It's a normal bodily function.

Since lockdown began I've become ever so slightly addicted to TikTok which I didn't ever think would be the case. Recently while scrolling through the timeline I can across a video clip of a man displaying his girlfriends underwear and shaming her for having bleach like staining on the inside of them. Of course being someone with a vagina I immediately knew that these stains were caused by discharge but I couldn't get over that (1) a grown man with a girlfriend doesn't know what discharge is and (2) that he would try to make out that it was in someway weird or gross on social media. Thankfully the video I saw was actually uploaded by a young woman who came up onscreen after a few seconds and explained that vaginal discharge is completely normal and this man is disgusting for shaming women for having discoloured underwear. Now while I saw her video, who knows how many countless young people saw his original video and how many young women began thinking there was something gross or wrong with them because of it. Vaginal discharge is not only completely normal but is a sign that we have a healthy vagina. It’s your body’s way of cleaning and protecting your vagina and yes that sometimes means staining or bleaching your underwear in the process. While it may not be pretty it means your vagina is doing it's job and cleaning itself, something that you don't need to add to. A lot of feminine hygiene products can actually cause infections, rashes or dryness in private area so it's best to just let your body handle that job itself. Scented products in particular are a big no no. Vaginas aren't meant to smell like roses and if you feel like yours is omitting an unnaturally bad smell that's even more reason to avoid scented products as it could be the sign of an underlying medical condition and you should seek your doctor's advice. I'm not going to lie, I once thought that there was something up with me because of the bleach like stains on my underwear as it had never been covered in sexual education at my schools. We were basically told to use pads when you get your period and that sex gets you pregnant and that was it. It's been through other women that I've learned more about my body and how much of it is completely natural and fine and it's a narrative we need to keep going especially on social media. So many young women are getting their information from the internet these days so it's more important than ever to make sure that they are hearing and reading the right stuff. We need more women like the one who clapped back to the original body shaming video and less content from men like him who obviously haven't the first clue about how a vagina works.