Getting your period is uncomfortable enough for menstruating people. There’s the bleeding and the bloating and the cramps and the cravings. The last thing these people need is someone else making it harder on them. So what can you do to not be that person? Do not make feminine products inaccessible. Do not comment on any irritability. Do NOT suggest that menstruating people can’t get things done when their hormones are out of whack thanks to their uterus. Do not, do not, do not. Just. Don’t.
*Steps off soap box before getting more worked up*
And what one teen really didn’t need was her great-aunt — who she guesses is around 65 years old — shaming her for having her period and, ya know, dealing with it. The 17-year-old joined the “Am I The A-hole?” subreddit and asked, “AITA for telling my [great-aunt] that she needs to suck it up?”
So what’s the sitch? The teen who originally posted this story on Reddit (the “OP”) explained that she is currently on a family vacation with her mom’s side of the family. She and her mom are sharing a house with her great-aunt, uncle, and younger cousin (the great-aunt’s grandson) who is around 10 years old.
And So It Begins
OP got her period this week — “lucky me on vacation 🙄” — and is sharing a bathroom with her cousin.
“Out of the blue yesterday, my great-aunt came storming up to me demanding I tell her why I have dirty tampons in the trash can,” OP said. “I was confused and told her that I was on my period.”
“[By the way], I don’t just throw them away,” OP continued. “I make sure to wrap them in toilet paper and tuck them at the bottom of the trash.”
It Just Gets Weirder
Well, OP’s great-aunt was not satisfied with this answer and “got all pissy” with OP.
“She told me that my cousin was asking about the tampon wrappers in the trash,” OP said. “I told her that his digging in the trash was none of her business, and calmly explained that I wrap up my tampons carefully to make sure he doesn’t see them.”
Not Backing Down
This great-aunt still wasn’t having it.
“She kept on yelling at me, telling me that his ‘precious innocent eyes’ don’t need to see that,” OP said, making us “get all pissy” toward her great-aunt too.
“After about 10 minutes of me trying to calmly talk to her, I finally just yelled at her to suck it up and stop being such a b*tch. She got really mad at me and is now not talking to me.”
Are You Kidding Me?
Seriously?? His “precious innocent eyes?” Cry me a (nauseating, infuriating) river. Why aren’t we teaching boys about menstruation instead of making it seem gross and taboo? Why do girls have to be shamed so boys can be comfortable? What’s so bad about seeing a tampon wrapper? What would be so bad about seeing a used tampon?! And — even though this is so not the point — why was he digging through the trash to begin with? That’s way grosser than natural bodily functions.
Reddit’s Reaction Part 1
More than 1.2 thousand Redditors commented on this post that got more than 4.6 thousand upvotes.
“Not all elders deserve respect. There. I said it.”
“Your aunt harangued you over a normal bodily function. Maybe cursing wasn’t the best, but her carrying on about it was wildly out of order.”
“She sounds unhinged and probably deserved it. Aren’t women meant to be a bit more supportive of each other and the trials and tribulations of their menstrual cycles?”
“You did the right things by wrapping up the tampons and by going off on your aunt. Good for you,” said one commenter … who also had a great revenge plan.
Reddit’s Reaction Part 2
Naturally, Reddit did what Reddit does best and offered some perfectly petty solutions. OP thanked commenters for “all the advice and funny comments like [her] personal fav ‘stick it on her pillow while she’s sleeping. 😭'” What are some other ideas, you ask?
“You can always put them in her room on top of the dresser. Then her grandson would not see them.”
“If she brings it up again … might I suggest you offer to free bleed rather than continue to traumatize precious boy with tampon wrappers?”
“Next time you have to change your tampon, wrap it up, find her, and hand it to her to hide (or whatever) for anyone who might be offended by normal bodily functions.”
“Hell, go get some chocolate frosting, put that in some toilet paper, and put that in the trash. That might stop him when he thinks he finds sh*t in the trash can.”
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