Ryanne's Video Blog: Every 28 Days For 40 Years

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Every 28 Days For 40 Years

29 comments:

Anonymous said...: you know...
that was nice.
my initial reaction was, "i don't like art that is made for shock value, and she is just going for shock value on this one."
but then, when i actually started thinking about it, it wasn't shocking to me at all. i see that every 28 days too. so do most women. and i think most guys wonder, at least a little, what it is like.
and that is it. that is what it looks like. blood just comes out of us. every 28 days. for a really big part of our lives. and we don't have much say in it.
it was honest. and really, pretty tastefully done. to the point, no smoke and mirrors.
thanks. wish they had shown me that in fourth grade instead of that stupid anamation that was hosted by the girl who used to play little orphan annie ten years earlier on broadway.

~mae; 2:23 AM
Devin said...: Wow. Way to make a statement.; 6:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Never seen that before. Thanks for the window into your world of menstruation. At first I thought the toilet bowl was a close up of your eye. Anyway, very beautiful. The red is so red.; 11:08 AM
Anonymous said...: Once again you've surprised me with your honesty and your willingness to share yourself with the world. Straight, unadulterated life can make very powerful art. Interesting and excellent.
Mark; 11:13 AM
Anonymous said...: ryan hodson, you've come a long way since art school.

i'd venture to say the majority of adults have seen this, man or woman.

- jjf5k; 11:15 AM
Venessa said...: This one did surprise me...but I knew what it was as soon as I saw it.

I think it was done well and kindly (for the men). She didn’t bring up the clichéd cramps and bloating. No mention of when it makes its appearance early and you’re in a place that you’d be more likely to find a unicorn than a feminine hygiene product.

In addition, I disagree with a previous comment. I don’t think most men have seen this, generally women are pretty discreet. Sure my boyfriend always knew when I was having my period, but even in my longest of long-term relationships did I ever say…”No Baby, it’s ok, come on in while I change my pad/tampon.” Nuh-uh.; 12:53 PM
A.O. Flores said...: I grew up with three sisters and a mom. I've seen one too many dirty period panties. Now I've seen yours. Yeah!!! Nice red.; 1:18 PM
Verdi said...: Wow. Very brave. Taking "sitting on the toilet" videos to a whole new level.; 7:32 PM
WilmaJean said...: thank you, thank you, thank you. every month we women go through this and I applaud you in shedding the light on what we have to deal with.; 2:39 AM
Zadi said...: Brilliant. Very honest. Thanks for that.; 2:29 PM
Anonymous said...: I actually think you should give people the heads up before showing something like that. that way they can choose whether they want to see it or not. me being female, and having seen plenty of my own periods, wouldn't necessarily choose to take a look at someone elses. no offense, like your stuff, but didn't want to get that intimate with you. i agree that a lot of guys have seen that too, but i also get where you're coming from - i'm sure a lot of guys aren't familiar with it. personally, i found your leopard print underwear far more 'revealing' or 'exposing' giving me an insight into the whole package of womanhood when seen in contrast with the blood. so, no judgment, just my thoughts. don't know if i agree that this is a story that really requires the attention you gave it. i definitely wouldn't want to have to watch a vlogger poop.

Lisa; 10:45 PM
ryanne said...: dear lisa
you should now exit the vlogasphere if you dont like seeing the following:
poop, blood, cum, urine, saliva.
everyone secretes these fluids/solids.
and we're gonna show it.
why shouldnt we? why is it a big secret and hidden that people do this? it's always so rude to talk about these things or show them.
well i'm tired of censoring our humanness.
seriously, fuck that.

do not watch the following vlogs:

http://www.michaelverdi.com/2005/01/my-legs-are-too-short.html

http://www.insanefilms.com/archives/2005/03/insanefilmscomx.html

and please, save yourself the trouble of becoming any more intimate with me by ceasing to watch my videos. this is the reason i make videos.
to let you into my world. and if you think it's too much, turn it off. i do believe i gave a nice heads up.
if you didnt understand what i was about to show you by saying "this is what i've been going through for the last 13 years, every 28 days, for the next 25 years..." then you probably weren't paying enough attention.

thanks for watching.
-ryanne; 11:26 PM
Anonymous said...: dear ryan

i think that response is unfair, reflexive and not about dialogue.

i didn't say you shouldn't show your period, nor that you don't have a right to. i did say that in my opinion i don't know whether it's necessary or whether it offers the clearest insight into your humaness - which you say was your point. my point is less about censorship and more about choice. therefore, i feel that your warning should have been clearer so that people can choose not to watch. that's all. just a clearer warning. eg: 'if you don't want to see...' or 'what i'm about to show might...' you know what i mean.

you not only have the right to show what you want but the responsibility that accompanies it and i feel you should understand that the fact that it's not everyone's cup of tea doesn't mean that they're against what you're doing. as much as you have a right to show, people have a right to choose not to watch sometimes.

and i find it silly and absolute to then go from that point to saying i shouldn't watch your videos at all. it goes hand in hand with wanting to share all of you that there are going to be grey areas where some things some people just don't want to see. so are you just going to tell all those people to watch nothing you share? and in that case, is true sharing honestly what you're about or just sharing with people who are into everything about you? because the larger your audience gets, the less that's going to be possible. just coz i'm not totally into seeing your period, which looks remarkably like mine, does not mean i have nothing to get out of watching a majority of what you choose to show, and nor does it mean that you have nothing to gain by letting me in on it. i wouldn' want to go into the next stall in the public bathroom and look at the woman next to me's period, even if she was an icon like alice walker - who has a lot to teach me by sharing her self with the public intimately.

now, that's just a preference and i shouldn't be polarized from the 'blogasphere' for my preferences. i do believe i clearly stated that i felt there were people who would take what you showed as a valid and useful insight. but be realistic - to some people it's just gonna be another girls period. sometimes the most obvious ways of being intimate are not the most revealing. blood is blood. cum is cum. who cares? if we all had smellavision would it mean i had to smell your farts? and if i didn't want to smell your farts, would i have no right to watch your videos? i don't think there is shame in period blood but i just don't want to watch everygirl on vlog have her period. i don't deserve to be excommunicated for that. to be honest, i think that's because i find blood, cum, saliva and other body secretions perhaps LESS shocking than you do. so i don't need to stare at them. *but* i also think that if you want to share that, you should be able to. that's a given. and i'm also sure, as i said last time, that many people will have appreciated what you shared.

lisa; 3:41 AM
Anonymous said...: Dear Lisa,

At what point did you realize that the video was something you didn't want to see? When did you stop watching? The dripping blood in the toilet wasn't a clue? You saw the panties. Did you see the bloody toilet paper, too? Did you watch the whole thing? How much of a warning do you feel is adequate? Do you think Ryanne (and all vloggers) should put a disclaimer before all of their posts? "If you don't want to see someone make scrambled eggs, you probably shouldn't watch this."
You are sending mixed messages. I understand that you think Ryanne should have the right to show whatever she wants. You DO have the right to watch or not to watch, and the responsibility that goes along with it. I agree, if you don’t like what you see (or might see) on someone’s vlog perhaps you should consider not watching at all. Just stick to the safety of the major TV networks. I found Ryanne's introduction to her post more than adequately informative of the subject matter I was about to see. I find it difficult to believe that you didn't. Therefore, I dare say the discussion at hand IS, indeed, about censorship. Something like this post probably wouldn't be shown on ABC or CBS. They worry about their ratings so that you don’t have to. They would never tell you to stop watching. You never have to think about what you're about to see or if you will find it offensive. Now suddenly, with vlogging, you do.
It goes hand in hand with watching what someone is sharing. There are going to be grey areas where some things you just won’t want to see. I think that Ryanne IS about true sharing, which is why she shows the things that some people may not want to see; Be it blood or scrambled eggs or videocon.
I am not into everything about Ryanne. Thought I find most of her videos brilliant, I also find many of them boring. I think the point of this post was that it isn’t shocking to a lot of us. She was being realistic, and asking the same of her audience. Therefore, your extensive comment leads me to believe that, despite your noble statement, you do not find these things “LESS” shocking than Ryanne. Were that true, you might have just ignored it rather than requesting a WARNING to precede it. Do your really need someone to WARN you that you might be about to watch something you don’t find shocking?
And herein lies the beauty of the vlog. It has gotten us thinking again.

~mae; 2:29 PM
Anonymous said...: dear ryanne,
is that your new favorite sweater?; 10:36 PM
Anonymous said...: Dear Mae

Thanks for responding. My first thought is that when I suggested that perhaps I found it 'less' shocking, it really wasn't meant as a competition so much as just what I said - a suggestion. I find it a bit gross to look at the period so if that means I am shocked then maybe that's just a fact. I definitely don't feel that period blood in a political sense is too shocking to show. Nor do I feel that I'm shocked at the fact that another female has revealed her period blood for us to see.

As for warnings - that's another grey and indefinable entity when it comes to defining when it is and isn't appropriate. Even the dreaded tv networks still grapple with those parameters. But I would hazard a guess that cum and period blood are pretty much no-brainers. Personally, I don't think that enrolling your audience a little bit more by preparing them for what they might not want to see means that one is going to the extreme of becoming like the tv networks - because it's all in the way that it's done. Of course I don't think that there should be warnings for scrambling eggs or that one needs to become neurotic about it. I really do just think that this one comes down to personal taste and that because, I would guess, at least 50% of the people watching that video wouldn't necessarily find it educational because of their own prior familiarity with the female menstrual cycle, that perhaps Ryan should have been aware of the bigger picture and offered people the opportunity to turn off. Of course I realised she *might* be about to show her period. And of course I didn't recoil to the other end of my house just because I saw it. All I was saying was that if it were me, or in my opinion seeing as I really did think that this was supposed to be about opening up dialogue, that a clearer and more direct/explicit heads up could have been given. IE, I'm about to show you my bathroom experience of my period (because that's what it was more than just showing a period. The environment was what made it's impression on me). I believe it's about maintaining a LACK of censorship whilst also being aware of the diversity of your audience and respecting that.

However, what I have realised in these last email interactions is that this can only ever be a conversation and that there are no real answers or conclusions. Only choices. (And even then it is dependent upon both parties being genuinely willing to communicate). My choice in presenting this would have been different to Ryans' but this is her vlog and she makes her choices as anybody does in their own domain. This communication started out as a reaction and a suggestion to her vlog but has become more about being heard. I feel that if Ryan sees the need to be heard or understood by presenting the whole of herself, partly by showing her period, then she should understand that when that does cause a reaction that those reactions should be heard too, not shunned.

So, I guess that's the last I'll say on all of this as I know I have already been repeating myself. Thanks for listening if you did. I know that these have been long emails.

Lisa; 10:56 PM
Anonymous said...: i'll never again be able to eat scrambled eggs. - bill; 11:19 PM
Anonymous said...: dear ryanne,
were you very consious of your underware choice before or durring recording? because those are some fancy panties. and i know that i don't wear my fancy panties when i have my period. i wear my crappy panties. or my black panties.
~me; 2:01 AM
ryanne said...: ha ha
no i was not. this was completely spontanious and i had not done laundry in a while so those were all that was left in the drawer. i too never wear the fancy ones during my period. i watched it back and was like "that IS revealing!" if you look closer you see that i am also wearing leapord print slippers...i like leapord print.
-ryanne; 10:19 AM
Anonymous said...: The video does have that art school shock value feel to it for the most part. It's like the next step in reality tv I guess. It might be more effective as a real life public performance piece. That would be the next logical step. But even that has been done. Turn it into a road trip rather then the over simplified presentation you have here. It's a nice simple first pass, but are you just going to leave it at that? You seem to dump and run on a lot of your pieces which leads one to believe that there is no real depth here. I suppose one could consider the totality of the entire video blog....but then, right, again I would be looking at all the dollups of your life. Consider that. Make more then just rants!

-alvin; 11:48 AM
Anonymous said...: "It's a nice simple first pass, but are you just going to leave it at that?"
i agree. i have seen a woman's period up close and personal...but if i had not, i might feel slighted by this video. if the video was meant to enlighten those who have never been exposed to a menstrual cycle then maybe ryan should have gone into even more detail. what about changing the tampon or pad? what's that experince like? we saw the blood and the messy underpants, but there's more to it...right?; 1:47 PM
Anonymous said...: congrats, welcome to womanhood! There is more to periods than punctuation. It is a very special day for a young lady. Here, let me explain..
Maxi; 11:14 AM
Chuck Olsen said...: One month after the fact I finally watched this - shall we say, legendary? - vlog post. Kindof appropriate I guess, to comment a month later.

I already knew that this was going to be the "shocking period" video. But if I didn't know that, I wouldn't have expected to see blood dripping into a toilet and bloody panties. You start out talking about it, and of course you talk about a lot of things to the camera. It happens really quickly, from saying you're going to show us something to the blood in the toilet. So in my opinion, you did not give much warning at all.

Which begs the question: Should you give any warning? If so, why - how?

If I was talking to you in person, I wouldn't expect you to go from talking about your period to showing me your blood in 3 seconds. I would expect some warning or that you would guage my willingness to see that. Do you agree? And I think that comes out of respect (and/or not enough knowledge) of my personal comfort level, my personality, my values.

This is the internet. This is your space to do whatever you want. So you don't *need* to do anything obviously (thank god). Whether you should, of course is entirely up to what you want to communicate here, and with whom.

In a way this video might weed out people that aren't meant for your videoblog. If you can't handle Ryan's period, you can't handle Ryan's videoblog. Now you know.

But I'm sure you realize you'll alienate people with that approach - including people that, up until this video, were way into you and everything you have to say.

We each have a zone of what's acceptable, what's tasteful, what's moral. I know you're interested in saying "fuck those boundaries, we can be honest here. Let's cross boundaries, let's learn about each other and the depths of human experience." But the act of you crossing a boundary does not make it disappear. Each of us still has a personal value landscape, and maybe for perfectly valid and respectable reasons.

So it comes down to your choice. You made the choice, and it was brave and honest. I personally found it pretty gross. I've seen it often enough, and it makes me a little ill. Not as much now as when I was younger. But I respect your choice to do this, and I'm really glad you're here, breaking boundaries and being uninhibited - exploring the vlog experience, the women experience, the human experience. I want you to challenge us - we desperately need our heads cracked open!

But: Be careful about taking your choice, and the expectations you require of your audience, and applying that to the entire vlogosphere. I don't particularly want the vlogosphere to be full of piss and shit and cum and blood, popping up unpredictably. I'm pretty sure that won't happen though, because the blog-vlogosphere is to some extent about building TRUST. I return to the blogs and vlogs whose perspective I trust and resonate with.; 6:29 AM
art & thought mechanic said...: "I want you to hit me with your VLOG as hard as you can".

Ha! naw, i thinkit's a cool vid, i respect that. The hues, the set up are just perfect too.

I look forward to future archives of your vlog.

With this post you melted nuerons into a point onto a timeline amidst other points on the timeline of my comprehension and understanding of your existence.

+SNAPS fingers
"RESPECT!"; 4:23 AM
Marta Fodor said...: wow, I am very amazed at all the dialogue that came about because of this video. I don't know if I'm strange, but I don't feel uncomfortable watching it, it's sort of like a daily routine for a large part of my life too (in that very bathroom), so in my eyes it makes absolute sense to make a video about it...everything else in Ryanne's life in shown to all of you, so this is just the latest edition. I think if you continuously watch her videos you know by now that they are personal, and by 'tuning in' you are in a way agreeing to Ryanne's terms.; 11:01 AM
Lynn Lane said...: Okay...between you and Michael Verdi, and I have to say I saw both of these because of your post on the listserv...I have seen a ton of information that I didn't expect to see on this Sunday evening..haha. Keep challenging them!; 6:35 PM
ryanne said...: dear wren
http://tinyurl.com/9g49f

-ryanne; 12:49 PM
Anonymous said...: All I can say is I'm not able to show you this from me as I'm a man. It's not shocking, its a period in time you have to deal with but what do I know about it. Period.; 9:10 AM
kthulu's brownie said...: As a gay guy (i.e. no direct experience of this very natural thing via a partner) my first reaction was. . . .whoa horsey!

But, seeing what many of my friends, and women in my family go through "every 28 days" in this way, was a window of understanding.; 10:50 AM

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Every 28 Days For 40 Years

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