there's a new commercial out for tampax compak -- you know, the tampons that are so discreet, only you know it's a tampon? a dude is waiting for his date to finish getting ready. he gets peckish (oh, get your mind out of the gutter) and starts asking her if he can have a cookie, then a sandwich, and then a candy as he picks up the tampon in its wrapper.

see? it's so discreet, your date may mistake it for a sugary confection.

how the fuck is this a good thing!?

why is it that girls are made to believe that they even need to be discreet?

i certainly don't flaunt it when i get my period, but i don't pussyfoot around it, either. i'm not ashamed of pulling a pad or a tampon out of my bag when i need a change. on the other hand, i don't celebrate it like it's some sort of empowering goddess phenomenon that somehow makes women the superior sex -- i hate the wrenching pain of cramps and the mood swings and the grossness -- but it's a natural part of having the double-x chromosomes, not a monthly breakout of herpetic lesions...