Lifestyle2 min(s) read
Published 18:45 20 Jan 2021 GMT
A mother has recently revealed that she encourages her teenage sons to carry tampons in case one of their female friends has a "bleed-through".
Tara Ahrens, a mother of two teenage boys and two younger daughters, made the revelation on a private Facebook page, Pantsuit Nation, where she shared a picture of her sons Micah, 15, and Elijah, 16, back-to-school shopping in Target.
She captioned this picture: "My teenage boys helped me shop today, which included buying their little sister's first bras … because breasts happen.
"Both boys carry a tampon and a pad in their backpacks in case one of their friends needs one. Just a mom out here, trying to erase gender taboo!!"
Tara then revealed that her post on the page quickly went viral, garnering over 65K reactions and prompting many people with vaginas to share stories about when they needed period products, and they simply weren't available.
She explained that all these stories had a familiar theme: these people felt shame and embarrassment around this natural bodily function.
Tara added that not everyone's reaction to her post was positive either and later wrote in an essay for Cafe Mom that some people were "offended" that she is attempting to break the taboo surrounding menstruation.
"Bleed-throughs happen," Tara recalled explaining to her sons. "They are mortifying and can be traumatizing. Kindness and understanding from ANY friend goes a long way. Be that person."
Tara said that's she decided to tell her sons about this problem "after reading an article about a man on the Appalachian Trail who gave a tampon from his backpack to a woman who had bled through.
"He reportedly said something like, 'It’s no big deal; I grew up with a mom and sisters…' and that rocked my world."
She explained that her sons were unfazed when she suggested that they put a tampon in their backpacks, and they later discovered the value of this action when Elijah's friend had a bleed-through.
Tara explained that this was a particularly difficult situation for the young girl because her friends only had tampons available, and she needed a pad - something that prompted Elijah to start carrying around pads too.
While some schools do offer period products to their pupils, Tara revealed that her sons' does not.
She said that her sons told their female friends that they have emergency supplies, and although they were initially embarrassed when they brought up the topic, they were ultimately receptive to it.
In fact, one girl suggested that Elijah should keep emergency menstruation products in his car too.
