It’s no secret that every.single.blessed.month, women endure the pain and discomfort of getting their periods.
The cramping, the backaches, the headaches, the mood swings…
Men, you don’t even know.
But now, thanks to a period pain simulator machine at the recent Calgary Stampede, some men have a pretty damn good idea.
Period pain relief company, Somedays, hooked up some of the toughest men they could find to test just how well they could tolerate menstrual pain. It went about as well as you would expect.
The machine works by simulating the muscle cramping that naturally occurs during a period. It starts at a level 1 (mild discomfort) and goes to a level 10 – the equivalent of pain that someone suffering from endometriosis might experience.
As the pain increased, so did the men’s responses.
There was shock and disbelief. And a whole lot of wincing combined with profuse sweating as grown men were literally brought to their knees in pain.
Ahhhh, it feels rather vindicating, no?
And luckily for us, it’s all documented in a series of TikToks @getsomedays shared on their platform.
While the various videos have all garnered a lot of attention, it’s this one, of a cowboy writhing in pain, that has gone most viral with over 17.6M views.
Take a look:
@getsomedays Come visit us at the calgary stampede! Booth 212 in the maker market. #periodpain #periodtips #periodtiktok #endo #endometriosis #periods
In the video, Lux Perry, the founder of Some Days, a Canadian company that specializes in products that help turn period pain into “period pleasure,” walks the cowboy through the process.
Perry explains that the machine “contracts the muscles, which is exactly the same as when you’re on your period.”
Perry also reveals that she is a level 10+, due to serious, chronic endometriosis which sometimes lands her in the ER, while her teammates are a 5—“typical period cramps,” and a 7.
By the time the dial hits 2, the cowboy is already feeling it:
“Oh there it is.”
When he reaches 5:
“This is not fun.”
At 6, he jumps in his seat, exclaiming:
“Whoa!! This is still 6? And you get to 10??”
At 7, he asks, fear in his eyes,
“This is like, constant?”
Once he hits 8, he starts feeling it in his legs and kicks involuntarily.
“This is awful.”
Yes sir, yes it is.
He goes on to joke,
“I’d start a company too.”
At 9, he’s sweating and wiping his brow.
At this point, Perry asks if he wants to try to stand up. After all, if he really was on his period, he’d still have to go to work or school. Life doesn’t just stop. As Perry put it, “Nobody gives a f*ck about your period, man.”
Struggling to stand, the cowboy holds out and makes it to 10. He even manages to let out a lackluster “Yeehaw!!” as he tries not to buckle over.
Now all he has to do is stay hooked up to the machine for the next 3 – 7 days, go to work, run errands, watch the kids, make dinner, AND smile while doing it.
You know, like it’s no big deal.
And this cowboy isn’t the only one who struggled. You can check out this hilarious compilation of other men who were given a run for their money (and discovered a newfound appreciation for what women go through each and every month for YEARS.)
Turns out period pain is actually PAINFUL. Ha. Who knew? Women. That’s who.
@getsomedays The world needs this compilation ????? #periodpain #endo #yeehaw #cowboys #periodtiktok #periodproblems #periodtips
Speaking of women, just how did they fare against the period pain simulator? Also pretty much as you would expect.
Just smile and wave, ladies. Smile and wave.
In one viral TikTok with over 8M views and 1M likes, one woman just sat there smiling the entire time.
Even when she reached level 9 and someone commented that she didn’t even flinch, she just said…
“Like, it hurts but…”
…and just shrugged her shoulders.
Yup. We get it.
@getsomedays Can she make it to level 10 ? #periodpain #periodtiktok #endo #periodproblems #periodsimulator
If there was ever a question of who is the weaker sex, I think we’ve just found our answer.
While many of the reactions are hilarious, there is a deeper message that Perry hopes people will take away from this.
Perry hopes that people experiencing the simulator firsthand and the millions of people who have viewed the TikToks will gain a clearer understanding of what it’s like to struggle with menstrual pain.
And hopefully, some empathy along with it.
Perry tells Global News Calgary:
“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.”
Perry goes on to say:
“People with period pain are consistently told that their pain is normal and that ‘it can’t be that bad,’ So watching cowboys fall to their knees and struggle to get out a ‘yeehaw’ has been an extremely validating experience for the millions of us that struggle with it.”
And I gotta say, also extremely satisfying.
Also, if we could make this mandatory for all P.E. teachers, OB-GYNs, and every employer ever, that would be great.
If you’re in need of a good laugh (and some validation), you can check out more of somedays videos here.