Today in class, we were discussing care packages for Katrina victims. My class is organizing a drive for non-food related necessities. One guy suggested we send some condoms. To which I asked if we couldn't come up with something slightly more necessary to day to day life. Another guy said that we should offer hope as well. (In his estimation "hope" should be read as "condoms.")

Well, one girl whispered to me "tampons." I immediately told the young woman writing on the board to add tampons. The men in the class protested. They demanded that if the women were to be provided tampons, then the men should, of course, be provided condoms. What the hell kind of households were these kids raised in that they think the male equivalent to the tampon is the condom? The connection, in that case, would be that men need sex in the same way that women need to menstruate, as a biological imperative.

Though I do love this class, they are lively and fun, and the whole condom thing was rather a joke. Seriously though, sex for men and menstruation for women, the same thing. I think feminists have some more work to do--or maybe just biology teachers.