Comments on: PMS = A “Sea Of Suffering” For Everyone In The Land

By: V for Vegan: easyVegan.info » Blog Archive » Intersectionality ‘Round the Interwebs, No. 6: PETA, PMS & Michael Pollan

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:20:14 +0000

[…] PMS = A “Sea Of Suffering” For Everyone In The Land […]

By: Nique

Nique — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:02:41 +0000

Annoyed, the point I meant to make but actually didn’t was that the hormonal cycles of men appear to be less studied. I hadn’t ever heard of it during my years of taking human growth and development. It was only recently while studying for my future medical school endeavors that I decided to look it up and lo and behold there it was. So I think that the reason for women it’s a syndrome is because we have the period as an obvious signal, but since men don’t have any obvious signal that their moods seem to revolve around, they’re just pissy or violent or whatever else with no seeming rhyme or reason since they can’t track it around a specific event. I do think, though, that it should be a syndrome for both genders, or for neither of them.

By: Annoyed

Annoyed — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:14:13 +0000

Nique, that is exactly correct. The question is, how does a period make it a “syndrome” when for a man it is “normal?”

By: Cecil

Cecil — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:12:36 +0000

Those beauty standards as they relate to hair are incredibly racist. The only way to be beautiful is to be white/have white features. It is no wonder that there are so many products sold to black (mostly) women that give them “better” or “good” hair.

By: Nique

Nique — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:13:43 +0000

Annoyed, men have hormonal cycles too. I guess a woman’s is more noticeable because then there is a period to accompany it.

By: Annoyed

Annoyed — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:52:24 +0000

PMS is such a good way to sell products. I love when diseases are marketed so that the cures can be marketed. Nothing better than to call normal hormonal changes and mood swings a syndrome.

I read a study once that took all of the symptoms from PMS except the breast tenderness and gave it to men and asked them to keep a diary of how often they had those symptoms. It was not significantly different from the women.

By: Eneya

Eneya — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:37:58 +0000

Well, you will be surprised how different are the original stories from those we know today.
You cand find more interesting stuff in any cultural studies book regarding “fairytales”. ;)

By: Sandra

Sandra — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:25:58 +0000

Jess, good point! Shiny and straight (and long), as most women in shampoo advertisements have, and most females in, at least Disney’s, cartoons: Cindarella, Lilo (and Stitch) and her sister, Snow White, Fiona, etc. As if there is only one type of beauty in the world >:(
But isn’t very curly hair popular right now? That is, either very straight, or very curly (apart from the biting Medusa-snakes).

Eneya, thanks for the original Sleeping Beauty story. I have never heard this version of it, I’ll definately look it up and read it :) Disney has always been a little too good at supporting old klichés and gender roles.

By: Sarahjane

Sarahjane — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:57:01 +0000

I feel that I must say that I love Sarah Haskins. Love. Her.

I’ve actually watched her spots with my daughter, to open up discussion about advertising.

By: Jess

Jess — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:25:08 +0000

Can we also talk about the standards of ‘bad hair’ = curly and frizzy, while ‘good hair’ = shiny and straight? (In the other milk commercial that Sarah Haskins mocks.) If I never have to see that again, it will be too soon.

By: Eneya

Eneya — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:01:11 +0000

Oh…
Well, the Sleeping Beauty was awaken not by a kiss in the original story, but with… more direct contact.
She got pregnant and her mother-in-law (the mother of the prince) tried to accuse her that she has eaten her own children.
Charming, huh?

In this story the sleeping (already awaken) beauty fought and saved herself and her children.

But in the Disney version I cant figure out why they say whe is corageus.
I awlays thought that if there is a animation variation of “dumb and dumber”, disney’s Avrora and Cinderella are the perfect cast. :)

By: Sandra

Sandra — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:53:44 +0000

Oh yes, all those months of mood swings could have been avoided if only my boyfriend would have been so keen as to give me a glass of milk. Silly me!
I don’t know what to make of this advertisement. First of all, women can obviously not help themselves in this matter. Secondly, they can not be helped by other women who inevitably experience similar PMS. Oh no, we have to be saved by a man and a bought product :( As always it underlines that women can not take care of themselves without manly help.
On a personal note, for me it simply helps to exercise. I can do it myself, and for free. Handy, right?

For some reason I recall an article in an Icelandic newspaper last year (or the year before) about some culture event. If I recall correctly, they wrote something like this:
And at the library children can listen to the story of the greatest and most loved heroine, Sleeping Beuty (I think that’s her English name: Very pretty, stabbed herself on a thorn, slept for hundred of years until she was saved by a brave prince? Oh yes, very courageous and active princess….)

By: fem pen

fem pen — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:17:00 +0000

This commercial is as irritating to watch now as it was in Sarah Haskin’s parody. PMS is going to cause a tsunami? And the only person who can save the day is a prince? O RLY? FAIL