When Your Unannounced Period Turns You Into a DIY Queen
Menstrual health is finally getting the attention it deserves. From bold political promises for free pads to Gen Z’s unfiltered TikToks reclaiming the red drop, the conversation around periods is loud, proud, and unapologetic. And maybe you've been part of that movement—marching, advocating, reposting, educating. Or maybe, your moment looked a little different: a quiet battle in a school bathroom stall or behind your office desk, where you improvised your way through one of the most uncomfortable moments of your life.
Let’s face it. There are days when your period doesn’t arrive like a whisper. It comes in like a slap.
One minute you’re sitting at work, at school, or out with a loved one, and the next… you freeze. You feel that all-too-familiar trickle. Your handbag? Stylish, yes. Stocked with menstrual products? Not even close. It’s holding your expired lipstick, a couple of coins, and a few loyalty cards to shops you barely remember signing up for. But definitely not a pad.
Panic sets in. But you don’t spiral.
You activate.
This is where your inner DIY Queen takes over.
You may not be the kind of person who builds furniture from recycled wood, but when you’re faced with unexpected bleeding and no supplies, something in your brain unlocks. Suddenly, you’re a creator. A problem-solver. A survivor.
Let’s walk through the legendary materials you and millions of other menstruators have transformed into emergency pads in a moment of absolute crisis:
Toilet Paper
The classic. The first option for many. You grab it, fold it, roll it—maybe stuff it with the precision of a sushi chef—and hope it holds. You walk like you're balancing a fragile glass of water between your knees. The sound? Unforgiving. The comfort? A myth. But it’s better than walking out with a stain announcing your cycle to the world.
Cotton Wool
A bit softer, a little more forgiving. You might have found it hidden in a drawer or borrowed it from someone’s first-aid kit. It feels like an upgrade—until it doesn’t. After a few hours, sogginess sets in, and the odor becomes a silent traitor. But still, it bought you time. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
A Piece of Cloth
An old t-shirt. A retired towel. A sock that lost its pair. Whatever it was—you eyed it, sighed, and got to work. You folded, adjusted, and hoped it wouldn’t shift. It's not the best choice—it can be rough, irritating, and definitely not sanitary. But in that moment, it was a cape. A piece of fabric that let you walk out of that bathroom with your head held high.
Newspaper & Leaves
Maybe you’ve never had to use these. But if you’ve lived through—or even witnessed—true period poverty, you’ve seen how far people go. In rural communities and desperate moments, these materials become tools of survival. They scratch, crinkle, and do little to protect—but when there are no pads, no money, no help, you do what you must. You shouldn’t have to. But you did.
And maybe now, reading this, you’re remembering your moment. The fear. The scramble. The creativity. The strength.
Maybe you laughed afterward. Maybe you cried. Maybe you kept it to yourself and moved on with your day like nothing happened. But something did happen. You built a solution out of nothing. You created safety. You made dignity out of desperation.
That’s DIY genius. That’s survival. That’s feminism.
So, the next time you doubt your resilience or creativity, think back to the day you made your first emergency pad. You were brilliant. You were resourceful. You were powerful.
And if you’ve ever wondered what it means to bleed with pride—
It starts with that moment. That DIY moment. That victory no one saw—but you lived.
Let’s build a future where no one ever has to invent their own dignity again. Period.