Curious Mint?

No, I’m not referring to the latest and greatest mint from Altoids or a mint for your breath for that matter. But a new product claiming to give a minty flavor to a woman's vaginal secretions. As a follow up from my last blog and an extension of Megan’s recent post, I must bring to your attention a modern-day product geared at solving another “problem” with vaginas—the taste. A recent issue of the Women’s Health Activist featured a small comment on a new product marketed as a “vaginal mint”. Essentially, it is a regular mint re-packaged and re-marketed as appropriate to for vaginal use.

I see several problems with this, but first and foremost I don’t think this product is designed to be used as suggested. Without getting too scientific (because I don’t know exactly how it works), there is a delicate pH balance of a woman’s vagina that if disrupted can result in yeast infections. Linger can apparently get around this minor side effect by including a little warning that the product is only for novelty use and I’m pretty sure the FDA does not have jurisdiction over a product that is not ingested, at least not in the traditional sense.

Apparently we are no farther along in giving our vaginas a break and accepting them the way they are today than we were 50 years ago. I think jezebel.com put it best, “What sucks is that from vintage Lysol ads to more recent douching pitches and the oh-so-bizarre Waterworks commercial, women can never get away from the idea that there's something wrong with the smell — or the taste — ‘down there.’” Lastly, I must share the final thoughts of the Women’s Health Activist who questions “when suppositories to flavor semen will hit the market.” I think I'll pass...