When revealing secrets hurts more than keeping them...

[colormyworld]

That's exactly what I did too, the rolled up toilet paper thing (at least until I was 18 and ended up buying a diva cup online). I hid it/ denied it for 7 years... Whenever my mom would ask about it, I would deny it, and change the topic ASAP! Didn't want to hear about it, didn't want to think about it, did NOT want to hear a word from my mother about it, I could just die thinking about my mom talking about that stuff to me! Eventually my mom made an appointment for me at the doctor's to find out "what was wrong". Even after knowing she made the appointment, I could not bring myself to tell her. It wasn't until I was about to walk into the little room that I told her "I got it at 16" which was a lie, but a small one considering I had lied for 7 years about it!
The next day my mom handed me this pack of pads, and immediately I thought "Oh no way are you getting me to wear one of those things!" Luckily though she didn't say anything, just handed them to me. I'm sure I would have died on the spot! Still have the package, still sealed, in the cubby of my headboard. I never plan on using them. EVER! I've since stopped the unhealthy toilet paper route, and bought the diva cup, best invention ever! Only have to deal with it twice a day, and the rest of the time it's like the red death isn't even there! If it weren't for the cup, I would still do the toilet paper thing, I don't even like carrying the bags from the grocery store that have my mom's pads/tampons in them, or seeing them in my mom's bathroom, let alone having to buy them for myself or actually use those things!

[DamagedChris]

I would do that too. I always felt embarrassed carrying a box, having it in the cart and at checkout.

I did this as well...when I was under my parent's roof I would usually find some excuse as to why someone should pick them up for me so I didn't have to be seen with it...and funny enough I got the same way around having to buy women's underwear, or even be in that section. My mother would comment on how silly I was that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the lingerie section and would hover outside it like a forbidden fortress of pantyhose, waiting to devour me if I stepped inside.

[Teknoir]

...and funny enough I got the same way around having to buy women's underwear, or even be in that section. My mother would comment on how silly I was that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the lingerie section and would hover outside it like a forbidden fortress of pantyhose, waiting to devour me if I stepped inside.

Yes, this.

I always felt like some loud woman would see me and call for store security, screaming about how I'm a creepy pervert or something  .

[Arch]

I still remember shopping with my mother for my first bra...>>>shudder<<<

[Vancha]

I never did hide it when the red death came along.  I remember the day quite well.  I must have been 12.  I had always had mostly female friends, for whatever reason (probably because they approached me, and I was never one to approach people), and they had always gone on and on about how they couldn't wait to hit puberty, to have their periods.  Because of this, I really thought it would be a good thing.  I suppose I acted the part of one of them, and was anxiously awaiting "growing up".  They had little books and would make me peer into them.  Books that talked about puberty.

And then it happened, and it wasn't what I expected at all.  I didn't feel like I was becoming an adult/teenager.  I felt like something horrible had happened to me.  I remember, my mother and father were so sickeningly happy about it, saying it was a beautiful thing, and all I could think of was the horrible shame and disgust weighing me down.  I felt like I had lost something, and I think more than anything, what I felt was that I had been somehow exploited.  I cried and cried as they told me it was "a natural, beautiful thing".  That was the start of my fierce hatred for female things.  I think, that was the start of my anger.  They took me to dinner, and all I could think about was that I didn't want anyone to know.  I had once told my brother I was his big brother, and I wanted him to remain ignorant.

In a way, I wished I had hidden it.  Nowadays, I do not speak to anyone about it.  I don't ask for pads, or tampons, or whatever.  And I would never buy the things.  My mother occasionally asks me, when I tell her I need ibuprofen for the pain, when I last had it -- and I tell her I don't remember.  A couple weeks ago, when it was that time of the month, I was in a very bad, depressed mood.  She told me it was only because "women are notorious for being terrible when they're on their periods".  It was impossible not to burst into tears and to snap at her to not speak like that to me again.

I feel very disturbed now.   

[fluffy jorgen]

Noone ever said anything like "you're a woman now" and I had to hide it from noone either since there's a thing called Privacy in my life.

[Silver]

I never understood why any woman would want to deal with this and it's not just because I'm FTM. From a practical standpoint, it sucks.

Noone ever said anything like "you're a woman now" and I had to hide it from noone either since there's a thing called Privacy in my life.

Lucky you.

[fluffy jorgen]

Must be different cultures or something...? 

It's practical enough if one wants to get pregnant.

[Silver]

Must be different cultures or something...? 

It's practical enough if one wants to get pregnant.

Eh I meant more in the sense of "why did we evolve this in the first place?"

Not all mammals bleed during their menstrual cycles. It's just a waste of resources, rather impractical. External testicles fall into this category as well.

[fluffy jorgen]

Sorry, that was me trying to lighten the "mood". I failed.

[Silver]

Sorry, that was me trying to lighten the "mood". I failed.

I take things seriously. Here I'll add a smiley 

[fluffy jorgen]

There. Mood lightened.

On a more serious note, I've never really been bothered about either periods or external testes, it's all physical and physical isn't really what I think about on a day to day basis, though I used to. Still they never phased me. 

[Arch]

Eh I meant more in the sense of "why did we evolve this in the first place?"

Not all mammals bleed during their menstrual cycles. It's just a waste of resources, rather impractical. External testicles fall into this category as well.

We evolved it for the same reason that we evolved all sorts of other stuff: because it works.

It's not the bleeding but the cycles. Humans can reproduce all year round. The bleeding is just a by-product of that. And testes have to be external so that the semen stays at the right temperature. The little wigglers don't like body temperature.

[Vancha]

We evolved it for the same reason that we evolved all sorts of other stuff: because it works.

It's not the bleeding but the cycles. Humans can reproduce all year round. The bleeding is just a by-product of that. And testes have to be external so that the semen stays at the right temperature. The little wigglers don't like body temperature.

Interestingly enough, I do a lot of work with birds, and their testes are internal.  In fact, the avian reproductive system, whether male or female, is nearly identical, save for that the female has an oviduct that produces eggs, rather than two testicles that produce sperm.  I find it fascinating, in that most birds don't even have an internal penis of any sort.  Birds have very high body temperatures, about 104-108 degrees Fahrenheit in most species.  The testes must be very protective.

Yes, the bird nut thought that would be interesting to note. 

[Arch]

I remember reading some fascinating things about birds--isn't it true that the blood moves so fast that it has to be hot, or maybe it's the other way around...now I've forgotten.

Speaking of blood and well-kept secrets.

[Vancha]

I remember reading some fascinating things about birds--isn't it true that the blood moves so fast that it has to be hot, or maybe it's the other way around...now I've forgotten.

Speaking of blood and well-kept secrets.

Well, I've never heard of that, I'm not sure whether that is accurate.  I do know that birds have incredibly fast metabolisms, even the larger birds, because the task of flight is a large one.  Their entire bodies are programmed for it.  Because of their fast metabolisms, their heart must beat faster, their blood must circulate faster, and thus they do have a higher body temperature.  They also have "crops", which serves as a literal bag that holds their food, acting almost as a second stomach so that they don't need to be eating constantly.  A great adaption.  I've really gone off topic, but I think the avian body must have developed internal testes because, despite their high body temperature (a deadly fever for any human), they need to be stream-lined for flight.

Now, back to the topic!