurating.

"Menstruation is an opening for attack: a mark of shame, a sign of weakness, an argument to keep women out of positions of power,' Colin Schultz writes in Popular Science. The big problem with menstrual taboos is the way that males are educated on the subject leaves them with a patchwork of ideas that don't necessarily add up to the whole picture. First, there's the information they get from growing up with women in the house.


Then, there are the cryptic descriptions of menstruation seen in advertising and the cold, scientific way the topic is taught in sex education.

"Boys' early learning about menstruation is haphazard," a 2011 study published in the Journal of Family Issues reads. "The mysterious nature of what happens to girls contributes to a gap in boys' knowledge about female bodies and to some negative views about girls."

Unfortunately, the gaps in the average man's understanding of a complex female health issue can put women in a difficult position. Whether it's denying them positions of power or a failure to understand their discomfort.

That's why it's so important for men to become better educated about menstruation.

A group of women on TikTok are helping the men in their lives better understand the subject by showing them how tampons work on the inside of their bodies by dousing them in water. They call it the Boyfriend Challenge. Some of the guys' reactions are clearly over-the-top, but it's also obvious that many of them have no idea how tampons function.

A video by the Demery family has gone viral attracting nearly eight million views. It's fun to watch, but it also shows men how tampons function and what women go through during their monthly cycle.

@thedemeryfamily22 His reaction is priceless😂 #cutecouple #pregnant #prego #viral #InLove #couplegoals #trend #tampon ♬ original sound - Kolby&Jas❤️

Rachel's man just uttered the phrase "vagina parachute."

@mrshillery829 Of course I had to make my husband do this! I will forever call tampons “vagina parachutes”! LMAO!! #tamponchallenge #husbandpranks #funny #fyp ♬ original sound - Rachel Hillery

Paulina's man was completely flummoxed by the inner workings of a tampon. "You've been carrying this like, inside of you?" he asks. "The whole day?"

@paulinat showing him how a tampôn works😭 @fabioguerrrraa ♬ original sound - Pau Torres

This guy thinks it's "like a butterfly."

@amanialzubi showing my boyfriend how a tampon works 🤣😳❤️ ( @originalisrael ) #comedy #couple #couplegoals #foryou #trend #tiktok ♬ original sound - amani

Ryley just blew her BFF's mind.

@thekelleyfamily lmaoooo why 😂😭 #tamponchallenge #trend #hilariouscomedy #couple #married #foryoupage #fyp #xyzbca ♬ Quirky - Oleg Kirilkov

This guy was amazed by the absorbancy.

Let's hope this challenge gave some men out there a better understanding of what women go through every month and a little more sympathy for the women in their lives.

Hopefully it also makes them feel a little more comfortable around period products and inspires them to pick up the correct box of tampons next time they're at the grocery store.


This article originally appeared three years ago.

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Joy

A 6th grade boy saw a problem with period poverty at his school and decided to do something

'The nurse should be helping people who are sick and she shouldn’t have to help people who are just needing pads and tampons.'

Courtesy of Deanna Hooker

Sixth grade boy saw a problem with period poverty at his school.

Most 11-year-old boys are goofing off with their friends, staying up way too late yelling into gaming headsets or harassing their younger siblings, but not Jayden Hooker of North Carolina. Jayden has been spending his spare time finding a way to raise money to help end period poverty in his school district after an eye-opening experience with one of his classmates. The sixth grader explained that he realized there was a lack of access to free products when one of his friends started her period at school and had to go home.

You may be wondering why a sixth grade boy is so concerned with periods but to Jayden, this is just a natural part of life that shouldn't be taboo. When Upworthy talked to Jayden and his mom, Deanna Hooker, she explained the importance of making sure her son knew about periods. Hooker said, "The nature of what I do day in and day out working with Aunt Flow, our true mission is making period products free for those that need it, so the conversation came from how I am and what I do for a living."

Deanna, Jayden and Julianna Hooker.

Courtesy of Deanna Hooker

Someone's mom doesn't have to work for a company fighting period poverty for boys to know about periods and period products. Because it's a biological fact, just like needing to use the bathroom after drinking a bottle of water, it could be beneficial if all boys learned about a bodily function that affects half of their classmates. Period poverty among students has jumped to nearly a quarter of all students being unable to afford period products; 84% of students have missed class or know someone who has missed class due to lack of access to period products. This is a problem that could use attention, and maybe seeing a boy promoting these products will help stop the stigma around these conversations.

It's not just Jayden and his mom. Many parents in the school district and PTO members have helped donate items to Jayden's ultimate goal of free period product dispensers in the bathrooms at his school. Hooker told Upworthy, "He attends a Title 1 middle school and this is something that has never been provided. But so many parents and PTO members have donated and now we have enough product for the year and can provide 2-3 dispensers in the school."

Flow dispenser.

Courtesy of Deanna Hooker

The project has been difficult to get off the ground as they're still in the process of trying to convince the school board to allow the dispensers to be installed, but that isn't deterring Jayden. The determined 11-year-old is aware that the nurse has some products students could use but many don't due to embarrassment or being unaware they're there. For Jayden, it's more than just going to the nurse. He explained, "The nurse should be helping people who are sick and she shouldn’t have to help people who are just needing pads and tampons."

The kid has a point. When people think of the school nurse, they tend to think of not feeling well, which is what the nurse is there for, but getting your period isn't an illness. If these dispensers are available, a student wouldn't have to alert a teacher to get permission to go to the nurse to then tell the nurse they need a pad or tampon. That's a lot of personal information to divulge for children that are navigating middle school.

Jayden is passionate about getting these dispensers installed for not only the girls at school but for his younger sister. He said, "I want the awkwardness of the topic to go away and for people to have the proper education so when people do need it, it's there for them." He continued, "Toilet paper is free so pads and tampons should be too."

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Heroes

This New York City official is changing tampon access in 3 bold ways.

Most states tax tampons as luxury items. But now, New York City Council members are fighting back.

Unless you're a character in a Judy Blume novel, getting your period is rarely an event met with elation.

Most people who menstruate take it in stride. It's a normal bodily function, and it's usually manageable, especially if you have access to the period products you need (tampons, pads, menstrual cups, ibuprofen ... the occasional heating pad and chocolate bar).

Right there with ya, Tina. GIF from "30 Rock."

But for many women, that access isn't a given.

Women who get their periods while homeless, in jail or prison, or at school often don't have access to tampons or pads when they need them.

And even folks who can stop by the store and pick up a box of tampons on the regular pay a "luxury tax" tacked onto their purchase in most states. That can really add up — especially if you're living paycheck to paycheck.

Here's the good news: New York City Council members are teaming up to fight back against this tax and lack of access in some awesome ways.

Council member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland is leading the charge.

Ferreras-Copeland in action, via her Facebook page, used with permission.

According to The Atlantic, Ferreras-Copeland got involved after she read an op-ed about the tampon tax in The New York Times and decided to talk to the author, Jennifer Weiss-Wolf from the Brennan Center for Justice.

"After meeting with Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, who shared with me what she had written about the tax, I thought, 'OK, what can I do from a municipal level?'" Ferreras-Copeland told Upworthy.

Their conversation prompted Ferreras-Copeland to hold a roundtable in June, where she heard from advocates for homeless, incarcerated, and low-income women and girls.

“I couldn’t believe I could just go to a lawmaker with an idea and have her listen and do something about it,” Weiss-Wolf told The Atlantic. “That should be how government works.

Based on this, Ferreras-Copeland has a few big plans for the women of New York.

1. She launched a hugely successful initiative that put free tampons and pads in every girls bathroom in a Queens high school, and she wants to take it citywide.


We put toilet paper in bathrooms for free. Why not tampons? Image from Wikimedia Commons.

"Many [female students] found themselves cutting class or leaving school [after getting their period], where young men don't even have to think about this as a challenge in their school day," Ferreras-Copeland said.

Her pilot program provided pads and tampons to the school, keeping the school's bathrooms well stocked, for free. "[The pilot program] was so well received. The parents also very much supported it. The young girls thought, 'Wow, this is such a simple solution.' They could just be normal students— focused on their midterms, focused on their finals," she said.

2. She's drafting a package of legislation about period product access.

"There are many women out there that are struggling," Ferreras-Copeland said. "They have to decide between putting food on the table and being healthy and keeping their bodies healthy."

Her three proposed bills would make tampons and pads available for free in New York City's shelters, correctional facilities, and public schools.

3. She's also planning to introduce a resolution that calls on the New York state assembly to get rid of the luxury tax on pads and tampons altogether.

Thankfully, New York City isn't the only place where tampons and pads may soon become more accessible. Several other states, including California and Ohio, are considering eliminating taxes on feminine hygiene products, too. The New York Times is even calling for an end to the tampon tax altogether.

What can we all do personally? Keep talking about periods and why everyone deserves to experience them with dignity. Change happens when people choose to ignore stigma and speak out.

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