I found an interesting website on the history of women’s underwear and menstrual supplies, etc. You can also find a description of a Hawaiian menstrual hut elsewhere on the site.
wow, interesting article, especially the sheepskin idea. sounds cozy. thanks starfish.
but it still leaves me wondering about pre-industrial/native women’s practices! and I detected an annoying whiff of the “nasty, short and brutish” theme :P. i bet more women cease menstruating from malnutrition today (especially vegans!) than back in the day of native/traditional diets.
and uh, poison as divorce alternative? i have to say i often want to scream and pull my hair out, trying to navigate raising a child with a (thoroughly civilized) ex-partner, but JEEZ. . .
This section on underwear has made me wonder about the advisibility of rewilding my underclothing.
http://www.mum.org/underhis.htm
I had read this about bras a few months ago, courtesy of the blog “Just Folks”:
http://www.vaughanmedical.com/mf_breasthealth.htm
I felt too self conscious to go braless all the time, but I have reduced my bra wearing and started wearing looser bras. I wonder if I would benefit from wearing loose underwear, lilke men’s boxers.
Another page on the site asks the question, “Would you stop menstruating if you could?” I felt really sad when I read about how many women hate their bodies and hate menstruating. In the humor section, one woman wrote a letter saying things like:
Therefore, you must also know about the the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying, and out-of-control behavior... Are you f**king kidding me? Does any part of your middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a period?
??? ??? ???
Check this out Starfish!
Reportback: I can confirm that our friends the sea sponges make effective and comfortable, reusable menstrual catchers. Too bad they don’t live in my bioregion! Starfish, you live in Florida, right? Perhaps you can pass on my gratitude to the locals.
I don’t know a whole lot about the way they harvest the sponges, but they say that “millions of egg and sperm cells are released into the surrounding water” so that more generations of sponge families can grow.
one source (actually I got em in a local store in Portland)
I almost tried the moss route, but hesitated. . . I’ll keep ya posted 
I’ve never met a sea sponge :). Do they work as well as the reviews on that page say? I use the Diva cup, but sometimes if I’m just staying around the house, I stuff a cloth diaper down my pants instead.
Another question: Has anyone noticed a correlation between your menstrual cycle and the moon’s phases? In her book “Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year”, Susun Weed says that women normally ovulate during the full moon, but my own cycle doesn’t correspond to the moon at all. Any thoughts?
Keeping a dim nightlight on just during the few days around the full moon should bring it more into alignment with the moon. Or, you know, being outside all the time.
well, the reviewers go a little nuts–i don’t know that these guys will really chase pms away! but yeah, they work really well, and seem to carry fewer health risks than their cotton/cellulose counterparts.
Holy smokes, I just realized that happened for me recently. 
I do sleep outside sometimes, but haven’t done so long term. I also try to stay in touch with the moon’s cycle, but sometimes with our cloudy skies it gets challenging. Hmmm.
everything that I have ever read indicates that 28 days is the average menstraul cycle, meaning that there are a lot of data points on either side.
My own cycle has always been a bit “fast”. I’m suddenly floored to realize that I have been menstruating for over 20 years now, my how the time flies.
I haven’t always kept good track, but 21-25 days seems to be normal for me. I admit that I don’t sleep out under the stars every night, and while I do have a lot of respect for the power of lunar cycles, I find it difficult to believe that all women everywhere used to cycle in tune to the moon.
What’s the point of hidden estrus if a guy can just look up into the sky and figure it out for himself?
[quote=“Wanderer, post:8, topic:748”]I find it difficult to believe that all women everywhere used to cycle in tune to the moon.
What’s the point of hidden estrus if a guy can just look up into the sky and figure it out for himself?[/quote]
Haha, ai think that would help some of us out quite a lot. Some women you just gotta avoid… >.>;
If there’s no moonlight, I’m on vacation. =p.