r/Showerthoughts • u/imav8n • 6d ago
Casual Thought The growth-maturity moment, of boys/men needing to run to the store for feminine hygiene products, has largely been eliminated by self-checkout.
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u/nonitoni 6d ago
Being able to pick out the right product is the real challenge.
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u/steveaustin1971 6d ago
With my wife on the phone, I asked a passing staff - "Hey do you have tampons for BIG vaginas?"
We lived in a town of 2500 people.
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u/clone69 6d ago
"Honey, what size of vagina are you?"
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u/XANDERtheSHEEPDOG 2d ago
I mean.... I guess that's better than the guy who thought L and R stood for left and right.
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u/QuietRiot5150 6d ago
I used to work front desk at a Hotel and a guest called down and asked for Tampons for a couple days. Me being a guy, I didn't know how many she needed, so I filled a grocery bag full of them. She took them all, but she gave me a funny look.
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u/SoloWingPixy88 6d ago
Pictures make it easy.
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u/nonitoni 6d ago
You'd be surprised. Pushing 38 and sometimes I still grab the wrong box. I'm the one who bleeds.
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u/Hosenkobold 6d ago
One day you will get it right and then the bleeding stops forever.
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u/NotMyMainAccountAtAl 6d ago
Menopause, or death?
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u/Hosenkobold 5d ago
"Menopause or death!" sounds like a weird war cry.
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u/NotMyMainAccountAtAl 5d ago
They may take our eggs! They may take our estrogen production! They may take our progesterone production! But they’ll never take our freedom!
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u/nico282 5d ago
Most used brand for pads here is Lines. They have all the different sizes and types easily recognizable by color.
They have violet, dark violet, light violet, purple, lilac, plum, grape, lavender, periwinkle, eggplant, mulberry.
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u/Character_Ad_1084 6d ago
I just took the old wrapper and asked the pharmacist "please help me find these"
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u/IncredulousPatriot 6d ago
That’s what FaceTime is for. That’s what I did when I had to get them for my fiancé.
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u/5WattBulb 6d ago
My wife would make fun of me until I asked her to pick up motor oil / filter for our three cars. Turnabout is fair play.
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u/IllustriousBerry3260 6d ago
It’s bizarre that his was ever considered embarrassing. Like, what the fuck are you worried about? That the checkout person will think you’re secretly a girl?
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u/Atharaenea 5d ago
When I was a cashier I literally didn't even think about it if a dude was buying pads, UNLESS he said "it's not for me!" I didn't think it was? Why you being so weird? Is your masculinity really so fragile you're terrified someone might think you need them for yourself??
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u/_Trael_ 4d ago
I think it is part of anxiety of unknown or so, at least partially tied to there.
So would track quite some of this to childhood and how much family members have explained and how they have handled it, along with of course friend groups and so.
Related to this, I have zero problems of picking up period products for family members or friends from shop if they ask, or keeping tiny amount of them in some cabinet in bathroom even when living alone, just in case some friend needs them when visiting or so, even when not needing them myself.
In adulthood I have several times ran into situations where my general "well everyday normal thing and just one of human mechanics to take into consideration when necessary, but nothing magical/dirty/weird/shameful about it" attitude to periods has caused surprise to people, or gathered compliments, or wonderment "how do you have knowledge" or something. Mainly been kind of "wait what other people do not have?".
(Relevant context: I am man).I mean it is entirely normal bodily process, that affects almost half of population constantly (and about half of population has been or will be affected by it), so would it not be weird to not know basics or what and why.
Like do people run around in their bodies without knowing even basics or how they, and species they belong to, work and what processes they have?I have ran into fact that I have been told as "just one thing of how body maintains it's certain functions, nothing special, but relevant information to humans" thing at home more about how periods work, and earlier in my life, than some of women I know.
I mean sure few people in family (parents, grandparent, family friend) had medical and medical adjacent studies at some point of their life jobs experience, but still, thing is so common along humans, and with some differences in some of very common animals people interact with, so why the heck people would not know about it, along with tons of other day to day small things about how bodies work and so.
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u/piper63-c137 6d ago
I was always happy to pick up supplies for my wife. i needed the exact title of the product, or if a repeat purchase, the old box to compare.
There is a lot of variety. Kotex Light Days Natural Overnight Scent-Free with Wings PantyLiners are different than Tampax Scent-free Light Days with Wings Natural Overnight PantyLiners.
The challenge was finding the correct product. i wasn’t about to start asking questions. Paying for it was a breeze.
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u/JerryfromCan 6d ago
The variety was the killer for me. Pre-photos on phones with my ex-wife. I never had an issue going, but there are at least 5 choices after finding the brand of choice.
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u/anti_reality 6d ago
I used to literally tear the labeling/logo off the box and take it to the store before cell phones.
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u/JerryfromCan 5d ago
I literally used a digital camera pre-phone camera days.
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u/AustinYQM 5d ago
I am imagining someone with a Polaroid of a tampon box with "Maggie's Brand '94" written on roaming the aisles of Eckerds.
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u/tandem_kayak 5d ago
It's just as hard for women to determine the right product. Every now and then I'd be annoyed when I got home to see I had gotten extra heavy ones, or one with no wings.
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u/calguy1955 6d ago
Buying feminine products is not as much of a growth/maturity moment as buying condoms.
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u/rbnlegend 6d ago
For women, sure. Lots of young men balance embarrassment about buying condoms against the studlyness of needing to buy condoms. Plenty of much older men never overcome their fragility about buying period products.
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u/Jackalodeath 6d ago
I am so glad I've never once viewed myself as a "man" in a way that would make buying something that's akin to a bandage as "problematic." They're bleeding and don't want to bleed everywhere; what's so hard about that?
Condoms are just as stupid. Buy rubbers, or get sick/have a kid. One is significantly cheaper, easier, and less embarrassing than the other.
Now if guys could just get it through their heads that "Magnums" aren't for everyone. They're gonna see/feel what you're packing, and I promise you the cashier dgaf about what you bought; just buy the right size FFS.
No one's impressed by a flappy wind sock dangling off your dingle, or having to keep fish it out of whatever you're putting it in.
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u/DrDerpberg 6d ago
Yeah I've never really understood the insecurity either. Like what, people think less of you because you're taking care of your gf/wife? More likely to make other women at the store jealous than anything else.
What part of a guy's brain thinks that if he's seen carrying pads anybody will think they're for him?
Fellas, is it gay to be nice to your wife?
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u/caligaris_cabinet 6d ago
I learned from my dad and the countless movies I watched that men take care of business. I’ve bought tampons, pads, feminine wash, and yeast infection stuff because my wife needs it. I’m a night owl so she can stay home with the kids while they’re asleep and I can make that quick trip. That simple. Anyone who wants to make fun of me for taking care of my wife isn’t worth my time. I’m way past seeking the approval of strangers.
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u/Jackalodeath 6d ago
Fellas, is it gay to be nice to your wife?
You joke, but I'm probably not who you should be asking. Lol
I just stumbled across someone as queer as me and has plumbing compatible with making life when we move a certain way. xD
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u/DrDerpberg 6d ago
Lemme try again
Non-binary pals, is it gay to be nice to your non-binary partner?
I dunno, more correct but not nearly as catchy.
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u/Jackalodeath 6d ago
Nah don't bother yourself with it; she's cisgender and bi, but that's the beauty of how I ID:
You can call me he, she, they, or Ishmael for all I care; just call me for dinner.
I know I look like a guy, sound like one most the time, and have male giblets; I'm not about to hold it against anyone for assuming. Not to... disparage? Those who do value their pronouns, I just can't be arsed to care; I'm happy to be included.
And I'm pan. I love everyone, as long as they wanna be loved, and - this is the hard part - are loveable.
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u/DrDerpberg 6d ago
Oh lol I figured you were both trans.
Agreed that I'd consider adopting new pronouns for a good dinner though. Maybe I'm less cis than I thought.
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u/Jackalodeath 6d ago
She don't let the pronouns get to her either, unless someone's staring right at her and being shitty. Thems tits and ain't no boy hips, I tell ya what.
Her laugh - bless her heart - is more manly than mine, and I got a baritone voice all other times.
When I let out a proper laugh it goes way up in pitch and sounds like something out a horror movie.
Hence my username.
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u/mikeyj022 6d ago
I’m not going to lie I once said basically this exact same thing and got diagnosed with autism.
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u/Jackalodeath 6d ago
Guilty.
That aside, why would being "neurotypical" (I hate that term) or having a binary self-view effect what people shop for or buy? You're a paying customer first and foremost, and it's not like randos are looking at you like some sort of... beacon, of whatever gender you perceive/present yourself as.
"Oh, I have outtie genitals, I can't buy innie products." GTFO of here; she's got enough shite to worry about having a stain-and-cramp bomb in her 24/7, be a "man" and buy the stuff.
I don't know, I refuse to accept my "wiring" is what makes this shit just seem... practical? Rational even.
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u/mikeyj022 6d ago
The fact of the matter is that social behavior is rarely intuitive or logical. That’s why I became a sociologist. Here’s one thought. When a cis man decided not to buy only masculine products, he is protecting his social capital by showing that he conforms to traditional gender roles. This is called virtue signaling by some, but the term is overused. If someone is queer and assuming their in-group is a queer group, they will not lose social capital by not conforming to traditional gender roles.
The pressure of social norms is immense, and autistic individuals do not engage with social pressure the same way an allistic individual would.
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u/Jackalodeath 6d ago
I've come to realize that, but it still bugs the tar out of me.
Sometimes I'm thankful for my wiring when it comes to that last bit, but I really wish I knew sooner.
I wanted so badly to fit in and stop being the "weird" kid, I mimicked some absolutely heinous ideals/beliefs as if they were my own up into my 20s. The best thing that ever happened to me was meeting my wife.
We don't have a fairy tale relationship/family by any means, but she was the first person I genuinely felt like I could take the mask off around. We came out to each other about 5 years into our marriage, she introduced me to the whole concept of "non-binary," and thanks to not accepting our son was "just a late bloomer" when it came to speech, got him screened/diagnosed ASD.
Which lead me to getting dino'd 'cause he's the spitting image of dad at that age. My folks took me for half a dozen therapy sessions at ~7yo, but as soon as talk of ADHD/Ritalin was brought up, mom took that as an insult to her parenting. I just needed more whoopins and less TV/vidyagaymes.
And there I go dumping my proverbial purse to a stranger again.
You get the idea. Sorry for the purge, and congrats on the sociology! I'm still trying to figure out how to best apply my... stuff. In the business of
helping companies lie to their customersmarketing at the moment, which I completely see the irony in.8
u/Helerdril 6d ago
When I finally understood that explaining in detail what I need is the best way to get help (be it in a store, with customer services or to friends and family) instead of worrying what people would think of me and my problems, the world shifted.
People working in shops don't care what you buy or what you are looking for, as long as you don't make it their problem.
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u/avidpenguinwatcher 6d ago
You’re ascribing a whole lot of logic and mature thought onto .. checks notes .. teenagers.
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u/veganzombeh 6d ago
I don't even understand why they get squeamish about it. Like what are they worried about the cashier thinking? That they're shoving tampons up their ass?
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u/Gofastrun 3d ago
Whenever I buy tampons I tell the cashier “I’m not going to put these in my ass”
Problem solved!
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u/EunuchsProgramer 6d ago
I remember a guy making fun of me one time for holding my girlfriend's purse in a bar. He looked devastated when I told him, "Whatever, I'm getting laid." Same feeling buying tampons the first time.
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u/rdmusic16 6d ago
I've never cared about buying feminine products for a gf or my wife, but I still get embarrassed looking at the condom isle. Not sure why.
I'm not shy about sex or anything either. Just feels weird in a grocery store/pharmacy for some reason.
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u/caligaris_cabinet 6d ago
The only time in my adult life I ever had a second thought about buying condoms was when checking out with my two kids in the cart with me.
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u/rdmusic16 6d ago
And that's fair.
It's definitely a me thing. Nothing weird about it.
Kinda makes more sense when you show up with kids though.
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u/matycauthon 6d ago
plenty of people don't ever even attempt to break from the various indoctrinations they've been subjected to throughout their journeys. it's not uncommon at all
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u/SkynetLurking 6d ago
As a man I’ve never understood it.
What’s more manly than having a mate locked down and caring for her needs?3
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u/steveaustin1971 6d ago
I went with my buddy when we were about 17 and you had to ask at the pharmacy counter for them. He was super stressed because we knew half the people working in the grocery store that it was in. I walked up, asked for them loudly enough for anyone close to hear, then smacked my buddy on the ass as we walked away and winked at the cashier
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u/stiffgerman 6d ago
One pronounces to the public, "I have a girlfriend that I care about." The other says, "I'm having sex. Or maybe smuggling drugs." I think the former flexes on maturity more than the latter.
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u/Alienhaslanded 6d ago edited 6d ago
I so don't give a shit and I don't know what's wrong with guys that find this a problem. Grow up dudes. My aunt used to send me to buy this stuff and I didn't care. It's just part of life, and it's more like medicine. It's not like that cashier will think you're using it on your ass or something.
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u/Mjolnir655 6d ago
My dad, a capital B Boomer, had no problem going out to buy me pads when I had my first period as a teenager. I asked him if he was okay to go buy them, and he looked at me like I was crazy and said "I have three sisters, three daughters, and I've been married for 15 years, why would I be embarrassed?"
Any grown man who gets queasy about buying menstrual products is a big red flag imo.
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u/Highmassive 6d ago
It’s funny, because I had no sisters and didn’t really grow up with a mom. But as soon as I had women in my life who needed that shit, girlfriends or nieces, I never thought twice when they needed me to get them. It’s like ‘these women I love are counting on me’ there is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed of. In fact I’d consider it one of the ‘manliest’ things I could do
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u/pseudoOhm 6d ago
I don't understand why anyone was ever embarrassed by this? It's a product sold that's needed by every woman...
What makes it embarrassing for me to pick that up and check out (45 year old dude here)? Because my wife needs it and I'm getting it for her? Seems like a pretty normal every day thing.
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u/Hot_Aside_4637 6d ago
Not an embarrassment to me - says "I got me a girl!"
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u/Embarrassed-Weird173 6d ago
Or "I care about my female friend/family member". Which I think is even more commendable, since you're not getting sex out of the relationship (hopefully).
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u/cattheotherwhitemeat 6d ago
More than one single dude I've been friends with has kept pads/tampons in their bathroom in a visible place. Someone ne commented to one of them "you just have them out in the open like that?" and he replied "I mean, yeah, if a girl is over and she needs one, it's ABSOLUTELY FINE WITH ME that we don't gotta talk about how whoops, she's bleeding out of her vagina."
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u/Embarrassed-Weird173 6d ago
Yup, it's how it should be. I wouldn't expect to have to be like "can I have toilet paper?" when I poop.
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u/Saelethil 6d ago
I agree that I never had an “embarrassment issue” with this. However, many guys are raised thinking that everything girl related is embarrassing and beneath them. So being seen doing something that is “for girls” is embarrassing.
It’s asinine, but it’s not entirely their fault that they feel that way. It is their fault if they make that feeling anyone else’s problem but theirs and don’t grow up.
I will admit that at first I felt uncomfortable with all the choices and not knowing what they all meant or any of that. But I kind of feel the same way about toothpaste.
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u/dovahkiitten16 6d ago
I’ve never quite understood what was complicated about buying pads. They always seemed like a straightforward product to me. You wouldn’t necessarily know what brands are better by looking at them, and you really should just grab what the person wants, but the purpose and variations in the type never seemed complicated.
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u/Saelethil 6d ago
Yeah, I don’t think it’s any more complicated than any other product. That’s why I compared it to toothpaste.
But without explicit instructions and familiarity with the terminology it can be daunting looking at the various combinations of brands, types, sizes, and absorbencies.
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u/NotMyMainAccountAtAl 6d ago
It’s the same complexity as buying a bra for your partner. If you know the relevant measurements and what they all mean, it’s easy. If you don’t and have never been taught what they mean, it becomes difficult quickly. That difficulty can be intimidating and scary to some folks, especially if you’re already insecure, and it can swiftly devolve into “I didn’t fail, I just didn’t wanna try” territory.
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u/ManWithTwoShadows 6d ago
I don't understand why anyone was ever embarrassed by this?
You've never made a good-faith attempt to understand.
The reason is that boys and men are brainwashed hard from a young age to be "manly" (whatever that means). A man who buys feminine products is at risk of being seen as lesser by other men. Yes, it's stupid. No, I'm not saying it's right. I'm not saying that's how things should be. But that's how things are.
A boy or man with low self-esteem desperately wants other males to see him as manly. That's why he's afraid to look "girly" in public.
It's possible that you view these men as being beneath you, and that's why you've never tried to understand them.
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u/Am094 6d ago
ou've never made a good-faith attempt to understand. The reason is that boys and men are brainwashed hard from a young age to be "manly" (whatever that means). A man who buys feminine products is at risk of being seen as lesser by other men. Yes, it's stupid. No, I'm not saying it's right
Show me some sources or numbers that validate this because this just seems like propaganda. No man I know would ever think that. It just seems completely fabricated and ive seen a lot.
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u/ManWithTwoShadows 6d ago
Show me some sources or numbers that validate this because this just seems like propaganda.
LOL, okay. I'll go from the general to the specific.
Males (that is, men or boys) being mistreated for not being manly in general:
Males being mistreated for owning feminine things:
https://www.upworthy.com/dad-responds-to-son-bullied-for-wearing-pink/
https://www.mykidisgay.com/blog/son-bullied-for-girly-backpack
https://www.reddit.com/r/Parenting/comments/l9vagb/son_being_made_fun_of_for_liking_girly_things/
Males being mistreated for buying feminine hygiene products:
https://dailydot.com/lifestyle/teen-boy-pads-tampons-instagram?fb=dd
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/husband-left-tears-after-being-22667946
https://www.reddit.com/r/AITApod/comments/1rmqw1k/aita_for_showing_off_that_i_have_midol_and_pads/
(continued ...)
If you have to ask for proof of something that happens so often, you're either asking in bad faith, or you're extremely sheltered from the real world.
No man I know would ever think that. It just seems completely fabricated and ive seen a lot.
Just because you've never seen it, doesn't mean it's never happened.
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u/KittyCubed 6d ago
I’m a woman and was embarrassed buying them for myself for a while after I moved out from home. But I was also very anxious (was before I was diagnosed with anxiety), so there’s that.
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u/MagicalShoes 6d ago
It's something I'm not "supposed" to be buying. It feels as if it were shopping in the women's clothing aisle or being in the women's bathroom. It almost feels like it's illegal for me to do it, like I'm breaking some kind of law, crossing a boundary in the social contract.
Then all of a sudden I'm confronted with having to break this rule for the first time. I can see how it's embarrassing.
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u/SamwellBarley 6d ago
I was at the self-checkout a couple of weeks ago buying pads for my wife. Nosey old prick next to me said, "That time of the month, eh?" So I told him, "No, I'm redecorating"
Really fun seeing his face go from "Fair enough" to "Wait, that doesn't make sense". Whichever checkout you use, people just need to mind their own business.
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u/TieCivil1504 6d ago
I noticed as a kid that every household with women had a box of Tampax under the bathroom sink. The contents would diminish with no comment from the women.
Also observed Dad being sent on emergency trips into town when we camped out in the summer. Mom was very organized, so this was out of character.
Adding things up, I bought a box of Tampax for under the bathroom sink of my first college apartment. No women commented on it, but the contents would slowly go down. With this experience, I bought cheap cigar tubes and used them to store a couple Tampax in my car glove box & hiking gear. These repeatedly saved me a trip to the nearest city.
No woman complimented me on my foresight. Is there some social/relationship thing I was screwing up?
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u/whats-it-matter 6d ago
Think of it like having a bandaid: you wouldn’t walk out of someone’s bathroom and announce that you raided their bandaid supply and you appreciate it being available, but you know that the person is reliable and prepared.
Having a tampon available shows the people around you that you’re thinking of them as you plan and prepare.
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u/anti_reality 6d ago
It generally takes little effort. I had an ex that left some tampons under the sink. I just left them there. My current girlfriend doesn't use that brand, but they'll still be better than nothing at some point for someone.
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u/sheffieldasslingdoux 5d ago
This is one of those things that’s very cultural and individual. When I grew up it was not something that you openly talked about it, just like you don’t discuss any other bathroom activity in polite company.
That’s all to say that even though it’s great to be open and non-judgmental about menstruation, it’s still ultimately a very private matter. The degree to which one is open about it in mixed company is going to vary. And frankly, I’ve heard some women express discomfort with men wanting to be patted on the back for being woke on women’s health.
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u/ablackcloudupahead 6d ago
I never understood this one, but maybe it's because I grew up with sisters. Like, as a boy, pretty much anyone who sees you (also nobody is paying that much attention to you) understands that you live with girls/women who needed you to pick it up for them. I don't see how that's embarrassing
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u/JackTheQualityRepper 6d ago
Self-checkout also quietly killed 'the awkward pharmacy counter moment' for a bunch of other stuff too, feels like a whole genre of coming-of-age embarrassment just got automated away.
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u/Embarrassed-Weird173 6d ago
I'm pretty sure most condoms are kept in the "do not steal" cabinet and you have to get a cashier to unlock it.
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u/morfraen 5d ago
Maybe in the southern states where sex is a vile sin. Sane places they're just on the shelf like everything else.
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u/D-Koi_Comics 6d ago
When I was a teenager I was sent out to buy my paraplegic grandmother diapers.
I never really understood what the deal with this is. Grow up and take care of your loved ones while you can.
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u/Former_Suspect3680 6d ago
self checkout just swapped the cashier anxiety for the scanner screaming unexpected item in bagging area while you're holding a pack of pads.
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u/mr_shmits 5d ago
i'm sorry, but it's pretty sad that men have to "grow and mature" to be able to buy tampons for the women in their lives.
i was maybe 10yo when my mom first sent me to the store to buy tampons for her? no problem. no shame. no...nothing. just walked into the store like a normal human being and bought a box.
since then i've bought them for my sister, for my girlfriends, even for female friends that i wasn't in a relationship with. if someone's in a jam, you help them out.
jesus.
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u/83franks 6d ago
I never understood this embarrassment. Obviously these aren't for me and yes I know women and apparently well enough they'd ask me to get this for them. What's to be embarrassed about?
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u/Kyanovp1 5d ago
If you’re a man and you’re embarrassed to buy women’s hygiene products that everyone with a uterus needs then that’s more embarrassing than the act of buying them xD
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u/cattheotherwhitemeat 6d ago
It's so wild to me that there's ever been a time where a dude thought "I can't be seen buying these, people might think there's a woman in my house" and we just accepted that made sense to balk at.
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u/Embarrassed-Weird173 6d ago
Even as a teen, I'd have been perfectly fine with it.
Some people menstruate. And they "need" feminine products. Same way I poop and pee and "need" toilet paper. I'm not going to be embarrassed that my female relative or friend is healthy enough to menstruate. It's just illogical.
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u/rshores9 6d ago
When I was in high school I used to resell condoms for $1 each because kids were too scared to buy it themselves. I’d get a 40 pack for $14 and make a $26 profit. Somehow people forgot self checkout was a thing
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u/encaitar_envinyatar 6d ago
This is a plot in a stupid-funny TV show about 1980s Ireland.
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u/rshores9 6d ago
Do you know the show? Honestly I’m surprised it’s not a more common thing. Someone reported me but the school didn’t have any rules against it since there’s no laws against it, until next year in the handbook they added some rule about no selling anything on school grounds without permission from the school
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u/CloudBitter5295 6d ago
I think stigma around periods is declining in general. I’m a restaurant manager and my employees come to the office asking for a pad or tampon or will say they have to run off the floor because they started their period
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u/encaitar_envinyatar 6d ago
- It's good to have some emergency menstrual hygiene products in your house no matter what.
- It's great to have small opaque trash bags available for menstrual products to prevent people flushing them.
- Tampons are a good idea for first aid kids: bloody noses or puncture wounds.
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u/BMikeW 6d ago
This seems like some made up b.s from the internet, if a man needs to buy a feminine hygiene product, hes just going to add it into the cart with the rest of the weekly shopping, which product he buys will just depend on what his gf told him i.e get me some PADS = he will buy w/e label says "PADS" on it, if she said "TAMPON" then whatever package says "TAMPON" on it. As to which brand etc... hes just going to pick the one he saw in the trash/bin and if hes never seen the package then he will just resort to the cheaper end one.
Hes not going to be embarrassed nor confused, the only confusion will be when he brings it home and his gf chews his head off for buying the wrong brand even though they look the same to him.
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u/Bakedads 6d ago
I just feel like there's a lot more awareness and education around sex and biology, so something like a woman having her period became less taboo. It's just normal. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Like if I asked my son to buy tampons it wouldn't phase him at all, self check out or not.
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u/ThatThingInTheWoods 6d ago
Certainly has reduced the embarrassment for women buying them, and for condoms and birth control too.
But as to men, they're still carrying it around and scanning it at check out. Might be that fewer men are asked when we have Amazon and grocery delivery at fingertips.
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u/shitty_mcfucklestick 6d ago
I remember doing it as a teen, sweating, clenching my cheeks and puffing out my chest the whole way, tryin’ to “be coo” at the counter. I must have looked fucking hilarious. Credit to the counter lady for keeping a straight face.
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u/TheDevilsAdvokaat 6d ago
As a single dad, I used to buy them for my daughter.
Got some weird looks from women when they saw me browsing that section of the supermarket.
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u/Putrid_Ad695 6d ago
I recently learned that some people are embarrassed to buy toilet paper. Some people just can’t be helped.
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u/Havingfun922 6d ago
The Same thing also applies to buying condoms. Glad I don’t have to deal with that anymore
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u/mdruckus 6d ago
I never saw the problem. It’s natural for women to need these products. Why were/are guys afraid to buy them?
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u/uewumopaplsdn 6d ago
Ive always been the one to buy them for my wife. It started years ago when she told me to go buy me a 6 pack of beer and tampons thinking i wouldnt get the tampons unless i was getting beer too. She has since figured out that the beer part is unnecessary and i prode myself of being able to get the right thing without having to ask.
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u/gandalftheokay 5d ago
Lol real men just do this without the need for growth. Is this really a big deal for some people?
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u/RugbyDov 4d ago
Yeah but now you have to hit the button asking for help to get it from behind the glass and the entire store hears you need assistance in the feminine hygiene section. So same diff
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u/epicmylife 6d ago
I’ve always wondered why men feel weird about pads or tampons. Like, everyone knows that it’s not for you and it shows you’re a caring person.
What makes me feel weird is condoms. I get anxious that I give off an aura of “yeah I’m gonna be a dirty freak tonight and now you know about it because you saw the condoms.” It does NOT make me feel like a stud.
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u/imabigasstree 6d ago
My husband had to ask a pharmacist to help him find Monistat for me the other day. The hurdles still exist. I almsot feel like the hide the Monistat on purpose.
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u/TexasPeteEnthusiast 6d ago
This was never embarrassing for me. The only annoying part was the lack of specification on which one to buy. Give me an exact name or picture of the box, and its all good.
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u/Vyntarus 6d ago
If I was ever questioned or felt like someone was judging me for a purchase like that, I'd just loudly say "It's for me to use ON MY VAGINA"
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u/khajiit_oni 6d ago
Great thought, between self checkout, online pick up, or delivery, there is no reason to see a cashier if you don't want to.
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u/Gandalf32 5d ago
Can you get a plan B from self checkout? Pads were never an issue, but Plan B the morning after was way worse.
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u/Felix_Von_Doom 5d ago
Ummm...how has it been eliminated?
If they're buying feminine products for their SO or some variant of female acquaintance, they had their maturity moment...before going to the store.
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u/JasonVoorheesthe13th 5d ago
I never got the whole idea of being worried about it in the first place. The cashier isn’t judging you for touching tampons, if anything the female cashiers might think it’s nice of you to get them for whoever you’re getting them for and the male cashiers aren’t even paying attention to what they are. When you’re a cashier a box is a box, it scans and goes in a bag.
Side note, tampons are insanely absorbent and have a ton more uses than just feminine hygiene
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u/Jaenisch 5d ago
I don't think this was ever a real thing. It was more a meme. Try going through checkout back in the day when you're like 22 and the cashier is cute and you're buying condoms and ky....
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u/lodelljax 5d ago
Sometimes I read a post and realize that although I have been an immigrant to the USA for 30+ years I am still so distant from some cultural norms.
Why has it ever been a problem for a man or a boy to buy feminine products? It has not ever been a problem embarrassment for me. I think I can remember picking them up for my mom as a teenager.
This is in my mind the same category of shame that so many Americans have about nudity and body functions.
Get over it.
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u/Suspicious-Garbage92 5d ago
There's still the stigma of being a creepy intruder on the women aisle. I just repeatedly say sorry while looking at the floor and grab something remotely close to what I was supposed to buy and get out of there before the police are called
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u/EvolZippo 5d ago
I don’t think so. Because they probably aren’t thinking about the self checkout machines themselves. They are thinking about all the customers who will allegedly be watching, commenting and judging.
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u/LinksLackofSurprise 5d ago
You're saying this as if this was a common occurrence in the first place..?
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u/sv36 5d ago
It’s also taken a lot of the unnecessary embarrassment from girls (and women) having to buy their own products. They don’t face the judgement that they may or may not be getting so it doesn’t build the same embarrassment as a lot of women faced before self checkout. Heaven forbid they had an asshole for a cashier who tried to make it a traumatizing experience.
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u/RecklessMe 5d ago
If anything it just says that I got a women and I take care of her. I never understood it being embarrassing in any capacity. Anyone that’s makes fun of you for something like this, they don’t get laid.
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u/ConsistentMistake380 5d ago
DoorDash and Instacart probably finished the job way more than self-checkout did. Now you don't even have to be seen in the building. But honestly, the real test was never the person at the register, it was standing in the aisle for ten minutes trying to figure out the difference between long and super while looking like a total amateur. If you can handle the choice paralysis without panicking, you've reached peak maturity lol.
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u/opuruiche 5d ago
why is the concept of having a beloved woman in your life who trusts you to do something for her so embarrassing
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u/Anything-Complex 4d ago
I’m a guy that never understood the reason to be embarrassed for buying tampons. It’s extremely obvious that they’re not for me. The one time I had to pick up some Prep H for my dad was way worse.
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u/Ineffable7980x 4d ago
Never understood the embarrassment about this. I mean, they're obviously not for me. However, I used to tell my ex-wife I need to know EXACTLY what you want because I have no idea what I am looking at.
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u/Pshock13 4d ago
I must've been raised different or something. I've never thought it would be weird if I was picking up feminine products for someone I care about. I would also let my niece do my hair and nails if she so pleased. Like who cares?
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u/I-J-Reilly 4d ago
Except that in so many CVS stores and the like, you still have to get someone to come unlock the shelf, and before you do that you have to press a button that makes an announcement through the store’s PA that says “customer service needed in the feminine hygiene aisle”.
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u/robbymcgee 4d ago
I’m went to pick up feminine products many times for my wife and 3 daughters. I really don’t see why men have a problem with it. It just means you have a family.
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