I'M The Bearded Lady! Who Are You, One Of The FREAKS?!

[bloodyrosemccoy]

In other news, I just swallowed one of the birth control pills I’ve been on since age 14. It’s called polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormone condition that messes with my metabolism and blood sugar, makes my body hair into goddamn kudzu,* causes periods that look like Steve Buscemi at the end of Fargo, and—believe it or not—gives me lots of cysts on my ovaries.

So, my fine politicians, quite apart from how my sex life is none of your damn business, I need that god damn Pill. I would rather not have something I depend on for health purposes become the latest iteration of your pissing contest, thanks.


*In the right light, I appear to have a pencil-thin mustache. Sexy!

Comments

[anagramofbrat.livejournal.com]

causes periods that look like Steve Buscemi at the end of Fargo

I may have ugly yell laughed at this, while snarfing coffee out my nose. Multitalented am I.

Course my next thought is "Steve Buscemi? In MY vagina? it's more likely than you think..."

[willowistari.livejournal.com]

"Ugly yell laugh" has got to be the best description of it I've ever read. :D

Anyway agreed. I also need BC for reasons totally unrelated to Not Getting Pregnant, so having it available is a concern.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

I'm sure Steve himself would VASTLY appreciate the analogy.

[chaosvizier.livejournal.com]

+1, Spaceballs.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

:D

[sofish-sasha.livejournal.com]

Yet another reason why there needs to be more women in the top echelons of politics. They'd be more likely to know that the pill isn't just for birth control, right?




Right?

[marsdejahthoris.livejournal.com]

Pain in the ass, isn't it? I'm 34, and I think my cycle has FINALLY settled out where I don't need the pill anymore... I may have PCOS, if I do it's very mild because I have all the symptoms, but very lightly. I'm off the pill right now because everything's at "mild inconvenience" but damn if I'm letting anybody else go through that shitstorm I had to in my 20s.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Argh, yes. The two-week menstruations were a blast.

I went off the thing once in high school just to see how much of a difference it made. I am a little fuzzy on the details, but I think seven people died before they could get my hormones balanced again.

[piccolo-pirate.livejournal.com]

Yes. Thank you. Goddamn.

I have plain old, run-of-the-mill dysmenorrhea, and by "plain" and "old" and "run-of-the-mill" I mean fucking painful and bloody and debilitating. Guess what helps? Oh, right, those tiny pills I may or may not be allowed to have covered by my health insurance based on whether a bunch of white men in Congress are having a bad day.

Even when this stuff gets mentioned in news articles about the Pill, it's always a side note, like "oh, a few women somewhere out there have endometriosis or PCOS and take birth control for not-purely-contraceptive reasons" - implication: "but that's rare and totally unrelated to this issue". There are a fucking lot of us using the Pill for medical reasons!

(And I don't even need contraception! Dating ladies has its perks, yo.)

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

Yeah, like "It MAY have some other uses!" Thanks, articles, those other uses are what I need it for!

I don't need it for contraception, either, but I usually leave that out of the argument. I'm a naturally occurring celibate, but I don't want anyone to get the idea that I agree with the anti-sex subtext of their arguments. I just want 'em to realize that their dumb crusade has collateral damage.

[piccolo-pirate.livejournal.com]

Right - it doesn't matter whether you need them for contraception or not, they have actual medical uses - required by a good number of real! live! people! - in addition to contraception, and for fuck's sake, contraception is a perfectly valid use of them too (and if you believe it's not, good sir congressman, then you're welcome to not use them; that works for everyone!).

[tears-of-nienna.livejournal.com]

Shit, you don't even have to be in good lighting to see my sexy lady beard, unless I am vigilant with the depilatories. Apparently it's totally cool for old men at the library to point it out, also!

Er, that is: PCOS sucks and birth control is AWESOME for making it suck less, and crazy male politicians can pry it from my cold dead hands.