Free-bleeding is now a trend among Gen Z: Alleged benefits of ditching pads, tampons and precautions females might want to consider as the trend takes off on social media.
Ladies, are you ready to throw away your tampons and pads?
A report has told of an increasing number of Gen Z females ditching using tampons and other traditional sanitary products during their monthly menstruation. The trend is led to some women insisting that their cycle is lighter and short lived while others claiming the experience giving them ‘orgasms.’
The trend, known as ‘free bleeding’, literally involves not wear anything to absorb the blood when you a female is menstruating.
A questioning of honoring one’s own body?
To be even clearer, it is about not using anything to block your period flow, newscom.au reported.
The trend has become a popular topic of conversation on TikTok, with the social media platform seeing an abundance of young women sharing their ‘liberating’ experiences and why many of them will never go back to traditional sanitary products – despite admitting that the practise can get ‘messy’.
In one TikTok post, Charlee explains that she’d started free bleeding and, while she said she knew it was an ‘insane’ choice, she added that it was ‘healthy’ and she saved money by doing it.
Not surprisingly, not all commentators took well to ‘free bleeding.’
‘So you are just staining all your clothes?’ someone asked.
TikTok user Annette talked through her process of free bleeding and said that when she is on her period, she doesn’t leave the house because she wants to honor her body.
@sacralsecret Reply to @champsplease ♬ original sound – Annette
But is free-bleeding hygienic?
‘I stay home when I’m on my period. I stay home and I bleed,’ she said on TikTok.
She added that if she did have to go out, she’d use period underwear but when she stays at home she wanders around the house using a towel.
She said that free bleeding just ‘hits different’ along with claiming the experience made periods ‘orgasmic.’
Who knew? Certainly not this 50 plus year old male author.
Posing the question of whether free-bleeding is hygienic, Melanie Bone, MD, an ob-gyn and gynecologist specializing i period care, responds – ‘it depends.’
‘Maintaining proper personal cleanliness, using appropriate protective layers, and changing them regularly can minimize the risk of bacterial growth or odours,’ she explains. ‘However, it’s essential to recognise that everyone’s comfort levels and preferences are different, and what works for one person might not be suitable for another.’
That said, Bone acknowledges the potential for vaginal odour or the spread of bacteria if proper hygiene is not maintained, during ‘free-bleeding’. Bone suggests proponents to shower regularly and thoroughly clean all clothing to prioritise cleanliness and prevent bacteria, infection, and irritation.
Free bleeding benefits
Free bleeding has ‘become such a thing,’ that some women are now claiming that free bleeding has led to changes in their cycles amid alleged benefits.
Some content creators claim ‘transitioning’ to free-bleeding has led to periods being ‘lighter than ever.’
Others shared going from having a heavy period across five days to only bleeding for ‘two days‘ after ditching tampons.
A fellow free bleeder described the experience as “life-changing” and said they now only “bleed for one day” and then just experienced light spotting during their cycle.
But before you ladies start free bleeding and turning up to work with red splotches running down your leg (however faint or inconvenient – no thanks) — not everyone is convinced of the alleged benefits of free bleeding.
Dr. Amy Carmichael who bills herself as a ‘Functional/ Lifestyle Medical Doctor, Speaker, Podcaster,’ said that while it was ‘intriguing’ to hear that some individuals have reported perceiving their periods as lighter when practicing free bleeding, there wasn’t enough evidence to back the claims up.
‘Currently, there is no scientific research available to substantiate the claim that free bleeding leads to lighter periods,’ the medic states.
However, she adds that tampons are sometimes known to cause extra pain when you are on your period.
‘It is essential to acknowledge that using internal menstrual products like tampons can potentially contribute to menstrual cramps, as they are foreign objects within the body,’ she advised.
@theamazingmara Reply to @abbeygottardi more on free 🩸ing #freebleeding#freebleed#period#naturallife#naturalmom#periodproblems#questions#reusableperiodproducts#crunchymom#crunchylife#natural#normalizeperiods#normalizeperiodtalk#momtok#crunchytok#momlife#fyp#askmeanything ♬ Play Date – Melanie Martinez
So is free-bleeding here to stay?
While there’s no research to confirm there’s any extra benefit in free bleeding, Dr. Carmichael doesn’t dispel the practise as a bad idea.
Dr. Carmichael stressed that free bleeding is not ‘unhealthy’ and that it simply depends on people’s ‘personal preference.’
Never-mind the preferences of passerbys and co-workers (never-mind bewildered middle aged men) who may have to absorb the trend for those of you brave enough to free-bleed in public.
‘It’s essential to respect individual choices regarding menstrual hygiene practices,’ the medic said.
Dr. Carmichael also maintains that free bleeding is a ‘positive thing’ because it aids in ‘destigmatize periods.’
Comments the female medic: ‘It is crucial to promote open discussions about menstrual flow in the workplace and within the family and encourage a culture of self-care during menstruation.
This perspective is underpinned by scientific evidence showing that hormonal changes during menstruation can heighten certain sensitivities, and by fostering an environment that respects and supports women during this time, we contribute to reducing the stigma surrounding periods.’
Perhaps it’s never really been about stigma, but just the awkward situation of human beings contending with nature and biology and one’s own private sanitation, now hoisted to the public realm…
