Why don't I wear a tampon?
Lorna is 24 years old, works as a press agent for a publishing company and has been practicing Ju-Jitsu in her spare time for the past 6 years. Ju-jistu is a Japanese martial art that combines fighting techniques developed by samurai over 300 years ago. Lorna hates tampons and has never been able to wear one?
But Lorna is also one of our customers, and not only! She was selected among others to be an Elia lingerie model for a photo shoot. Indeed, at Elia lingerie, we've always been keen to feature our own customers in our shoots. With the idea that THEY were the best representatives of the brand and its values. We felt it was our duty to showcase all bodies, all morphologies, all these singular backgrounds and all these magnificent women.
So today, Lorna tells us about her journey as a woman, and what Elia lingerie has changed for her. Elia lingerie menstrual panties. But she also gives us her little life lesson.
How would you define your period?
"I live my periods pretty well, because I have a small cycle and a
It's always an added stress to have to practice when you're on your period, because you don't really have the right to make mistakes when you're wearing a white kimono, and the stain will be immediately noticeable.
It's a combat sport, you move around a lot, so there's always that moment when you think "oh dear, maybe my pad has moved" or "maybe my tampon isn't as absorbent as it used to be".
I'm not a big fan of tampons myself, so the pad means you're never quite sure what you're doing, because there's always that little voice, or that little mental charge that says "ah maybe I should put myself back, put myself back".
When did you start Jujitsu?
"I started practising Jujitsu 6 years ago. I never originally wanted to get on the tatami because for me it was considered a boy's sport. I was younger and I think there are a lot of taboos associated with these sports: "girls should dance", etc. And finally I was sold on it. In the end, it was sold to me as "it's a combat sport, it could be good because you're a girl in Paris and the street's dangerous". What I really like today is that I'm surrounded by men who don't give a damn about these things, they're almost all old enough to be my father, and it's a bit like a big summer camp, like a big family. I'm like their daughter in fact, and it's completely gone beyond "you're a girl or a boy", it's more "you're part of the group". More about skills than gender, and that's good."
Do you feel safer thanks to Ju-jitsu?
"Do I feel safer because of this sport? I'd say yes and no. My teacher always told me: "If something happens to you one day, scream and run. It doesn't matter what belt you're wearing". It can happen to all of us, and before you hit something, you have to alert the people around you, and then run.
I always try to say to myself when I'm walking down the street alone at night, "keep your head up", because if you feel safe, people may find it harder to approach you. It's not always the case, it's not always reality, but I think that keeping a bit of control and confidence helps you to keep moving forward and to be less afraid. "
What sanitary protection did you use before menstrual panties?
"Menstrual panties really revolutionized my life as a woman. I think that if I'd known about them at the very beginning, when I had my period when I was young, I would have lived through that period much more serenely.
I had real problems with tampons, I couldn't use them to such an extent that I think the first one I managed to put on, I kept the applicator inside, it seemed so complicated. Whereas with panties, you put them on in the morning and don't think about them all day. And I often rush off to the gym after work and don't actually change. I put on my kimono, get on the tatami, and that's it. There's no "ah I've got to go and change, ah I haven't got time! And I'm really much more serene about the task too."
Do you have a message for us?
"The message I'd like to pass on in general is more about self-acceptance. All my life, I've had a complex about myself because I was taller than all the girls in my class, or bigger, and I didn't want to practice judo.
I was already big, so I didn't want to be seen as a "tomboy" or anything like that. I think when you're little, you just want to fit in.
If I had to give one piece of advice to the me of 10 years ago, it would just be "accept yourself, you have to love yourself first so that others can love you" and I think that the fact of already having confidence and taking responsibility for yourself is a big step forward. Knowing your worth before you can ask others to value you.
Any final words?
"There's a line by Xavier Dolan that I really like: "Everything is possible to those who dream, dare, work and never give up". And I think that when you're a woman, it's all the more true because we're confronted with so many things, so many problems and so many preconceived ideas about society. And if there's one thing we can dream of, if we work at it, we can achieve it. And that applies all the more when you're a woman: never give up and give yourself the means, so that also means believing in yourself."
See this publication on Instagram
