Period pain is very real. Back and stomach pain, cramps, the works. But about half of the population has no idea what experiencing a menstrual cycle actually feels like.
Now they can. Meet period pain simulators.
Period pain relief company Somedays has created such a product, which sends “small electrical impulses directly to abdominal muscles, causing it to contract in a similar way to how prostaglandins induce muscle contractions during menstruation,” according to its website.
Scroll through TikTok and you’ll discover many a video of people who don’t menstruate trying out said simulators – and likely laugh through some of their pain. In one viral video with a staggering 8.4 million likes, a Somedays staffer with endometriosis explains the simulator to a policeman about to try it out. The pain will start at a “one” and go all the way to “10.” He winces his way through it.
“Would you want to be on duty with this sort of pain?” the staffer asks when he reaches a “six.” “NO,” he interjects before the employee can finish.
While some commenters were proud of him, others pointed out this is just the tip of the iceberg of menstrual woes.
“That’s just the cramps, not the bathroom issues, puking, dizziness, exhaustion, moodiness,” one commenter wrote. “And we still keep going on with life.” Another added: “I hope he actually thinks about this…. These ’10’ cramps can last for hours or days! Not just a few minutes.”
The simulator is a helpful tool to help those who don’t menstruate empathize with those who do – and it speaks volumes about how society generally treats women less fairly than men.
“There’s still a lot of blind spots in terms of how our society values (menstruation) in terms of a patient’s overall health,” says Melissa Berton, executive director of The Pad Project.
Men are typically ignorant about what period pain entails. But it’s something that should never be ignored, as it affects 80% of menstruating people. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended multiple times that menstruation be thought of as a vital sign (the others are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate and blood pressure).
On top of that, about one-quarter of women and girls who menstruate – 500 million people worldwide – lack access to menstrual hygiene equipment and education, aka are in “period poverty.”
Perhaps if more men experienced what women went through, they’d become stronger advocates for fixing these problems.
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“Period pain – and female pain in general – is widely minimized and misunderstood by men,” says Brittany Hugoboom, entrepreneur and the founder of cycle syncing app, 28. “The pain simulator is a great way for men to experience something menstruating women deal with on a monthly basis, often for days at a time.”
Berton is all for men trying out a simulator – but doesn’t wish pain on others.
“I don’t want anyone to suffer more than she or he or they have to suffer,” she says. “But I think it could be a good way to create empathy and understanding.”
Another commenter on that viral TikTok put it plainly: “I made my husband do this years ago. He went from kind to ‘here’s chocolate and meds and back rubs and anything else you need.'”
Hey, they have to start somewhere.
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