Zack wants you to know him and all about his new “girl parts.” He has a blog that discusses it, and he’s on Twitter and YouTube too.

The story goes that Zack, who is 16, woke up one morning to find he had a vagina instead of a penis (and I’m assuming no more testicles either). Zack chronicles his concerns and the obvious complications that go along with a sudden, uninvited gender change when in high school.

Here’s the video on YouTube that details the event. It’s a little long, but seriously the writing is good. Spoken like a true 16-year-old and an interesting one at that.

My favorite line is at the end when he says: “50% of the population has one [vagina] and they seem to be doing pretty well.”

True dat Zack. We are doing pretty well–vagina and all.

So anyway, you are probably wondering what this is all about.  As reported on the popular site Advertising Age, Tampax invented Zack as a way to promote their product–you know, the tampon–by trying to go viral.

“It was inexpensive for us to do this one little effort and kind of get a feel for how much pickup it gets, if it goes viral or if it doesn’t,” the P&G spokesman said

But is it really one little effort?

Character creation, a blog, a Twitter stream, YouTube videos, and all the other wonderful things that go along with online marketing. Spreading this message  is not for the faint at heart–I mean, the video is 12 minutes long.

Regardless of the campaign’s “viralness” (no, I’m not talking about VD, I’m talking about whether or not it becomes an Internet hit), I’m curious to see how others respond to it.

I think the campaign has some merit. I like it because it allows all of us to think about periods in a different way. How would a guy react if they had to deal with this crap? Should women really be so critical of men for not understanding what we go through?

Let’s be honest: Can a man really sympathize with a vagina and menstruation? They have no idea, and it’s not their fault.

So, Zack Johnson. You haven’t convinced me to use Tampax necessarily, but you did get me thinking about my period and why I should be kinder to men when they say ignorant things like: “50% of the population has one and they seem to be doing just fine.”

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Did you like this post? Buy me a beer to say thanks. I’m thirsty from all this writing!

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Grilling – Men often associate work done outside as manly work. Add meat into the mix and grilling is the ultimate masculine chore.

Paying for Dinner – Men want to be the Alpha for their spouse and family. Being able to pay for dinner—or whatever—allows him to feel in charge and like he is providing for you. But don’t go overboard. He certainly appreciates you picking up the tip or post-dinner drinks from time to time too.

Steak = Man -  This goes back to cave man times. More men than women enjoy red meat and some studies have proven that the redder the meat the more men will enjoy it.

It Reminds Him of His Mom -  Traditionally it’s the mom that cooks for her children. Growing up in a home with reoccurring dishes and homemade specialties stays with a person. For a man, the smell of yummy foods emanating from the kitchen reminds them of their youth and of their mother whom they always have a soft spot for.

All of these reasons why food is so important to your boyfriend are certainly generalizations and not always the case. However, there is no denying that food can bring about overwhelming emotions.

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A loop electrosurgical excision procedure or LEEP is given to women with persistent abnormal pap smears as a result of cervical dysplasia, which is a change in cervical cells. The LEEP is no fun, but it may also be a life saver by preventing cervical cancer.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that many men and women contract in their 20s, although many people don’t ever show symptoms like warts or for women, abnormal paps. If your doctor feels that your persistent abnormal pap smears or dysplasia can be remedied by the LEEP procedure don’t fret; it’s manageable.

Here are the LEEP facts:

1) This is done as an outpatient procedure by your doctor
2) You won’t be put under, but a local anesthetic will be used
3) It lasts only a few minutes
4) Using a device that is in the shape of a loop, electrical currents are sent to the device to scoop out the troubled portions of your cervix (sounds worse than it is)
5) Once the doctor is done you are free to leave
6) You may be crampy and will have bleeding, but most of the time this stops after a couple of days

Bring a friend or someone you can count on to drive you home. It also might be a good idea to take the day off and just relax. Even though it is outpatient its can be a little traumatic.

Women who have a LEEP are able to carry a pregnancy full term and in most cases the occurrence of cervical cancer after a LEEP is very rare. In fact, most times pap smears return to normal within a year.

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So when dating and pursuing sexual partners, what’s the protocol? It’s never easy to fess up to an STD, but your conscience and your partner will appreciate your honesty. Besides, it’s so darn common there is a good chance the other person has it anyway.

To start, be good about getting your pap smears and other STD testing. Every year it’s a good idea to visit the doctor for both your health and peace of mind.  Second, avoid having intercourse too soon in a relationship.

And when that’s not what you want to do, just be bold. If you are honest about it and come yielding condoms, you might be surprised by the reaction. Most people won’t be surprised or judgmental. And those that are, aren’t worth your time anyway.

Another route to take is to work with single sites that cater to singles with STDs. I’ve yet to find something specific to HPV, but sites like Positive Singles are friendly to all.

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I recently signed up for a fitness boot camp and because I enjoyed it so much (I lost something like 4 inches), I dragged my boyfriend into joining a second, five week session with me. Turns out he doesn’t love all the running, push ups, lunges, and puking sensations that go along with it. I can’t say I blame him, it’s not for everyone.

Tonight was the last night of this camp and as we were driving away he let it be known that he cheated in the competition they made us do. You see, the class was split up into teams and instructed to run all over the city to find the names of particular stores, restaurants, etc. Well my team did just that, but he, instead, found a map and located the names that way.

So yeah, he’s a cheater. A winning cheater. But I love him anyway.

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I normally choose to use skim milk as my creamer to save on the calories, but secretly I prefer the fattening milk. So this morning when I had no choice but to use half and half, I jumped for joy on the inside, of course.

The reason I bring this up is because the term “I feel fat” has recently been redefined for me. I’m not fat. Not even close. But sometimes we all feel a little blubby and lately I’ve been feeling extraordinarily blubby and so after putting anything in my mouth, I instantly start counting calories.

But this morning was a little different. After counting for awhile I realized something very important that I thought might be worth sharing. Sometimes a good cup of coffee in the morning is worth an ounce of blub.

Words to live by.

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Women who have abnormal pap smears as a result of the sexually-transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) often times have a LEEP procedure, which essentially removes cancerous or pre-cancerous cells from the cervix. Turns out you should avoid some types of exercise for awhile until your cervix has had time to heal. And, no sex or tampons.

After hearing Julie’s scary story I’ve been online trying to learn more about HPV, the LEEP procedure itself, and what to do afterwards. There is a lot to learn and I think all of us should educate ourselves, so ask your doctor and do research.

As for some of the facts, get this: 20 million people are infected with HPV and by age 50, 80 percent of women will have the infection.

Fortunately for Julie she has had frequent enough treatment that she will most likely avoid cancer, however, for the last three years she’s had more doctors and nurses up her hoo-ha than she’d like to think about. And it’s not over. She has what’s called a colposcopy scheduled every three months for the next year.

Most of us have heard about HPV because of the vaccine Gardasil that is advertised on TV and online, but it seems to me that what’s really important is to have regular pap smears. Compared to the colposcopy, the LEEP and all the rest, a pap is walk in the park.

Ladies, there’s no reason not to get in there and spread em’.

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Well, now I know. Apparently doing yoga in slinky bottoms is not that uncommon.

I don’t know this man’s name, but I’ve come to call him Mr. Little Shorts and all I know about him is that he loves hot yoga and is always front and center in my yoga class. He starts practicing his yoga before class even begins, which only makes everyone giggle. Does he know?

If I happen to get there a little early before the doors to the studio open, Mr. Little Shorts is always outside waiting too. He waits in a t-shirt and his Speedo-type shorts making eyes with all the girls and occasionally mustering the courage to talk to one of us. I’ve learned that if he approaches me I should never let the conversation go longer than a minute or two because at that point he will ask me out for a drink. He’s asked me three separate times.

Maybe I’m not being fair. It’s true that I don’t understand extraordinarily tight britches to begin with. It’s a Mediterranean style choice and by the looks of him he’s very Mediterranean (holy hair ball!), so I shouldn’t judge. But seriously, to wear tight bottoms at yoga with all the bending backward and forward, moving your rear up and down, and spreading your legs apart and so on it’s so uncouth!

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