Sanitary products

Teaching girls about periods should start at primary school, new data suggests

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A new study has found that nearly 50% of New Zealand girls are getting their periods before high school. Experts say it is time for our education system to step up.  Nearly 50% of New Zealand girls will have their first period before they begin secondary school, and 6.3% while they are still at primary … Read more

I tried New Zealand’s first brand of period proof undies

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Alex Casey talks to Michele Wilson of AWWA, New Zealand’s first brand of period proof undies, and takes a pair for a spin.  It does seem pretty wild that you can 3D print yourself a sex robot in 2018, but there still isn’t the technology widely available to stop period-havers from bleeding through their pants, … Read more

The start-up that wants to give you free tampons

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With an aim to empower both women in the workplace and girls in school, two young entrepreneurs have launched a drive to provide free sanitary products through corporate partnerships. Jihee Junn talks to Jacinta Gulasekharam of Dignity to find out how it all works. Menstruation! Lady business! That time of the month! Whatever medically accurate … Read more

Here, let me help. Start by imagining your penis is bleeding

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Following that Waikato Times column about blokes suffering from women’s periods (comprehensively rebutted here) Michele A’Court generously proffers some empathy advice for men. Hey Tom O’Connor, I think you’re doing “empathy” wrong. You’re doing that thing where, instead of imagining what it is like to experience something, you just describe what it is like for you to know … Read more

After covering the price of tampons for Seven Sharp, the Pharmac decision has me seeing red

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TV reporter Kristin Hall spent much of 2016 drawing attention to the high price of sanitary products in New Zealand – a cost barrier that affects most women, but has serious implications for those at the bottom end of the income scale. Here she responds to this week’s decision by Pharmac not to fund sanitary … Read more

Meet the man who wants you to glue your vagina shut

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Alex Casey interviews Doctor Dan Dopps, creator of a new vaginal adhesive that hopes to seal the menstrual product deal … literally.  Bleeders, palm off your pads, trash your tampons and shoot your mooncup straight to the moon. There’s a brand new innovation in time-of-the-month technology called Mensez, a lipstick for your other set of … Read more