I caught part of a commercial the other day for some product I don't remember (but was probably for a pill that gives old men boners), but what I do recall was that the set-up featured a young man enduring the apparent supreme embarrassment of buying a box of tampons for his girlfriend. Various recognizable touchstones of the experience were used, including the dreaded price check over the PA system and the pointing and laughing of his peers.
Sweet Tampax of AMPAS, is this still something guys worry about? I suspect not. More likely, those savvy advertising types have run out of CG babies and beer-fetching dogs to shill their useless crap and so have resorted to the next best thing: the attempted emasculation of the red-blooded American male.
Meh. Most guys realized early on that the key piece of information communicated to the rest of the crowd at Albertson's while standing in the checkout line with a box of Playtex, or depilatory cream, or panty hose, was that we were actually enjoying the intimate company of a member of the opposite sex. Next time you fine gentlemen tending to your SO's needs feel shamed, ask the guy with the copy of Maxim and the Totino's Extra Cheese which hand he's going to use that night.
And besides, how many times has that special someone brought home a six-pack or a couple of burritos for you? Your alleged manhood can take the hit.
I think it would be much more embarassing buying Weekly World News, those little weight loss books and horoscope guides they have near the register in supermarkets.
I've bought tampons before, and my attitude has always been, "I dare you to say something."
If you love me/You'll sleep on the wet spot
Whoa whoa whoa, let's not say something we can't take back.
And you can't buy tampons with food stamps. WIC maybe.
Depends on the state. Some state's they are considered staples, and are eligible, and some only pads are.
I needed to know this for a sales tax calculation program I worked on many years ago.
"You'll sleep on the wet spot"
Ever heard of spreading out a towel
I'm with you Pete, but what about another grocery store embarassment dilemma I've considered. If you run out of toilet paper, you clearly can't buy just toilet paper without the cashier and/or other customers wondering how desperate your need is, if you know what I mean. So what other items, and how many, should one get to deflect this speculation?
Only a man could debate whether tampons are necessary as compared to pads. You try having your innards fall out in bloody chunks for a week a month, and you'll think a stopper is reasonably important.
And don't look at me about the lyrics. They wrote 'em; I just quote 'em.
Ahh, I see that my personal details got lost; I wrote the program, I never questioned the validity of the determination at the time. My gf thought the idea of a distinction between the two as ludicrous.
And thanks for the nice visual...
I'll buy anything my wife says she wants/needs. But I still refuse to walk while I'm holding her purse. (Though, I will hold it for her).
Pete, you must have written this post as a Valentine's gift for your wife.
Ginger. Eww. ;)
At least you guys aren't having to purchase tampons like these...
tee hee
Pete, you must have written this post as a Valentine's gift for your wife.
Damn. You mean I didn't need to get the Les Miserables tickets?
Piffle!
When you get to the point where you have to buy Depends, THEN we can talk embarassment.
not that i spend all of my time watching tv, but that was a commercial for dr. pepper. and it was backed by meatloaf's "i would do anything for love" ballad o' crap. best that you don't see it again.
ps. ginger: amen.
Ginger, you're a beserker-woman after my own heart! Tampon, shmampon, guys! I remember a classic line from The Golden Girls that fits this thread to a tee:
Dorothy's kibbitzing with the other girls about her scuzzball exhusband and how unfair life is for women. She complains about periods, cramps, childbirth, and lousy pay for lousy jobs then being dumped by your husband in middle age while he chases after some twinkie. Blanche, the nympho says, "Yeah, we have to put up with all of that! What happens to men?!" Dorothy says, "Eh...their eyebrows grow together."
That pretty much sums up the differences between the sexes.
Kudos to the original poster for his unique point of view.. Thankfully, I've never had a situation where the g/f sent me out for supplies, but if the event presents itself, I'll remember your post and stand in line with a smile!
If you love me/You'll sleep on the wet spot/You'll buy my tampons/With your food stamps
You'll take out the garbage/You'll clean out the cat box/If you really love me/The wet spot is yours
--the Asylum Street Spankers