Comments on: Body-shaming douche ad, 1932

By: blueelm

blueelm — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:25:00 +0000

You forgot to mention the line we were all supposed to take as normal about seeing all those women spread out like that. Even going to the doctor is apparently a sex act for women. You know, because that’s what I was thinking when I got my biopsy: I hope this gives him a boner!

By: yri

yri — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:01:00 +0000

Help us Bonanza Jellybean, you’re our only hope!

By: Tess

Tess — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:11:00 +0000

How’s it different? Let me think…

Okay, here are a few ways. Toenails aren’t a private part of the body. The ownership of toenails doesn’t distinguish one group of people from another. People with toenails have not been systematically discriminated against, and their toenails are not cited as a reason for discrimination.

But most importantly in this case, to have your toenails examined, you don’t have to be incredibly vulnerable and have a very, very invasive procedure done. If the doctor examining your toenails is an asshole you might feel a little bit bad. If the doctor examining your vagina is an asshole, it can be a source of trauma akin to rape.

So I’m not going to lighten up, because I think if someone doesn’t have basic respect for the people he examines he shouldn’t get access to them when they’re vulnerable. And there is nothing gross about vaginas.

By: benher

benher — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:50:00 +0000

The next time I “go,” I think I’m going to shout out, “I’m going forth!”

By: sarah shevett

sarah shevett — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:20:00 +0000

And not one comment on the “sensitive young wife”?
Women are too fragile even to discuss their own problems with?
Better to run out the door than risk a chance of her getting the vapors if you (gasp) mention personal hygiene to her.

By: artaxerxes

artaxerxes — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:56:00 +0000

Thank you so much for your excellent post. Massengill commercials, a culture simultaneously fascinated and fearful of sex, and ignorance have convinced many women and men that a healthy vagina should smell of peach melba or sacher torte. Yet they have no idea of the danger or consequences of douching, even periodically.

Chocha is supposed to smell like chocha, not chocolate cream pie.

By: zombiebob

zombiebob — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:54:00 +0000

When it’s smelling a bit funky down there, that’s the best way to do it!

By: zombiebob

zombiebob — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:51:00 +0000

Oh lighten up a bit, how’s that any different from a podiatrist telling anonymous non specific horror stories about poorly considered toe-nail hygiene?

By: garfieldhatesmondays

garfieldhatesmondays — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 03:50:00 +0000

well it’s about time.

By: Tess

Tess — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:15:00 +0000

By “most” you mean “all,” right? Douching is almost always a bad idea. A weak vinegar solution can be okay, particularly if vaginal pH is too high. Most other things are bad, and a high-pressure douche can (depending on the time of the month) force fluid through the cervix. The resulting infections can be deadly. Literally deadly.

The vagina is a self-cleaning organ. Rinse with water on the outside, let it be on the inside. Anything that kills bacteria in the vagina or vulva is *going* to cause a yeast infection, because the friendly lactobacilli are what keeps candida in check – and before you get grossed out by that, it happens all over your body, not just in women’s crotches.

Sometimes I just really wish men had any body part as awesome and vulnerable as a vagina, so I could convince them to quit acting like they know what’s best for those of us who do. The vaginal environment is a delicately balanced mix of flora. The vagina itself is strong, elastic, really kind of amazing. When all is well – a woman is healthy – she’ll have her very own unique odor and flavor. Sometimes when two women pair up they end up sharing vaginal flora, eventually smelling and tasting alike. That’s fun. :)

If people don’t like the way healthy vaginas smell, they should consider not having sex with women. And a very strong or unpleasant odor probably means she has bacterial vaginosis. Which can be caused by using “feminine hygeine” products.

ANY desire to “sanitize” a part of the body that isn’t actually dirty is just gendered body-shaming, as the post mentions.

By: Tess

Tess — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:07:00 +0000

You should tell everyone who that gyno is so we can make sure he stops having work to do, eh? If it’s not just a stupid misogynist joke, which it is.

By: retepslluerb

retepslluerb — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 08:02:00 +0000

Put on a suit? More likely this was normal clothing for his social group.

By: efemmeral

efemmeral — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:43:00 +0000

Thank you! Another excellent choice for the holiday gift giving season!

By: efemmeral

efemmeral — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:36:00 +0000

Thank you! Just in time for holiday gift giving!

By: UrbanUndead

UrbanUndead — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:08:00 +0000

Ladyzombies need love too :(

By: bolamig

bolamig — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:01:00 +0000

I was trying to wrap my mind around what it would be like to be one of these writers of such evil untrue shaming. Then I remembered there is a word for them: douchebags.

By: pjcamp

pjcamp — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 04:30:00 +0000

When life gives you lemons, I say make lemonade. Embrace the aroma! Make it a theme of your evening:

http://www.geekologie.com/2010/06/lzxk.php

By: jenjen

jenjen — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:43:00 +0000

Fountain syringe? That sounds useful.

By: Carlson & Crashboy

Carlson & Crashboy — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 02:15:00 +0000

That reminds me of a comedian I saw at the Comedy Cellar last month: So I get into an elevator and I turn to this woman and ask, “Can I smell your vagina?” She replies, “you most certainly cannot!” So that’s when I say, “I guess it must be your feet.”

By: jnordb

jnordb — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:26:00 +0000

“I didn’t know you douche…”

By: Mantissa128

Mantissa128 — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:19:00 +0000

I’ve had no problem talking sex with my intimates, but weeeelllll… I’m not sure how I’d bring this topic up with someone. Only happened with one person and I wasn’t seeing them long (for other reasons).

More recently, it took my girlfriend months for her to tell me I had stinknose. I was mortified.

By: robotnik

robotnik — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:06:00 +0000

It’s a good thing.

By: Cactaur

Cactaur — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:49:00 +0000

And add a sprig of mistletoe for the festive season.

By: Mister44

Mister44 — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:49:00 +0000

What’s the big deal? Lysol, before you get your 101 flavors and being marketed for use on hard surfaces, was an antiseptic that was also used on the skin. I imagine with the proper dilution that it wasn’t any worse than any other douche (though now, as I understand, most Drs. recommend against them).

By: sean

sean — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:27:00 +0000

Martha Stewart suggests a sprig of rosemary, tastefully woven into the pubic hairs, to draw attention from the offensive odour.

By: Evan G.

Evan G. — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:24:00 +0000

That scene is helpfully edited to “I can smell your scent” on basic cable.

By: eryximachus

eryximachus — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:23:00 +0000

‘Satanic Miracle’ is a bit bastardly, BB.

LaVeyan Satanists encourage women to ignore these kinds of products in favour of their natural scent, which is much more alluring.

By: sean

sean — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:22:00 +0000

If poor Bill can smell it from across the room, I can’t blame him for grabbing his hat and heading for the door.

By: Gerhard Mulder

Gerhard Mulder — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:05:00 +0000

“FOR THE DOUCHE IS SO POWERFUL” sounds like a line that ended up on the cutting room floor of Zardoz…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbGVIdA3dx0

By: daupo

daupo — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:00:00 +0000

This ad is less troubling than the many ads offering Lysol as a “feminine hygiene” product. The 20th century could be a dark place.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105×6515537