• Doctors are working on a new drug for women who suffer painful menstrual cramps, also called dysmenorrhea. The drug is named VA111913, manufactured by a British company, and it’s being tested on 128 women who say awful cramps interfere with their daily lives. [NY Daily News]
• A woman who was raped 24 years ago, before the advent of DNA testing, is fighting a backlog on “rape kits,” in which DNA information is collected to identify the attacker. Lavinia Masters’ rape kit was finally opened in 2005, two full decades after her assault occurred, and the DNA in it matched up with a man who was already serving time in prison for other rapes. [CNN]
• An Arizona mother of three will give birth to her fourth child 300 miles away at a hospital in Phoenix. Why? The closest hospital to her home refuses to assist with a vaginal birth after a woman has had a C-section (called a VBAC). [CNN]

I got my first period in the sixth grade. When my mom took me to the grocery store to buy pads, I remember glaring at every man that crossed our path, thinking, “You don’t know what it’s like to be controlled by your body! You’re walking around all nonchalant in your Dockers, not a care in the world.” I was immediately and irrevocably pissed off that I had to bleed out of my vagina once a month for most of the rest of my life. But I also felt solidarity, holding my mom’s hand and browsing the maxi pads. I guess that’s why I’m not surprised that the Guardian ran a story this week about women who’ve started a new breed of feminism called “menstrual activism.” Menstrual activist activities range from crafty to political to comedic to environmental. Since a woman uses about 11,400 tampons in her life, lots of menstrual activism involves championing products that aren’t treated with bleach or pesticides, and that can be reused. But you aren’t so interested in that—you want to hear about women dressing up as tampons and wearing period blood lipstick, right? Oh, OK.

Hey, kids! Periods are fun! Now you and Pokémon, your favorite anime friend, can play together during your week of womanly splendor. Bringing some fun to where the sun don’t shine, this little fella will replace your ordinary Always pads with magical powers. Better yet, it’s eco-friendly! Chuck it in the wash, and Pokémon comes out like new! [Geekologie.com]

The highlight performance from last night’s MTV Video Music Awards—for me anyway—was the divine Lady Gaga‘s “Phantom of the Opera”-esque rendition of “Paparazzi.” In the music video for the song, she gets shot up by the paps, but in her live performance, she looked like she had a massive brawl with Aunt Flo. First Tyra, now Lady Gaga. Is flaunting your period the next big thing?

Last year, Britney Spears totally embarrassed herself by acting erratic at an OK! Magazine photo shoot. She wiped her grease covered hands on a several thousand dollar dress. Her dog crapped on the floor, and Brit Brit used another dress to clean it up. Not to mention she once showed the world her period panties. Although Britney has cleaned up her act, she still doesn’t know what’s appropriate at a photo shoot. A spy for the New York Post, says the pop tart’s recent Elle shoot was a total disaster because she forgot about her period. Yes, Britney apparently ruined beautiful couture clothes with her menstrual blood. [NYPost.com]

I don’t know how this could happen to any adult woman. You don’t just forget about your period. There are several tell-tale signs, besides a bloody stain—sore breasts, cramping, irritable mood, or the fact that it comes every month, unless you’re pregnant or have some biological issue. 

Check out this awesome, controversial Australian ad for Kotex U, in which a woman takes her pet beaver to the beach. (Her beaver! Get it?) The product website bills itself as a “place that takes the ‘oo’ out of the vagina taboo,” and reports 94 percent of Australian women have a nickname for their cooters. Watch the lady and her beaver hang out, see what happens when a beaver has to decide between period panties and a thong, and find out how many people it takes to turn a beaver into a girl’s best friend. [AdAge]

I took a lot of women’s studies classes in college and even spelled women as “womyn” for a while, but I’ve never quite understood menstrual art. I have a lil’ soft spot for all the artists on this list, but it was loads of humorous fun pulling the lyrics for our Top Five Menstrual Songs:

5. “Cause my swag is serious/Something heavy like a first-day period.”—Janet Jackson, “Feedback”, Discipline
I’m confused. Janet’s periods are heavy on the first day? That sucks.

“I’ve heard about the various birth control pills that you can take to go without your period for a few months and longer. Are they really safe and recommended?”—Banning Aunt Flo, via email

Have you seen that SNL skit (clip after the jump!), where the women are going ape sh*t because they haven’t had their period in months? I have, and I have to say it scared that crap out of me.

Some really successful female athletes rarely or never get their periods. We would say this is unfair, except we’re not really into working that hard, physically. These athletes’ loss of periods was traditionally thought to be the cause of ridiculous training sessions and strict diets (and many still believe this to be true), but now some researchers think polycystic ovary syndrome may be the cause. Magnus Hagmar, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute, found that polycystic ovaries were much more common in athletes training for the Olympics compared with the average woman. Not only that, but this syndrome causes an increase in testosterone, which can result in a competitive advantage by helping women build muscle mass and absorb oxygen more easily—but they also might have excess body hair and acne. Ah, the price of gold. [BBC]

I’m just gonna say it. I love the Kardashian sisters. They really know about family values. Here they are instructing their littlest sister, Kendall, about periods! I don’t know about you, but even I learned something, and I’ve had my period since I was 12. [E!: Keeping Up With The Kardashian’s]

Seasonique, the birth control pill that makes women menstruate only four times a year, is being marketed to men. Ads have appeared in laddie magazine Maxim, which is known for its frat-bro attitude and bikini clad spreads, and Spike TV, the channel dedicated to a Late Night Strip Poll. Apparently, the execs marketing Seasonique think guys who like those brands are getting laid, but they’re trying to stop them from spawning.  Those men—who are seemingly fascinated by a poop that can kill—are surprisingly grossed out by Aunt Flo coming to stay five days out of the month. Maybe that’s why Seasonique is hoping to get these men to talk to the women in their lives about using their form of birth control. Although the dudes may think they’re in some great hush-hush scheme to banish Aunt Flo, the joke is on them since the same ads are also running on Lifetime. Ha!  Ain’t nothing gonna cramp a ladies’ ability to choose her own birth control. Period! [Marie Claire]

Margaret Cho has a bleeding heart for Britney, and her vagina’s got something to say about it too. The comedienne lashes out at the paparazzi for taking a cheap shot of Britney flashing some period stained undies. To make matters better for the pop tart…or worse if you’ve got a Y chromosome, Cho goes on to describe her raging “Aunt Flow” for two paragraphs. She then serves up a tip like she’s the Martha Stewart of menses, suggesting saliva will remove the bloodstains. Gross, yet helpful. There, there Britney, now do you feel better? Maybe we should just look on the bright side—at least Britney’s finally wearing panties. [The Huffington Post]