Edit: Since people are commenting on this, I’m trying to use tampons because I’ve taken up swimming as a hobby and don’t want to take a weeklong break from it every month. There are practical reasons for wearing tampons that aren’t accessible with just pads, and I’m not suggesting all young girls should have to wear tampons just that unfortunately, most of society is structured for our needs and there are activities using pads would interfere with.

I (23F) want to make it clear there are many great, educational videos/demonstrations of tampon insertion and education out there. Seriously, YouTube would’ve been really helpful to have when I was 15 and crying at my grandparents’ lake house as they routinely came around to politely ask when I was gonna come out and join them in the water.

But it’s taken me years to get over my fear of tampons since those painful first few attempts, which I think came down to fear of/discomfort with my nude body. The contrast to my adolescent isolation and the accessibility of the internet is great, but I’ve found that those often abstract vaginal insertion videos are frustrating at best, and alienating at worst for adult me. I still have very little experience in viewing my own body and I think that would hold even more true for teens, so I wish an actually accurate diagram of the outside was more common, and even real insertion videos (at least for adults who can consensually view them in responsible video archives). I was on the hunt for a good tampon insertion video just because I think it would help, to feel like I’m not doing it wrong and there’s someone else there who’s experienced in doing it and who’s body resembles my own, rather than some disembodied, transparent vaginal diagram. After stumbling onto some creepy sex videos I gave up on the search and have been futilely attempting it by myself once more.

The problem is if videos like that do exist, men are absolutely disgusting about it and sexualize what should just be helpful demonstration video. And it makes me sad, knowing that not only are there institutional barriers that prevent girls/young women from learning about their bodies in school, but also limitations to what can be portrayed in video at risk of it being sexualized by some creepy men who have no business viewing this stuff. Even though there’s been concerted efforts to move away from shame towards female bodies, the fact that we can’t view them or how they function out of a nonsexualized context just makes it harder to actually build a healthy relationship with our own bodies, even if—ostensibly—this type of content does exist for AFAB/intersex people to view on platforms we’ve never had before. It’s why so many women equate sexualizing with liberating/empowerment, and why so many young people get their sex/bodily education from porn. It further contributes to the mindset of a “mystifying female body” where sexual “function” is priorities over regular function, and where justifications to not study it are made under the premise that we can’t understand it (or more accurately, can’t understand it as non-sexual beyond the pages of a textbook or else it exists exclusively for porn). Like how did women just figure this stuff out before? Mankind is lucky we’re so resilient because they’ve been trying to keep us in the dark and have us smuggling useful information in old wives tales for thousands of years.

If I can’t even find an accurate tampon insertion demonstration—something millions of women do everyday—without being inundated with disturbing content, I can only imagine how difficult it is for young girls crying over their bathroom toilet, feeling disconnected from the 100 easy insertion diagrams they’ve watched, and wondering what’s wrong with them and their bodies. If we can’t view women’s bodily functions divorced from sexual frameworks, it’s no wonder so many young women feel so much shame around themselves, their periods, their sexualities, etc. It’s so exhausting and yeah, I just needed to rant because I’ve been that young girl, and honestly I wish there’d been someone to watch or even help me insert (like a trained medical professional) without it feeling “weird” or “sexual” when it’s not. But seeing the reactions from creeps online only further distances me from achieving a healthy relationship with myself outside of a sexual, partner-benefiting context, which ig is exactly what they want. It’s insidious how they can alienate vaginal owners from experiences exclusive to us by twisting it into something it’s not, and I’m sick of it.

I had my first outbreak 5 weeks ago and got on antivirals after I tested positive. I had an inkling of what it was but wasnt sure. I did all the things that kept my family safe. Idk where I went wrong. But she has sore inguinal lymph nodes x5days, and she’s feeling nauseas x1day. I feel like shit. I feel worse than shit. I’ve never had a suicidal thought but I’ve found myself shutting the idea down once or twice within the last day. I can’t believe I did this to her. She’s my baby. She’s 12 and has her whole life ahead of her and I just don’t know how I let this happen. I’m so so so sad. I can’t stop crying. I don’t know how to have this conversation with her, or with anyone in my life. I havnt even been able to sit with my diagnosis. I’ll be making her an appointment first thing in the morning but I just can’t even begin to process anything other than I’m a horrible mother. I just don’t know.

i’ve been trying not to look at anything related to the case on social media because i know the comments will just upset me, but wow, anything related to it has comments sections that are just full of men talking about halloween parties and how she consented and spreading her name or calling her ‘train doe’. it’s genuinely so sickening and i feel so horrible for her, but also just disgusted with men as a whole. have any of y‘all had this feeling? i know i should stay off social media and avoid engaging, but i keep looking at the profiles of commenters and a lot of them are people who have uploaded content, so not bots. hatred towards victims is still so widespread.

That's the first compliment I've ever got.

I was 17yo and chubby. I didn't seek anyone's pity or validation or any sorta stuff. I knew I was fat and I was working on it.

It was then my friend gave me a "princess" compliment and I felt good for about 2 to 3 seconds before another friend of mine defended her like, 'ayy nah'.

At that time I didn't know who this whole princess Fiona or the Shrek movie was. I heard the princess and I was happy for two seconds until another friend defended it subtly.

I had no idea and was curious to check it out after school and I had a good cry session of an hour.

Felt happy someone defended me or opposed it, but idk, isn't it rude to give backhanded compliments??

I weighed 165lb back then, and later I worked out and reduced it to 132lb, really the "pretty privilege" phase for a while.

Recently I got stressed with jobs and application stuff, I started binge eating the feelings away.

Now I'm back to square -1, weighing 175lb (24yo) and recently I saw that I'm saved as 'my name shrek' in my brother's phone, it all came back to me suddenly.

Feeling hurt and sad at my own situation. I know I just have to work on myself but the stress is making me swallow dinosaurs.

Just wanted to share this feeling here, I know it sounds silly, but as someone who hasn't got many compliments, all this has made me fear what others have to say to me. In a way I've developed my ears to shut down if someone is saying negatively about me. Once my prof was scolding me on something and I couldn't really listen at all. I was smiling and my friend had to tell me that I was getting scolded even for mocking the prof🫠 it never was my intention anyway.

So that's me, that's how I've evolved.

Thank you for reading.

So to preface this- I am NOT anti-vaxx, I just want advice for this and unfortunately it seems to be caused by a certain vaccine I got.

Basically, ever since I got the HPV vaccine back in January 2018, my period has been heavy, painful, and non stop. before this it was light, painless, and lasted about 5 days. It was like clock work. I was 18 at the time. I bled from Feb 2018 (missed my jan period) to early 2022 when I was put on birth control. I had to get off it because it caused swollen optic nerves, and my period came back and again was so heavy I was bleeding through super+ tampons AND maxi pads in 1-2 hours. It was so painful I was bedridden.

I went on and off various bc until finally finding one this year that doesn’t cause my swollen optic nerves (found out it was the estrogen in the bc i was on, on one without it) but I really just want to know what’s causing this! My doctors don’t take it seriously, whether or not I mention the vaccine. I only bring it up because it’s the only thing I can think of to cause this sudden change.

has ANYONE dealt with this? I literally can’t be off bc or else It comes back within a week, sometimes sooner.

ETA: I’ve had an ultrasound- says they found nothing. had a pap, found nothing. bloodwork is mostly normal- once I had high testosterone but it was fixed, I may have insulin resistance, and I used to be anemic as a child, it got worse when this started but once I was on BC I got it under control and haven’t been anemic for a bit now. I wasn’t super overweight but I was a bit when this started, being basically bedridden for years caused me to become much more overweight. I’ve had female doctors, one male doctor, I’ve only brought up the vaccine with one doctor and never saw her again after her reaction. I wasnt blaming it, just bringing it up as she had asked if there was anything I started or took around the time.

I'm asking because I'm have a hard time finding my bra size in store because they only go up a D bra.

I'm wondering if I'm only woman on this reddit with this issue with finding a good Bras if so can you share your experience

Help a girl in need.

I broke up with a situation-ship 2 months, lost my virginity to him and ovulation is making me crazy. I excessively miss him on the days I am ovulating. I never came with him so I want to explore me before getting with anyone else.

A brief about me I can get off only by clit stimulation through Syntribation (iykyk) and your hands are of no use. I am looking for a beginner friendly suggestion which might be available in India. I would love any suggestions for a first time user as well.

Thanks in advance!

I love partying and going out, halloween is coming and I REALLY wanna dress up and go party but I have no friends at all. :( during college/school I couldnt make friends because my parents were so strict and didn't allow me to be outside past 5 pm, and because of that I didn't bother making friends because what's the point when I couldn't even hangout with them.

Now I'm 26 with no friends. And I feel like I'm missing out on so many things. Yes I can go by myself/with my husband but he's not a dancer and I want friends to be dancing with, pick outfits together, decide on what looks we're going for etc.

idon't even care about deep friendships and then being there for me I just want a group to chill and have fun with. I have no idea how to do that, it seems like everyone has an established group already.

Because I've had many negative experiences dating men they only wanted my body so I'm tired of this what do I do?

I'm an Asian woman. At around 5:30 pm on October 12, when I was walking out of Amazing Oriental in Amstelveen, 2-3 kids who looked around 10-15 years old shot me with a toy gun.

At first, I wasn't entirely sure who had shot me. But when I caught up with them, I instinctively recognized them and confronted them. They denied it and said they didn't have a gun. It made me almost certain they did it, because random people will never say that, so I slapped one of them hard on the back.

When I was walking towards the station, they rode past me on their bikes again and proudly showed off their toy guns. My first reaction was actually relief, because I hadn't confronted the wrong people.

They shot at me twice more, but missed both times. I'm glad I didn't look away. I just stared straight at them and tried my best to control myself from hurting them.

On the bus ride home, I felt completely frozen. I kept thinking about what I could have done differently. Maybe I was weak, but I am glad I didn't throw away my future because of a few kids, no matter how angry I was. Maybe there was a better way to handle the situation. I could have shouted louder, especially since we were in an open square where other people could have heard me. But I was so overwhelmed with anger that I couldn't think clearly in the moment.

The first shot hit me right in the temple. Luckily, it was only a toy gun. If it had been a real gun, my life could have ended today. I might never have seen my parents or friends again.

I used to believe that the world wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be. But today made me realize that there is a side of reality I hadn't really understood before.

I'm still furious, and I'm struggling to process what happened. I don't want to become the kind of person who responds to hatred with more hatred, but right now, it's difficult not to feel that way. I feel like there's no point in seeking justice anymore. Even if I went to the police, I doubt anyone would really care about what happened to me, and even if those kids were made to apologize, nothing would change.

I will just accept this as one of those special experiences, and tell everyone I know about what happened.

Im a woman in my mid twenties and i’m starting to consider marriage and children. Like damn this could be a real possibility for me. When I think of my long term vision for my life, planning for retirement, owning a home, I just kinda automatically place a husband and a few kids in that picture too.

I can’t separate what i’ve been conditioned to want vs what actually makes sense mentally, physically, financially, and emotionally long term.

We have more access than ever to the innermost thoughts and feelings of married couples. People who regret their kids, dead bedrooms, cheaters, secret families, prenup horror stories, vengeful exes, abusive relationships, financial abuse in relationships, unexpected accidents, etc.

I’ve always tried to be the kind of person who could learn from others mistakes. I enjoy learning the easy way. I’ve gotten myself a pretty good lot in life by doing this. I can’t help but feel as if it will be my downfall and I won’t realize until it’s too late.

We all want to do whatever we can to avoid the worst. We all try to be diligent in choosing someone and hope we’re the exception. The more I grow up the more I realize it doesn’t make much logical sense. Like none at all.

The odds of me being the exception that gets the ideal happily ever after are abysmal. Then again, you’ll always view the grass as greener on the other side. How do you guys view marriage and children?

I’m happy with my sex life, and my partner is too. We’ve explored lots of different things together and have a really good sex life, but I still feel like I hold myself back because of my own insecurities.

There are things I’d love to do, but I struggle to let go and feel confident unless I’ve had a few drinks 🤣 I’m a huge overthinker and, even though I don’t see myself as unattractive, I get this strange feeling of shame about my partner seeing me fully and being completely uninhibited. Sometimes I even cover my face with a pillow because I feel so self-conscious!

For example, I’d love to dress up and be more playful and adventurous, and I know my partner would love it too, but I always shy away from it because I feel embarrassed. I’m much more confident when it’s dark, and my partner is lovely and open-minded, so I know it’s my own head getting in the way.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you learn to let go, embrace your sexy side and stop feeling so self-conscious? I want to do it for myself as much as for my partner and feel comfortable enough to enjoy the moment without overthinking everything. 

I don't really like my dad because he doesn't take care of his stuff and doesn't keep the house clean. I only clean my room because there's so much dust everywhere and I can't handle doing it all by myself—it's just too much. I'm really bothered by my dad's lack of care for his things. Does anyone else deal with this too?

I’m 20 years old, and I’ve noticed that whenever I talk openly about wanting to be a mom in the next 4-5 years, people seem to immediately assume that I have no idea what I’m talking about.

I’ll get comments along the lines of, “You’re only 20,” “You need to experience life first,” “You have so much time,” or basically the implication that all my screws are loose for even thinking about motherhood at this age.

And honestly, I don’t really understand why wanting something for my future automatically means I’m incapable of understanding what I’m getting myself into.

I’m not saying I think motherhood is easy. I’m not saying I think having a baby will magically fix my life, that I’ll never be tired or stressed, or that I won’t have to make sacrifices. I’m very aware that having a child is a massive responsibility and something that requires stability, money, a healthy relationship, and a lot of preparation.

But I want to be a young mom. That is something I genuinely want for myself.

There’s a difference between saying “I want to have children young” and saying “I need to have a baby immediately and nothing else matters.” Those are not the same thing.

I’m in school. I’m working toward a career. I’m building a life with my partner. I think about finances, housing, marriage, childcare, careers, and what kind of life I would actually be able to provide for a child. I’m not just sitting here thinking, “Baby cute, therefore baby now.”

And I also don’t understand why people act like being young means I’m not allowed to have a picture of what I want my life to look like.

Some people want to travel in their 20s. Some people want to party. Some people want to focus entirely on their careers. Some people want to get married young. Some people want to have kids young.

I understand that plenty of people would personally hate the idea of having a child at 24, and that’s completely fine. What bothers me is the assumption that because I want that life, I must be clueless, delusional, or “not experienced enough to know what I want.”

Maybe I’ll change my mind someday. Maybe I won’t. I’m 20. I’m allowed to figure that out.

I just wish people could hear “I want to be a young mom” without immediately translating it into “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

I know I’m young. I just don’t think being young automatically makes my feelings about my own future invalid.

Reasons why I'm wondering if I'm only woman who is in they early 20s that don't nothing about flirting with guy.

This question is asking out of pure curiosity and to find something in common with my fellow woman on woman reddit.

Also if you are awkward toward men you like and don't know how to flirt with men you like what is like for you.

I mean i don't think that ALL negative comments are from misogynists or purely because they can recognise the fact that I'm a girl but genuinely when I post any kind of question on a non-girl subreddit i get some really odd comments.

Like even if u found my question to be stupid or whatever why waste your energy with insulting me? Like I dont even care if I received any form of proper and respectful criticism but like some stuff is just insulting. I dunno if anyone with a very girly avatar deals with this . Maybe i should change it to a guy or a creature .

I (37F) had to go to the gynecologist for abnormal bleeding and some pretty painful tests. Today, I was sitting in the waiting room to get my results, and this tiny toddler, just barely big enough to walk, kept coming into my corner to tell me something I could not for the life of me understand.

I tried to be sweet with the baby even though she kept pointing at my stuff and trying to tell me something. The mother was in the exam room, and the father was watching something on his phone with the volume on (which is already pretty bad etiquette at the doctor's).

This is a space where people get bad news like cancer diagnoses, miscarriages and more. (Luckily, while they cannot explain my abnormal bleeding for now, they seem to have ruled out most immediately concerning causes like malignancy.) The AFAB people sitting there might enjoy the distraction of a cute baby, or they might find it distressing. They are definitely NOT there to entertain someone else's child. This dude did not once check in with me, say "is my kid bothering you?" or anything. He laughed, then looked back at his phone. Why was he even there?

I really wish gynecologists would have separate waiting rooms for kid/pregnany-related stuff and other issues. This would have been incredibly hard for someone who just got an infertility diagnosis or similar.

Has anyone stopped BC after many many years? I started birth control when I was 16, I’m 31 now. My IUD is about to expire and I don’t plan on reupping. I haven’t had a regular period in 10 years. I’m excited to see who I am without birth control, but also nervous. Like, will I get a bunch of acne, or will my hormones make me feel like a crazy person?! I am newly single, previous serial monogamist, and don’t plan on seeing anybody for quite some time.

Has anyone stopped birth control after so long (without the purpose of getting pregnant), and how have you felt?

Edit: Wow, thank you everyone for sharing your responses. from what I'm gathering.. everyone's experience is VASTLY different and it's making me more anxious lmaooo but seriously I appreciate the input. Here's to hoping for a positive change :)

I was arguing with a woman who works in hiring in my field. And this time, the hiring manager was a woman, too. Normally, it's men who set standards like, "We expect our female employees to be eye candy. They should have model-like faces and absolutely must not look older than 25."

But I was genuinely shocked to see a woman expressing these views.

She posted something along the lines of: "Being conventionally attractive shows that you respect yourself. I wouldn't hire someone who's out of shape, doesn't exercise, or has a big nose but refuses to get plastic surgery."

The most shocking part wasn't even what she said. It was how many people agreed with her. Nobody seemed to question her or say, "What does physical attractiveness have to do with working in tech?"

I honestly can't believe how normalized this kind of thinking has become, even in the tech industry. Since when did being conventionally attractive become a measure of self-respect or professional competence? And even women internalized that kind of sexism in industry.

I (27F) fell into a deep dive of stalking my exes after another failed short term relationship and I can’t get over the nauseating feeling that all my exes now have new girlfriends and in some cases a wife. While I recognize that they were not the right fit for me, I can’t help but feel jealous that they were able to find their forever person, and that it’s possible that I may not ever find that. Struggling to contend the feeling of loneliness and not being chosen.

A girl who doesn't always feel pretty, but still knows that she's beautiful in her own way. A girl who loves to overthink the littlest of things. A girl who gives her best even when she's tired. A girl who gets happy over small things like sunsets, music, and kind words. A girl who gets hurt by small things. A girl who gives her whole heart to people she loves, even when she's hurt the most. A girl who smiles to hide her feelings because she doesn't want to bother anyone. A girl who feels deeply, loves deeply, and dreams a lot. A girl who breaks, heals, and tries again. A girl who still believes good things can happen, even after getting hurt. A girl who just wants to be seen, understood, and loved for who she is.

And that’s exactly the problem. People wanted me ONLY BECAUSE I was “pretty”.

Do you know HOW many men have told me they wanted to date me, they were “in love” with me or “loved” me? And the ONLY one that truly meant it was my FATHER?

Not to mention those same men that were “so in love” with me treated me like absolute GARBAGE. I was only a fantasy and object to them. When it came to my interests and feelings, they didn’t give a shit. When I rejected their dating requests, they lashed out at me or even hurt me.

People said this to me when I was crushing over men who didn’t want me. The ONLY men I genuinely liked, didn’t like me back. I genuinely thought it was the best I could do at the time, because I didn’t like most men. And THOSE men, the ones who did like me, treated me so shitty.

I know this for a fact because ever since I gained about 40 lbs, I barely get bothered and harassed by men anymore. I still get hit on every now and then, but it is nowhere near how it used to be. And I am glad.

I try to help as much as i can buy it is almost nothing to be honest. My dad's working in another city.We have a maid for doing the dishes yet i feel it's just wasting her time. I work 9-5 and after i come back i utilise the remnant time for studying to switch. I try my best to help but it's just not enough. All in all i think household chores occupy 70% chunk of her day and I feel bad. She deserves a lot more free time for herself, living her life.

How do you guys make your mum's life easier ?