Stitch from biomedical engineer incoming!!!

@gianamj

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SoundTikTok sound · original sound - gianamj

Why it worked

The video addresses a common, yet often stigmatized, topic related to female health and hygiene. By debunking myths and reframing a natural bodily process, it provides educational value and sparks conversation, resonating with a broad audience and encouraging engagement.

Summary

The video discusses the practice of immediately washing underwear after taking it off, contrasting cultural reasons with potentially misogynistic beliefs that frame women's bodies as inherently dirty. It emphasizes that normal vaginal discharge is a healthy physiological process and not hazardous, urging viewers to question the underlying reasons for extreme hygiene practices.

Structure

1Introduction of the topic: washing underwear immediately after removal.
2Acknowledging cultural reasons for this practice.
3Critiquing the idea that normal discharge makes underwear 'soiled' or 'disgusting'.
4Explaining the scientific reality of vaginal discharge as a normal, healthy process.
5Addressing the concern that such messaging can shame women and frame their bodies as dirty.
6Call to unpack the reasons behind extreme hygiene practices and avoid shaming.

On-screen text

Stitch from biomedical engineer incoming!!! WASH YOUR PANTIES YOU TAKE THEM OFF. RINSE THEM OFF IN THE SINK, AND THEN THROW DIRTY HAMPER. WASHING YOUR PANTIES ONCE A WEEK AND THEN JUST SITTING AND MARINATING WITH GOD KNOWS WHAT. IS NO LONGER AN OPTION. When hygiene becomes MISOGYNY. KNOW THAT THERE'S A DEBATE PRACTICE IS CULTURAL OR NOT. AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YES, IN MANY CULTURES, RINSE OR HANDWASHING UNDERWEAR IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKING IT OFF IS COMPLETELY NORMAL. SOMETIMES THAT'S BECAUSE OF LIMITED ACCESS TO WASHING MACHINES, WANTING TO PREVENT STAINS FROM SETTING, CONSERVING WATER, OR SIMPLY BECAUSE THAT'S HOW LAUNDRY HAS ALWAYS BEEN DONE IN THAT HOUSEHOLD. THOSE REASONS ARE INHERENTLY MISOGYNISTIC. BUT THERE ARE ALSO HOUSEHOLDS, CULTURAL OR NOT, THAT BELIEVE THAT THIS PRACTICE IS NECESSARY BECAUSE THE SECOND COMES OFF, IT'S SO SOILED AND DISGUSTING THAT BE IMMEDIATELY CLEANED. SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT CLEANED TWICE. HAND WASHED FIRST AGAIN IN THE WASHING MACHINE. WHERE I THINK A CONVERSATION. BECAUSE THE CREATOR NEVER MENTIONS CULTURE. INSTEAD, THE ENTIRE MESSAGE AROUND THE IDEA THAT YOUR UNDERWEAR IS SOMEHOW CONTAMINATED THE SECOND THAT IT COMES OFF YOUR BODY. SHE USES OF MARINATING WITH GOD KNOWS WHAT WORK HERE. IT IMPLIES THAT NORMAL VAGINAL DISCHARGE AND THE FLUIDS THAT NATURALLY END UNDERWEAR ARE DISGUSTING, HAZARDOUS, OR UNSAFE. BUT FROM A SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE, AS A BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER WHO STUDIES FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. I NEED EVERYONE TO VAGINAL DISCHARGE IS A COMPLETELY NORMAL PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS. OF THE VAGINA IS PRIMARILY CERVICAL MUCUS, NATURAL VAGINAL SECRETIONS THAT ARE SHEDDING CELLS, AND BENEFICIAL BACTERIA THAT HELP MAINTAIN A HEALTHY VAGINAL ENVIRONMENT. A BIOHAZARD, AND IT IS NOT EVIDENCE THAT YOUR UNDERWEAR IS UNSAFE TO SIT IN A LAUNDRY BASKET DAYS BEFORE LAUNDRY DAY. IF YOU PERSONALLY UNDERWEAR IMMEDIATELY, THAT'S COMPLETELY FINE. IF YOUR CULTURE DOES THAT, THAT'S COMPLETELY FINE. BUT IF THE REASON IS BECAUSE YOU GENUINELY BELIEVE THAT YOUR VAGINAL DISCHARGE IS SO DIRTY THAT YOUR UNDERWEAR IS UNSAFE TO SIT BASKET FOR A FEW DAYS, THEN I THINK BELIEF WORTH UNPACKING. WHAT CONCERNS ME IS WHEN WE START FRAMING WOMEN'S BODIES AS INHERENTLY DIRTY. WE'VE SEEN THIS MESSAGING THROUGHOUT HISTORY, WHERE NORMAL FEMALE ANATOMY IS ALWAYS TREATED AS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE MANAGED. AND THIS VIDEO FEELS LIKE IT'S ROOTED IN THAT SAME IDEA. THAT VIDEO HAS NEARLY 1 MILLION VIEWS, THAT MATTER FOR US TO ADDRESS BECAUSE THEY SLOWLY YOUNG GIRLS THAT NORMAL DISCHARGE IS SOMETHING TO FEAR INSTEAD OF SOMETHING TO UNDERSTAND. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE AFRAID YOU DON'T NEED TO TREAT YOUR HAZARDOUS WASTE. LET'S NOT SHAME WOMEN INTO BELIEVING THAT THEIR HEALTHY BODIES ARE DIRTY SIMPLY FOR FUNCTIONING EXACTLY AS THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO.

Original caption

There's a difference between a cultural laundry practice and teaching women that their bodies are inherently dirty. That's the conversation we are having in the video! #fyp #fypシ #femalehealth

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Transcript

Wash your panties as soon as you take them off. Rinse them off in the sink, let them dry and then throw them in the dirty hamper. Wash your panties once a week and then just sitting and marinating with God knows what sitting on it is no longer an option. Now, I already know that there's going to be a debate about whether this practice is cultural or not. And I want to acknowledge that yes, in many cultures, rinsing or handwashing underwear immediately after taking it off is completely normal. Sometimes that's because of limited access to washing machines, wanting to prevent stains from setting, conserving water, or simply because that's how laundry has always been done in that household. And none of those reasons are inherently misogynistic. But there are also households, cultural or not, that believe that this practice is necessary because the second that your underwear comes off, it's so soiled and disgusting that it needs to be immediately cleaned. In fact, some people believe that it should be cleaned twice. Hand washed first and then washed again in the washing machine. And that is where I think a conversation is worth having. Because even if a belief has cultural roots, that doesn't automatically make it healthy or beyond criticism. Culture can absolutely preserve beautiful traditions, but it can also preserve ideas that are rooted in shame, stigma, or misogyny. Two things can exist at the exact same time. And in this particular video, the creator never mentions culture. Instead, she builds the entire message around the idea that your underwear is somehow contaminated the second that it comes off your body. The language that she uses of marinating with God knows what is doing a lot of the work here. It implies that normal vaginal discharge and the fluids that naturally end up on your underwear are disgusting, hazardous, or unsafe. But from a scientific perspective, as a biomedical engineer who studies female reproductive health, that is simply not true. I need everyone to hear that vaginal discharge is a completely normal physiological process of the vagina. What comes out of the vagina is primarily cervical mucus, natural vaginal secretions that are shedding cells, and beneficial bacteria that help maintain a healthy vaginal environment. It is not a biohazard, and it is not evidence that your underwear is unsafe to sit in a laundry basket for a few days before laundry day. If you personally like rinsing your underwear immediately, that's completely fine. If your culture does that, that's completely fine. But if the reason is because you genuinely believe that your vaginal discharge is so dirty that your underwear is unsafe to sit in a laundry basket for a few days, then I think that belief is worth unpacking. What concerns me is when we start framing women's bodies as inherently dirty. We've seen this messaging throughout history, where normal female anatomy is always treated as something that needs to be managed. And this video feels like it's rooted in that same idea. That video has nearly 1 million views, and messages like that matter for us to address because they slowly teach women and young girls that normal discharge is something to fear instead of something to understand. You don't need to be afraid. You don't need to treat your underwear like it's hazardous waste. Let's not shame women into believing that their healthy bodies are dirty simply for functioning exactly as they're supposed to.