OtherPress.

Room 1020-700 Royal Ave.
Douglas College

New Westminster, BC

V3L 5B2

TELEPHONE: 604.525.3542
WEBSITE: theotherpress.ca
EMAIL: editor@theotherpress.ca

STAFF LIST

Natalie Serafini
Editor-in-Chief
Meditor@theotherpress.ca

Eric Wilkins
Assistant Editor
Massistant@theotherpress.ca

Angela Ho
Business Manager

Chris Paik
Distribution Manager

Cody Klyne
Layout Manager

Joel McCarthy
Graphics Manager

Mike LeMieux
Production Assistant

Ed Appleby
illustrator

Jony Roy
Social Media Coordinator

Chitwan Khosla
Features Editor
Mfeatures@theotherpress.ca

Angela Espinoza
News Editor
Minews@theotherpress.ca

Michael Sopow
Sports Reporter

Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor
M arts@theotherpress.ca

Sophie Isbister
Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
Mopinions@theotherpress.ca

Sharon Miki
Humour Editor
Mhumour@theotherpress.ca

Staff Writers
Brittney MacDonald
Cazzy Lewchuk
Mercedes Deutscher

Senior Columnists
Steven Cayer

Adam Tatelman
Lauren Paulsen
Andrea Arscott
Patrick Vaillancourt
Jerrison Oracion

Columnists
Allie Davison
Julie Wright

Contributors
Amei-lee Laboucan
Megan West
Chandler Walter
Kirsten Scott-Wuori

fter a month full of blood
and gore leading up to

Halloween, let’s take a complete :
: image is so necessary, though:
: because menstruation and

: female masturbation are both
: so dismissed and disdained.

180: let’s talk about periods.
Last year, Petra F. Collins
and Alice Lancaster brought
a shirt to American Apparel
and the masses. A shirt that
was, in every sense of the word,
provocative. There were two
main reasons this shirt was
controversial: first, it was in
keeping with the super-sexed,
provocative zeitgeist of founder
Dov Charney and the company
itself. Second, it brought to
public discussion—through
public habillement—men-
struation and masturbation.
This shirt, a drawing
by Lancaster of awoman
masturbating while menstru-
ating, is the definitive call to
#PeriodPower. She’s wholly
unconcerned with the fact
of her menstruation as she
touches herself, and while this
is a simple, not-so-astound-
ing image and concept, it is
totally shocking to anyone
who passes the masterpiece
of a masturbating madame.

ple reading this are scrunching
up their faces in distaste just
imagining or looking directly
at the accompanying image of
this self-indulgent self-touch-

De-icking Ichor |

: ing—particularly as it’s ata

: about menstruation. When

: we do verbalize its existence,
: we're supposed to come up

: with quaint synonyms and

: euphemisms: time of the

: month, monthly, visit from

: Aunt Flo, tide, red sea, one’s

: friend, menses, discharge,

: and—perhaps most tellingly— :
: the curse. We perform these

: evasive tactics because periods
: are supposedly disgusting and
: disturbing, and these words

: ease our discussions of the

: natural, biological process.

: any phenomena we deem

: natural and normal, menstru-
: ation and female masturbation :
: have somehow missed out.

: wouldn't say it traces back

: to any sort of squeamishness
: towards blood—it’s not like

: women faint from having to use :
I’ve no doubt that most peo- :

: from our socialization which

: asserts that menstruation and
: masturbation (particularly

: female masturbation) are

 

r

lady’s “time of the month.”
That’s exactly why the

We aren't supposed to talk

While we generally accept

tampons, pads, and Diva Cups.
More likely it emerges

® Get to know us!

© The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have
been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We area registered society
under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors
appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus.

© The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during
the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tutition fees every
semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a
member ofthe Canadian University Press (CUP), asyndicate of student newspapers that includes

papers from all across Canada.

© The OtherPressreservestheright to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish material
that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be edited
for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners.

: unclean. Consider the fact that
: menstruation itself is suppos-

: edly a punishment originating
: from legends of snakes and

: apples. We see menstruation

: as dirty; a burden or curse that
: women have to bear, and keep

: secret from others, That means
: taking your bag to the bath-

: room with you when you only

: needasmall cylindrical object.
: Attempting not to roll your eyes :
: when someone accuses you

: of “being emotional because —:
: you're on your period,” whether :
: youre menstruating or not.

In anarticle on social

: attitudes towards menstrua-

: tion, Alysha Seriani of the Peak
: writes, “Much 19th century

: writing argues that women

: should not attend univer-

: sity because menstruation

: debilitates them and their

: capacity to learn. In 1883's Sex

: in Mind and Education, Henry

Maudsley argued that women

: are ‘of another body and mind
: which for one quarter of each
: month, during the best year

: of life, [are] more or less sick

and unfit for hard work.”

: Periods become not just taboo,
: but a supposedly legitimate

: reason to exclude women

: from daily life and activity.

Many women are able to

: spout off ona “period horror

 

: story”: a moment when that

: phenomenon that biological

: women experience almost came
: to light—people almost found

: out that, well, you know. And of
: course I’m sure we're familiar

: with the tried and true tale

: that women don’t masturbate

: or enjoy sex—heaven forbid!

: We keep these secrets, and

: deny occurrences that are soa

part of women’s experiences,

: and indeed of our existence.

When we erase these
discussions from public

: consciousness, or remove the

: language from our lexicon

: entirely, we make the topics and
: the acts themselves shameful.

: It’s become shameful to men-

: struate, or to masturbate asa

: woman. Maybe I’m frustrated

: by this erasure of language

: (Iam); maybe I’ma feminist

: (Iam); or maybe I’ve hada

: few glasses of wine (I have).

: Regardless, sex and masturba-

: tion are fun, and menstruation

: isnot so fun, but they’re all

: aspects of life; I’m not going to

: mince words with not-so-quaint
: phrases. Get the fuck over it.

Hello gorgeous,

Natal Serafini

Editor-in-Chief

@ theotherpress.ca

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