life & style // no. 16 theotherpress.ca Pot for periods > Treating menstrual symptoms with marijuana Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor f you were born biologically female and are relatively healthy, chances are you've had to deal with having your period. Going through your menstrual cycle often means constant and persistent pain, as well as uncontrollable emotional responses and the weight of social stigma. For those of you who have never experienced it, it’s a little like having the flu for about a week. You get the fever, the aches, the extreme fatigue, and the temperamental stomach—throw in the fact that your body is losing key nutrients, so youre most likely anemic as well, and that will give you a general idea of what it’s like. And let’s not forget the constant paranoia of the all-dreaded “accident.” Unfortunately, having your period is feminine specific, so even the most understanding man is incapable of being truly sympathetic. That isn’t to say a well-intentioned boyfriend, friend, or relative isn’t a great asset to have during this time—but according to our male- dominated society, having your period just isn’t that much of a concern. Don’t believe me? Ever try and call in sick on your first cycle day? Generally, the first day or two is when the cramps are at their worst—for some it even impairs their ability to walk. But if you try to call in sick and use menstruation-related pain as an excuse, you run the risk of being accused of being overly dramatic, and it could also get your fired. Personally, I am not aware of any cases where someone has argued this as a case of gender discrimination and won, but I am aware of a few who have done so and lost. Their defence? Plenty of women go through it every day and they’re fine. Women are socially conditioned to think that acknowledging the negative aspects of their femininity, such as their menses, is a sign of weakness. If you've ever taken a gender studies course, you'd know that Twitter turmoll: Razer offends almost the entire internet > Laptop company flounders after mean tweet Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Ts giant Razer is in hot water after a promotional tweet landed them on the wrong side of the internet. On November 2 Razer responded to Apple’s press release regarding the new Macbook Pro laptop with a tweet stating “You call yourself Pro? S my D.” The intent behind the tweet was to put a playful spin on the fact that the new Macbook will not have an SD card reader, a feature that previous models have all had, and that Razer also features with many of their laptop models. Well, it didn’t take long for the internet to ring out with accusations of sexism, claiming that Razer’s attitude was proof that the gaming and technology industries are a boys’ club that promotes hostility towards women. Initially, Razer responded in another tweet explaining the joke, and claiming that they were just proud of their commitment to the advantage of maintaining the SD card slot reader as a means of adding an external storage option for their users. But after further backlash, both this and the original tweet were deleted. Instead Razer issued an apology—again, via Twitter— that said “We apologize for the SD reader joke. To those who were offended, it was intended as a lighthearted turn of phrase that missed the mark.” This apology put people up in arms again, this time claiming that the company was cowardly for apologizing to the social justice warriors of the world. In the end, Razer seems to have situated themselves nicely in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” kind of situation. The SD reader joke was in poor taste, but in even poorer taste were all the people jumping on the bandwagon to accuse the company of sexism, when assuming that only women suck dick is slightly sexist and incredibly homophobic unto itself. If we are to examine the history of the “suck my dick” slur, as YouTube user Joe Tacke did in his response to the situation when it was reported on by Youtuber and Razer associate, Phillip DeFranco, we would know that the slur has its origins in homophobia, as opposed to sexism, especially in gamer culture. Does that make the initial joke any better? Not really. However, it does shine a negative light on all those people quick to judge Razer’s marketing team for their mistake. If you're going to be offended, at least know what you're offended about. this is because our society is patriarchal and men find periods “icky’—that’s totally a technical term, by the way. But not to fear. We have hit a point in time where the feminine voice is becoming increasingly harder to ignore. Strangely enough, this has greatly affected the growing legal marijuana industry. It’s no secret that young women have been using pot to combat period symptoms since the 60s. We can see this portrayed in popular movies like Photo via thedailybeast.com Ginger Snaps and The Virgin Suicides. But I guess no one told the legal marijuana industry—at least, not until Whoopi Goldberg and her business partner, Maya Elisabeth, came along. In 2016, the two women launched a line of products that feature cannabis specifically to treat menstrual symptoms. When asked what inspired this, Goldberg told BuzzFeed that it arose when she questioned a friend who worked at High Times—a magazine themed around marijuana use—about someone marketing the drug towards people who suffer from menstrual cramps. Her friend claimed that the market was “too niche,” which Goldberg and Elisabeth found an unacceptable and frankly untrue excuse. In the same interview with BuzzFeed, Goldberg attributed this attitude as sexism, claiming that “... if a guy has these cramps there would be all kinds of shit out there for that.” The line itself is called Whoopi & Maya and consists of various creams, bath salts, tinctures, and a chocolate-flavoured spread. The focus is on relief of cramps, but the products also help with relaxation and mood stabilization, including PMS- related depression. People who have tried the products have had mostly positive results, even in cases where the sufferer had other menstrual disorders or ailments that worsened their period experience to near unbearable levels. wW #DOUGLIFE Share your photos with us on Instagram using the hashtag #Doug Life, for a chance to be featured in the paper! oO alley_ferrari @ 54 likes Follow ern alley_ferrari My lovely cast from Love and Information. Opening night was a success! We run until next Thursday, ticket link in the This week’s tweet is by @V_Shillington