A bridge too far ...?

I regularly openly carry packs of Tenas around. They are for my customers and I have never given it a moment's thought! Maybe I will now.?

grandtanteJE65 I was just thinking of posting that our granddaughters will probably find their mothers terribly coarse in their attitude to tampons, panty liners, Tena pads etc etc. These things go in cycles and by then the pendulum will have swung back to reticence about personal bodily functions.

Lovely to hear from you again bellsnwhistles.You were mentioned a few months ago at our meet up in Staines.We were talking about our earlier meetings in Dorking and the fact that sadly Gertie's has now closed. Sorry to hi-jack the thread.I am reading it with interest and agree with the OP.It is going too far.

Purchased a box of TENA a few hours ago in the Chemist, the lady behind the counter asked if I would like a bag, but I declined as my car was outside the shop, if I had had to walk a distance I think I would have accepted.

margarithea unfortunately pelvic floor exercises don't always work and an operation is necessary. My op left me with urge incontinence so when I need to go it's immediate. Doctors in England shrugged their shoulders but a lovely lady gynaecologist here didnt and tried me on different tablets until one was satisfactory. So now I just wear a light Tena pad 'in case'.

Men do use incontinent pads,my Husband has just discovered them, and isnt embarrassed at all, in fact he is more sympathetic towards ladies who need panty liners/pads etc.

We used to call having our period 'handbag week' amongst my group of friends, because whatever you were doing, you always took your handbag to the loo with you.

ladyinspain?...... Just don't tick the box for that particular item if you don't want it. I just tick box for required medication....

Quite agree and why do they always seem to be on at lunch time? I know perhaps we shouldn't have the tv on whilst eating but I do like to watch Loose Women with my lunch. Not so keen on the ads for bodily function apparatus though.

When I buy mini towels (just in case) I've never really given much thought as to where they go in my shopping bag but I guess I wouldn't put them on top.
When I worked in an office one of the ladies would shove a sanitary towel surreptitiously up her cardigan sleeve and then go to the loo with her arm at a slightly strange angle for fear it would slip out. It's silly really to feel ashamed about them but that was our generation.

My mother was embarrassed about hanging knickers on the line to dry because our yard was visible from the street and from our neighbours' houses. She would hang them with 1 peg and close to the back door. Me, I open mine out with 2 pegs and usually have about a dozen or more flapping in the breeze. It might be the only thrill my elderly neighbours get these days.

My friend gloomily refers to her knickers as a 'Three peg job', which made me laugh.

I remember being in the supermarket with my 2 late teenage daughters and realising we had a trolley full of tampons, wine and chocolate!

It is a balance between making normal bodily functions (or breakdowns!) seem something to be ashamed of and not flaunting items that may worry other people.

I think being more open is a far healthier approach and never worries ( and neither do DDs ) about packs of tampons/towels being on show in the family bathroom. I was always OK to have the packets in the trolley/basket. I am not embarrassed or ashamed of needing any items to keep me healthy or hygienic but I wouldn't use them as alternative Christmas decs or wave them about just to make a point either!

late-teenage .. sorry did not mean to make it sound as if they had died..

mawbroon we had to ask for toilet paper at primary school and state how we needed! ? Then carry it outside to the toilet.

You could use them as decorations though.
Just for the Christmas period!

MissAdventure

One of my DDs lives in a flat with just the one bathroom for a family of 5. DGD found she had started her period in the loo, and then found that her big brother was in the shower! No panic there - he was lovely to her and I am sure will make a good husband one day.

They were here one day and DGD was a bit miserable and her brother just said "Oh she is having her period" and was caring towards her. Such a healthy approach.

I can't be doing with all this coyness that we were all brought up with.

Acceptance is one thing blatant openness is another i think discretion is far better what was wrong with a bit of feminine mystique? those tena ads are stupid that woman in the carnival flaffing about in a tiny costume yes right if you were that worried about wetting yourself and therefore having to wear a pad and yes i have used them as i have a bladder issue you would hardly be wearing such a tiny little costume at least keep the ads real if you have to show them

daisyboots where do you live?

Oh please! Sanitary towels, tampons, Tena pads, farting - yes it happens, and I have to accompany my husband to the loo because he can't cope on his own and I also choose his menu carefully because he has difficulty swallowing, but we have our dignity!

I think the application of makeup is a private matter too (wouldn't be seen out 'undressed').

I don't need tampons or pads now and fortunately haven't reached the Tena stage, though I did need panty liners not long ago after an infection. Looking back I have never felt embarrassment about buying them or been careful about who sees them. As for toilet rolls I cannot see what the problem is ... I normally buy 9 packs so you can hardly miss them.

Surely all these things are a normal part of life (and shopping). As for farting - children (and a lot of men) always find it funny, but again it is natural and often involuntary. I once had an aerobics teacher who would say, 'Well that's better out than in!' when there was the inevitable fart. It made us all laugh including the farter. There was never any embarrassment.

Poppyred Yes, Tennamen advert on TV, I’ve seen it a couple of times in the last week or so. I still can’t bring myself to go into a shop to buy Tennaladies, just in case, wish I could, It’s the age we’ve been brought up in. I still get embarrassed with the sanitary wear ads on TV, so does my DH,

Oldbatty, your post was hilarious.

I also grew up with the 'keep them hidden and don't talk about it' approach, but I admire the more relaxed approach of the younger generation. I never felt able to mention anything period-related (or remotely sexual) to my mother, and still don't - even though, nowadays, I am happy to have such chats with my DiLs.

I remember a conversation back in the early eighties with a couple of friends: the considerably older husband said that he was perfectly happy to go to the shop and buy sanitary towels for his wife, as it was quite obvious that they were not for him. Calling in at the wool shop to collect some wool for her, however, was a total no-no