Canadian company Somedays is taking the stigma out of talking about period pain with the help of an electric simulator.
And it’s causing quite a buzz at the Calgary Stampede with crowds lining up to try it at the company’s booth.
Many of the encounters — mainly of men, some wincing in pain, others knees buckled and falling to the ground — posted to social media are generating millions of views.
Tyler Bingham is one of the men who decided to test his period pain tolerance. A top bull rider from Tremonton, Utah, Bingham has an endless list of injuries, including enduring a devastating blow when a bull stepped on his chest and broke his sternum in three spots, and spider web fractured on his ribs.
“It feels really good where I’ve had that injury. The other side doesn’t feel as good,” Bingham said about the simulator.
He couldn’t feel anything on his left side but winced at the pain on the right side of his body as the device was cranked to level 10.
“That one’s… that one’s pretty good,” he stuttered with a smile, tolerating the simulator’s highest level.
Even though the results are causing waves of laughter, the message behind the simulator is more serious.
“A lot of people with periods experience extreme amounts of pain and are invalidated in aspects of their life by their teachers, their coaches, their friends and doctors. So we bring the period simulator to give people an idea of what they have to endure,” said Somedays CEO Lux Perry. Their company specializes in products that minimize pain during that time of the month.
“I’m going to stick to bull riding,” Bingham laughed, with a new found appreciate for everyone experiencing regular menstrual pain.
— With files from Norma Reid, Global News