• Alternative menstrual products fan and all around cool blogger, RasingBoyChick, writes an in depth and thoughtful review of Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation.



• A student makes an amazing gingerbread and candy uterus model!  See photo to the right.  Learn more and see the the candy key here.
• Simply Healthful has a great Moon Cup review.
• Awesome blog post about the pros and cons of menstrual cups from Shuffled Pink. In summary: “Just do it, you big sissy.”
• Do women living close to each other sync up their periods? Our favorite podcast, @MomStuffPodcast explores in a recent podcast why many believe this and what science shows.
• Interesting article from Live Science on the most recent research on what happens to women during ovulation and how this may effect behavior.

Reviews and giveaways!

• Win organic pantyliners from Sacred Bee and read her review here!

• “Menstruation Skateboards: some girls bleed more than once a month.”  An Austrian university student creates a fake skateboard brand that is both awesome and positively reframes menstruation.

• A new study links early menstruation to a greater risk of asthma.

• Save on GladRags in stores by requesting up to 10 coupons on GladRags.com.

• Enter to win a 3-pack of GladRags color day pads on Heather M’s blog, Mommy of 1 and Counting!

• Evangelizing about the Menstrual Cup from “Let Me See,” a Christian Feminist blog.  Learn why she loves menstrual cups!
  
• Elephant Journal has a great piece informing and advising you on how to Get Back on the Rag (see photo).
• Don’t forget!  Shop GladRags.com for free shipping on all domestic orders until next Friday (8/6/10).
• Also ending next Friday is your chance to win the Uterine Health Companion book!  Read our review and enter the contest here.

August’s Monthly Friend is Eve Agee, author of The Uterine Health Companion.
Read our review of her book and enter to win a free copy here!

Name:  Eve Agee
Age: 42
Hometown: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Current Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Occupation: Author of The Uterine Health Companion, Life Coach, and Medical Anthropologist

Interests: Yoga, traveling, cooking, and spending time with my son, husband and friends.
Dreams:  For us to create a beautiful future for the entire planet–for all humans, animals and the Earth.

How long have you used reusable menstrual products: About nine years.
Reason for making the switch to reusables: I started using GladRags because they are good for the environment and wonderful for my health.  They feel good on my skin and help me achieve my goal of eliminating as much single use plastic as possible from my life.  When I switched to GladRags, I had been researching menstruation in other cultures and was so delighted to find GladRags which offer healthy, more traditional ways of honoring the menstrual process.

Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share:   Menstruation is a beautiful, natural part of our health, that helps us connect to our creativity, power and vision.  I’m so grateful to GladRags for providing women with reusable products that celebrate our uterine processes.  We as women have tremendous power to choose products that will help improve our world and nourish our bodies.  Using GladRags is a fantastic way to do just that.

Author: Eve Agee, PhD

What it’s all about: The uterus!  In many cultures it’s considered the center of the body and a source of power, but in Western medicine the uterus is often ignored or considered a “polluting factor for women’s health” (remember hysteria?).  The author, a medical anthropologist and holistic healer, encourages you to celebrate your uterus and offers in-depth guidance for optimal uterine health.

Who it’s for: If you have a uterus, this book is for you!  You’ll learn how to maintain uterine health through cognitive restructuring and visualization, nutrition, posture, and bodywork.  Women with uterine health conditions such as menstrual cramps, endometriosis, and fibroids, will find detailed chapters on holistic approaches to improving their well-being.  Each section is chock-full of useful information presented in a positive, empowering way.

Why you should check it out: With full chapters on menstruation, fertility, and menopause, this book makes a great reference for all stages of life.  Plus, the author draws from a unique base of experience and knowledge: she was born in the Ozarks, conducted women’s health research in the United States and Africa, served in the Clinton Administration, and is a certified Spiritual Life Coach.

Take a look:  Alex recently attended a discussion led by the author at In Other Words, a feminist bookstore just down the block from GladRags HQ.  The reading and discussion were great!  Agee lead the all-woman group in an open and honest way, and created a safe conversation space where we could say what was on our minds.  The ease of the discussion really mirrored the book’s friendly and informative approach.

We’re giving away a copy of The Uterine Health Companion to one lucky blog reader!  To enter, leave a comment on this entry by August 6th at 12 pm.  We’ll pick a winner using a random number generator. Make sure to include your email address so we can contact you if you win!

The Uterine Health Companion: A Holistic Guide to Lifelong Wellness by Eve Agee

• Naked Faery shares her thoughts on why using a menstrual cup is one way that she can feel feminist in every day life on her tumblr.
• Blogger, Raising My Boychick, brings us a great review about Sea Pearls (menstrual sponges)!
• An interesting take on the Do Bears Love Your Menstrual Blood? urban legend that explores male fear of the unknown in a lighthearted manner from The Faster Times.
• Accidentally Mommy shares an honest, interesting blog entry about her thoughts and feelings regarding her period in That Cup Isn’t for Drinking, My Dearest.
• GladRags for Postpartum explains why and how GladRags are perfect during a time when you need some extra comfort and care.
  

Reviews and Giveaways!

• You have one more day to enter to win GladRags nursing pads and Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple butter from the Mommy Business blog on her Nursing Pad Review and Giveaway!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for!  The winners of our Name our New Bag Contest are… (drumroll please) ….

“Petal Perfect” (green) – Margaret

“Sonic Bloom” (black) – Rita Davis

Congratulations to Margaret and Rita, who’ll each receive a Queen Bee Carry Bag as their prize!  Thanks to everyone who participated, and don’t forget that Queen Bee Carry Bags are still on sale for a little bit longer, so grab one now!

Have you seen our adorable new Carry Bags?  Made exclusively for GladRags by Queen Bee Creations, these hip zippered pouches won’t be available anywhere else.  But we can’t decide what to call each style — each design is just too cute for a boring name!

We’ll be giving away two bags (one of the black design and one of the green) to the commenters who suggest our favorite names for each.  Feel free to enter more than one name for each design; come up with the best names and you could win them both!

To enter the contest, leave a comment by 5/9 on this post with your name ideas.  Please indicate which design (green/black) corresponds to which name.  And include your email address when you comment so we can get in touch if you win!

Congratulations to Laura, for winning the Rolling On the Floor Laughing My GladRags Off contest!  She won a Color Pad Sampler Kit for submitting the funniest period-related story.  Congrats also to Kate, who won a Color Pantyliner 3-pack just for commenting!

Thanks to everyone who participated — we loved reading your submissions! Here’s Laura’s story once more in case you missed it:

When he was little, my nephew would come stay with my husband and I. We would meet my sister at a convenience store about half-way between our houses.
This one time when he was about 4 or 5 we met at our usual place and I loaded all his gear in my car and then sat down in the driver’s seat and looked over at him in the passenger seat (this was before passenger side airbags) Because he was still so young, his feet stuck straight out, and there, tucked under the shoelaces of each of his shoes was a tampon-cotton part only. I casually asked him what he had in his shoes. He responded, “Those are my ROCKETS!” I motioned for my sister, who was parked next to me, to roll her window down and then told her to look at her son’s shoes. Through her tears of laughter she said, “I wondered why everyone in the store was looking at us so funny!”
My nephew is now 20 but we still love to remind him of his “rocket” days!

*Rolling On the Floor Laughing My GladRags Off

Well, we’ve read your funny period stories and have painstakingly selected our favorite four.  Thanks to everyone who submitted a story for this contest — we loved reading them all!

Now it’s up to our blog readers to decide who will win a Pad Sampler Kit for sharing their silly anecdote with the world!  Vote for your favorite story using the poll below.  Click “Read the rest of this entry” to read each finalist’s entry.  This poll will close 3/24, so vote now!

Be sure to comment after voting — one lucky voter will win a secret prize!  Please include your email address when commenting so we can get in touch if you’re the winner.