When I first read the headline to this story on People Magazine I thought, “Is this really a question that we’re posing to female athletes now?” It came across as if it’s a choice athletes are making not to free bleed. It’s not as bad as I assumed though. Aly Raisman, a 22 year-old Olympic gymnast and DWTS finalist, is working with Playtex to reduce period stigma and increase awareness that women and girls can do sports while we’re menstruating. So this is a valid topic of conversation in this case, and one that Aly has a vested interested in. Anyway Aly said that’s fine for other athletes but free bleeding is not her thing, which is completely understandable.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, it’s a totally natural thing,” says the gymnast, who wasn’t always this open about her flow. She would hide tampons up her sleeve during bathroom breaks in high school — as one does — after she got her first period at age 14.

“It’s OK to feel uncomfortable, but you can’t let your period get in the way,” says Aly, who’s had compete in gymnastics tournaments while battling her sometimes debilitating periods, which she says sometimes makes it hard to get out of bed.

“When you’re really nervous, you have butterflies in your stomach, and you have your period — it’s just not a good combination,” she says — and you don’t have to be a gymnast to relate. Still, you’ve got to feel for Aly, who can’t exactly hide rogue period leaks while competing in a leotard. “You just kind of have to just keep going …You can’t tell the judges you want to compete tomorrow or wait a few days,” she says.

Although Aly is happy to engage in period talk to destigmatize the topic, free-bleeding to create a viral moment — like the London marathoner who free-bled through her race, or the woman who leaked through her white leggings during a yoga flow she posted on Instagram — isn’t on her agenda. “I give [those women] a lot of credit for being that comfortable,” she says. “That’s a really amazing thing. I don’t know if I’d have the confidence to do that.”

It’s understandable. After all, Aly’s periods can be a lot to handle without leaks: “Some months, I literally feel like I can’t get out of bed,” she says.

[From Cosmopolitan via People]

I couldn’t free bleed like that either, but I appreciate that other women are willing to do it to make a point. We are too secretive with our periods and the issues around them. We’re supposed to deal with these things in silence or speak in code about it, even with our friends. Did you hear about the new bill in Italy to let women take three paid days off a month if they suffer from painful periods? Some are hailing it as progress but others say that it unnecessarily stigmatizes women as weak. I think the fact that so many of us deal with painful periods without any accommodations at all shows that we’re tough as nails. World class female athletes are competing at the highest levels while they have their periods. Like Aly, I have periods which are so painful now I have to lie in bed for up to two days of my cycle. I am going to get an endometrial ablation procedure soon as my Ob-Gyn recommended. I’m still not sure if I’ll get it at the hospital under full anesthesia or at the doctor’s office. Given how much I’ve already been through, I think I can tough it out with local anesthesia and save some money.

‪Did you know many girls drop out of sports when they start getting their period because they feel so self-conscious and uncomfortable? ‬#BeYou and don't let anything stop you 🙂 And yes I'm holding a tampon. Us girls gotta stick together. #GIRLPOWER #Repost @people_style with @repostapp ・・・ "It's all about having the conversation… You have to talk about it in order to feel more comfortable in your own skin, and to find something that you love to do and to stick with it." @alyraisman is teaming with @playtexsport to encourage young girls to keep up with sports after they get their periods. She talks that—and tons more!"

A post shared by Alexandra Raisman (@alyraisman) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:52pm PDT

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