Menstruators: The “In Crowd”

This week the FDA approved Lybrel, contraception designed so you don’t get a monthly period. Some of the reactions to the pill have been really revealing as to just how little many women know about how hormonal contraception works. As Ema writes, “Imagine the women’s surprise when they find out (hopefully) that, since the 1960s, every single Pill brand allows them to avoid their monthly menstrual period indefinitely.” She also links to this gem from ABC News:

It’s unclear whether women will embrace this new pill, which contains the same formulations of estrogen and progestin used for birth control pills for decades, but its arrival marks yet another step toward the blurring of the genders.

Panic in the streets! How will women know they’re women if they don’t have to ride the cotton pony once a month? You’ve got to be kidding me.
And speaking of condescension, (via Ann Bartow) in a post that should be titled, “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Eugene,” Eugene Volokh seeks to understand the mysteries of biological womanhood by requesting “input from people who have actually menstruated”:

When you menstruate, do you feel that you’re part of the “in crowd”? If you chose to stop — not because of menopause, which is a marker of age and of lost fertility, but voluntarily and reversibly — would you feel “out”? Do you smile and talk to your friends about the cramps, the mood swings, and the like? Do you feel you derive meaning from the fact that you share menstruation as an experience with other women? Would you feel meaning subtracted if you stopped menstruating, because menstruation is so “central” a “female experience”? Do you find menstruation to be similar to pregnancy in any emotionally positive way?

Actually, when I menstruate I feel like a small animal with very large claws is trying to escape from my lower abdomen. Of course, this causes a huge smile to spread across my face, and I call my girlfriends up to chat with them about my cycle. For the rest of the week, I feel annoyed and mildly inconvenienced. I am, however, always happy to see I’m not pregnant. That pretty much sums it up!
Eric, commenting at Ann’s place, has another set of questions:

… When you have a nocturnal emission, do you feel that you’re part of the “in crowd�? If you chose to stop — not because of impotence, which is a marker of age and of lost fertility, but voluntarily and reversibly — would you feel “out�? Do you smile and talk to your friends about stained sheets, and the like? Do you feel you derive meaning from the fact that you share nocturnal emission as an experience with other men? Would you feel meaning subtracted if you stopped having nocturnal emissions, because nocturnal emission is so “central� a “male experience�? Do you find nocturnal emission to be similar to intercourse in any emotionally positive way?

But in all seriousness, while I do find some of Volokh’s questions patronizing, this type of post is better than the alternative — decrying the loss of femininity because some ladies like to take a pill that makes them stop having periods. It seems the gist of it is, “What does having a period mean to you?” (Which, again, we largely hashed out in the threads to previous menstruation posts.) Me? I’m happy for any woman who loves getting her period and wants to continue to do so. But I get pissed off when it’s implied that I’m self-hating or somehow out of touch with my body and my gender because I don’t like the monthly visit from Cap’n Bloodsnatch.
Lybrel will be available in July. Or you can just stick with your current hormonal contraception method and skip your periods. But I beg you to be prepared: This will probably throw your gender identity spiraling into question.
Finally, I’m wondering how tampon companies are responding to this news? As it becomes easier and more acceptable to skip your periods out of choice rather than for health reasons, seems to me that tampon and pad sales are going to take a nosedive. But I haven’t seen any quotes from tampon execs in the news.