It’s time to break the stigma around bodily fluids, especially in females. Students should leave the session with no shame about what naturally happens in their bodies.
Topics that need to be discussed:
- Periods – this is covered a lot in schools already but girls should be reassured about the varying consistency and colour periods can have and know that they can get help for heavy periods and period pain.
- Vaginal discharge – this is the natural process of the vagina cleaning itself. It is so important to let young women (and young men) know that this is natural and completely normal. It is nothing to hide or be ashamed of and women should do very little to clean their vulva themselves as products can affect the PH of the vagina and vulva and cause irritation. The colour and consistency of vaginal discharge changes along with the menstrual cycle.
- Smells – our bodies work hard so are going to produce odours. Keeping ourselves clean is important but nobody can completely erase the natural smells our body produces. Girls should be informed that THERE’S NO SUCH PRODUCT THAT CAN MAKE THEIR VAGINA SMELL OR ‘TASTE’ BETTER. Some companies – especially on Instagram – advertise that their products can alter the smell / taste of the vagina. These products do not work and can contain harmful chemicals not needed in the body. There is no need for girl’s to be insecure about this part of their body.
Potential lesson around this topic:
Teachers should be able to have open and honest discussions with students. Asking students to submit anonymous questions is always a good way to begin this. Padlet is a great resource for this.
Generation Feminist 