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Ain't I A Woman? newspapers, June 1970-July 1971
1971-01-29 "Ain't I a Woman?" Page 9
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Under normal conditions the vagina, if left to perform its natural functions, will keep itself perfectly clean. The vaginal lining constantly secretes thin mucus which gently washes "foreign" material, such as menstrual blood, contraceptive chemicals, and semen, down to the vulva where careful washing will remove it. If this normal secretion is not removed from the foreskin of the clitoris or behind the labial folds there is a characteristic "vaginal odor," which douching won't help. Sometimes douching is useful. On the last day of your period a douche will remove the remaining bits of menstrual flow and avoid a day or two of spotting, if you wish. If you are one of the women who develops a normal and healthy, but messy, copious mucus discharge at the time of ovulation, a douche will temporarily slow down the discharge. For douching an enema bag with a douche nozzle (which directs the water out to the sides against the vaginal wall) is best. Bulb syringes are less desirable because the water escapes at high pressure and does not deliver a constant flow. To douche, sit on the toilet with the bag at shoulder height. Warm water (not hot) or warm soapy water are fine solutions, but you can safely use mild solutions of drug store preparations if you wish. Insert the nozzle as far as it will go into your vagina and when the bag is about 1/2 empty slowly start removing the nozzle so that the last of the water runs over the labial area. Rinse out the douche bag with warm water. You need not sterilize the nozzle. Your vagina is tough and usually resists infection very well. Vaginitis Your vagina is tough, but it can be messed up. Douching too frequently and taking large doses of antibiotics, among other things things, can cause the yeast-bacteria balance in the vagina to be upset. The result, whatever the cause, will be copious foul-smelling, irritating discharge which must be treated by a doctor who can tell whether the condition is caused by yeast or bacteria. Douching is futile as a cure but these ailments can usually be easily treated by means prescribed by your doctor. Another important reason for having a doctor investigate abnormal discharges, especially if they are accompanied by itching, painful urination, and/or lower abdominal tenderness, is that these common symptoms are also the symptoms for gonorrhea. A smear test will give you a sure diagnosis. Cancer And now a plug for Pap smears. All women, beginning in their mid-teens, should have a yearly Pap smear. A smear of tissue is painlessly removed from your vagina and tested for evidence of preliminary cancer stages. It's very effective, inexpensive, and easy--well worth being able to treat cervical and uterine cancer early. Most doctors understand the importance of this health measure. You can get a Pap smear from a private doctor, or from Planned Parenthood as part of an examination for contraceptive pills. In any case you'll pay five dollars for the lab test, plus office call fee if you go to a private doctor. If you are a student, get your Pap smear from the student health center, even if you are going to Planned Parenthood for pills, so that you don't overburden PP facilities. At the time of taking a Pap smear most doctors will also check your breasts, your other most vulnerable cancer area. Ask him/her to do so if he/she doesn't as a matter of course. Go to a doctor immediately if you develop lumps in your breasts or abnormal vaginal bleeding. It probably will be something simple, but you need to be sure as early as possible. Except for the section on cystitis (written out of the experience of the females in our group), most of the other-than-local information for this portion of this article came from A Concept of Contraception, by Selig Neubardt, M.D. (Trident Press, N.Y., 1967), also in paperback as Contraception (Pocket Books, 95¢). It's an excellent and concise description of all forms of contraception (as of 1967) which includes much other useful information. This article was prepared by the Bloomington (Indiana) Women's Liberation Front "there is some shit i will not eat" e.e. cummings, "i sing of olaf" America's food is full of shit. Like most of its products -- war, systems of control, ideology, culture; detergents, cars, cigarettes, liquor, Coke, McDonald's hamburgers -- all full of shit. Talk is going round and round about additives in food -- the additive in my food as far as I can see, is the MAN. Those into the freak-youth counter culture seem to think they have a line on what's safe to eat & how to get it. The Man has not only fucked up the information as to what is good for your body & how to figure what to eat. He lies about nutrition & sells us shitty food. But the freaks put out with different (and believable) info on nutrition, then find how get it by opening health food stores & organizing food deals -- but all within the system. They still don't get rid of that food additive -- what makes it all happen -- profit, the Man's thing. The Man will allow heads to open health food stores. But the Man's media and official culture will ensure that the healthy food trip is tagged as a freak & liberal culture thing & therefore a middle-class limited side-show. It may become the "in thing" and all that shit. It will be commercialized to bits, probably, like most of the counter culture that is so within the capitalist system it doesn't necessitate revolution. Choice of food is part of culture or subculture, part of lifestyle. But it's the range of choice that profit controls. The media reinforce the limitations on lifestyles. For middle class people, it's a litberal thing to experiment. But, fuck it, poor people can't experiment. Rich white liberals can check out "soul food" but poor blacks can't check out Delmonico steaks. The Man controls the menu: steaks, lobster, and scotch for the ruling class; a little of everything on TV dinner trays for the middle class; brown rice and acid for the freaks; McDonald's hamburgers and polluted beer for the working class; and peanut butter & rotgut gin or heroin for the lower class. (Dope is in the class structure too. Where is that pure Sandoz LSD? I haven't seen it but I bet whoever has that control ought to die. And wouldn't the Man like to get the whole revolution on smack? Smack helped keep the ghettoes down for years. It was no coincidence that right after Kent [insert] related material: "I want to puke my guts out!!! -- Pat Edith I wish I'd never seen your face or heard your lying tongue, my lord or heard your lying tongue I would not be here eating this cold cornbread sopping this salty gravy my lord sopping this salty gravy --Appalachian folk song Heroin, be the death of me... Thank your god that I'm not aware thank your god that I just don't care 'bout all the evils of this town and all the politicians makin' busy sounds and all the dead bodies piled on the ground and everybody puttin' everybody else down oh and I guess that I just don't know oh and I guess that I just don't know Heroin Heroin it's my life and it's my wife... --"Heroin", by the Velvet Underground State & Cambodia there was a cheaper & easier supply of heroin around college campuses and in big cities. I could go on about the politics of heroin but I feel that sisters are less susceptible to that trip, that it's really male-oriented. Other kinds of downers (tranquilizers, etc.) are pushed at women, though; calm, passive women are necessary to the Man's system.) Faced with all this crud in our food and stuff, some of us can make the choice to change our eating habits. But some of us want more choices than the limited pure food diet. Some of us can't afford the time to bake good bread and can't afford to buy any but cheap poisonous white bread. (Pure white flour, white sugar, white rice -- there seems to be a connection. All the terrible worthless food.) Some of us have just made enough personal sacrifices. I dig brown rice but I sure as hell dig lobster. And I'm angry and I won't forget it as long as Amerikkka makes me quite literally sick to my stomach. I could buy a Burger Shit meal, walk across the street to the bank and puke it on the bank president. Dammit, we won't eat brown rice forever! We want control over our own bodies and that means what goes into them too. When you feel like you ate something that disagreed with you, and you know what and who you disagree with, your gut reaction is a political analysis. Amerikka is revolting. [photo of woman] HEADACHE? PAIN? HOLD IT! A$PIRIN IS A RIPOFF This woman has the right idea: if it hurts, rub it. Headaches are caused by the temporary cutting off of the blood supply to the brain; massage restores the circulation. Rub in rhythm with your pulse rate. Even scratching your head is helpful. A Woman? 29 January 1971 Page 9
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Under normal conditions the vagina, if left to perform its natural functions, will keep itself perfectly clean. The vaginal lining constantly secretes thin mucus which gently washes "foreign" material, such as menstrual blood, contraceptive chemicals, and semen, down to the vulva where careful washing will remove it. If this normal secretion is not removed from the foreskin of the clitoris or behind the labial folds there is a characteristic "vaginal odor," which douching won't help. Sometimes douching is useful. On the last day of your period a douche will remove the remaining bits of menstrual flow and avoid a day or two of spotting, if you wish. If you are one of the women who develops a normal and healthy, but messy, copious mucus discharge at the time of ovulation, a douche will temporarily slow down the discharge. For douching an enema bag with a douche nozzle (which directs the water out to the sides against the vaginal wall) is best. Bulb syringes are less desirable because the water escapes at high pressure and does not deliver a constant flow. To douche, sit on the toilet with the bag at shoulder height. Warm water (not hot) or warm soapy water are fine solutions, but you can safely use mild solutions of drug store preparations if you wish. Insert the nozzle as far as it will go into your vagina and when the bag is about 1/2 empty slowly start removing the nozzle so that the last of the water runs over the labial area. Rinse out the douche bag with warm water. You need not sterilize the nozzle. Your vagina is tough and usually resists infection very well. Vaginitis Your vagina is tough, but it can be messed up. Douching too frequently and taking large doses of antibiotics, among other things things, can cause the yeast-bacteria balance in the vagina to be upset. The result, whatever the cause, will be copious foul-smelling, irritating discharge which must be treated by a doctor who can tell whether the condition is caused by yeast or bacteria. Douching is futile as a cure but these ailments can usually be easily treated by means prescribed by your doctor. Another important reason for having a doctor investigate abnormal discharges, especially if they are accompanied by itching, painful urination, and/or lower abdominal tenderness, is that these common symptoms are also the symptoms for gonorrhea. A smear test will give you a sure diagnosis. Cancer And now a plug for Pap smears. All women, beginning in their mid-teens, should have a yearly Pap smear. A smear of tissue is painlessly removed from your vagina and tested for evidence of preliminary cancer stages. It's very effective, inexpensive, and easy--well worth being able to treat cervical and uterine cancer early. Most doctors understand the importance of this health measure. You can get a Pap smear from a private doctor, or from Planned Parenthood as part of an examination for contraceptive pills. In any case you'll pay five dollars for the lab test, plus office call fee if you go to a private doctor. If you are a student, get your Pap smear from the student health center, even if you are going to Planned Parenthood for pills, so that you don't overburden PP facilities. At the time of taking a Pap smear most doctors will also check your breasts, your other most vulnerable cancer area. Ask him/her to do so if he/she doesn't as a matter of course. Go to a doctor immediately if you develop lumps in your breasts or abnormal vaginal bleeding. It probably will be something simple, but you need to be sure as early as possible. Except for the section on cystitis (written out of the experience of the females in our group), most of the other-than-local information for this portion of this article came from A Concept of Contraception, by Selig Neubardt, M.D. (Trident Press, N.Y., 1967), also in paperback as Contraception (Pocket Books, 95¢). It's an excellent and concise description of all forms of contraception (as of 1967) which includes much other useful information. This article was prepared by the Bloomington (Indiana) Women's Liberation Front "there is some shit i will not eat" e.e. cummings, "i sing of olaf" America's food is full of shit. Like most of its products -- war, systems of control, ideology, culture; detergents, cars, cigarettes, liquor, Coke, McDonald's hamburgers -- all full of shit. Talk is going round and round about additives in food -- the additive in my food as far as I can see, is the MAN. Those into the freak-youth counter culture seem to think they have a line on what's safe to eat & how to get it. The Man has not only fucked up the information as to what is good for your body & how to figure what to eat. He lies about nutrition & sells us shitty food. But the freaks put out with different (and believable) info on nutrition, then find how get it by opening health food stores & organizing food deals -- but all within the system. They still don't get rid of that food additive -- what makes it all happen -- profit, the Man's thing. The Man will allow heads to open health food stores. But the Man's media and official culture will ensure that the healthy food trip is tagged as a freak & liberal culture thing & therefore a middle-class limited side-show. It may become the "in thing" and all that shit. It will be commercialized to bits, probably, like most of the counter culture that is so within the capitalist system it doesn't necessitate revolution. Choice of food is part of culture or subculture, part of lifestyle. But it's the range of choice that profit controls. The media reinforce the limitations on lifestyles. For middle class people, it's a litberal thing to experiment. But, fuck it, poor people can't experiment. Rich white liberals can check out "soul food" but poor blacks can't check out Delmonico steaks. The Man controls the menu: steaks, lobster, and scotch for the ruling class; a little of everything on TV dinner trays for the middle class; brown rice and acid for the freaks; McDonald's hamburgers and polluted beer for the working class; and peanut butter & rotgut gin or heroin for the lower class. (Dope is in the class structure too. Where is that pure Sandoz LSD? I haven't seen it but I bet whoever has that control ought to die. And wouldn't the Man like to get the whole revolution on smack? Smack helped keep the ghettoes down for years. It was no coincidence that right after Kent [insert] related material: "I want to puke my guts out!!! -- Pat Edith I wish I'd never seen your face or heard your lying tongue, my lord or heard your lying tongue I would not be here eating this cold cornbread sopping this salty gravy my lord sopping this salty gravy --Appalachian folk song Heroin, be the death of me... Thank your god that I'm not aware thank your god that I just don't care 'bout all the evils of this town and all the politicians makin' busy sounds and all the dead bodies piled on the ground and everybody puttin' everybody else down oh and I guess that I just don't know oh and I guess that I just don't know Heroin Heroin it's my life and it's my wife... --"Heroin", by the Velvet Underground State & Cambodia there was a cheaper & easier supply of heroin around college campuses and in big cities. I could go on about the politics of heroin but I feel that sisters are less susceptible to that trip, that it's really male-oriented. Other kinds of downers (tranquilizers, etc.) are pushed at women, though; calm, passive women are necessary to the Man's system.) Faced with all this crud in our food and stuff, some of us can make the choice to change our eating habits. But some of us want more choices than the limited pure food diet. Some of us can't afford the time to bake good bread and can't afford to buy any but cheap poisonous white bread. (Pure white flour, white sugar, white rice -- there seems to be a connection. All the terrible worthless food.) Some of us have just made enough personal sacrifices. I dig brown rice but I sure as hell dig lobster. And I'm angry and I won't forget it as long as Amerikkka makes me quite literally sick to my stomach. I could buy a Burger Shit meal, walk across the street to the bank and puke it on the bank president. Dammit, we won't eat brown rice forever! We want control over our own bodies and that means what goes into them too. When you feel like you ate something that disagreed with you, and you know what and who you disagree with, your gut reaction is a political analysis. Amerikka is revolting. [photo of woman] HEADACHE? PAIN? HOLD IT! A$PIRIN IS A RIPOFF This woman has the right idea: if it hurts, rub it. Headaches are caused by the temporary cutting off of the blood supply to the brain; massage restores the circulation. Rub in rhythm with your pulse rate. Even scratching your head is helpful. A Woman? 29 January 1971 Page 9
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