|
Reek rises as Japanese gals stick with stinky panties
By Ryann Connell
October 25, 2004
Dyed hair, make-up, body piercing, 40 percent with sexual experience, 30,000 of
them having abortions every year. Unthinkable among teen-age girls a few years
back, it's the norm in Japan now, according to Shukan Asahi.
And if the once unthinkable is now common practice, it should be no
surprise that we're witnessing what had previously been unimaginable -- girls
nowadays refuse to change their panties.
"My undies? It's a pain changing them sometimes. You know, like after you've
stayed at a friend's place, you don't change 'em much," 16-year-old Yumi says.
"But ... I do make sure I use a protective sheet for secretions so my panties
don't get dirty."
Kyoko, a 17-year-old Tokyo teen, tells a similar story.
"It costs a lot to buy underwear if you're away from home for two or three
days, right? That's why I always used the protective sheets," Kyoko says. "But
I've stopped using them now. I used to leak a real lot of fluids. My panties
would get all crunchy and the hairs would stick to them. It really hurt when I
changed my undies."
Physicians are astounded by the girls' attitudes.
"These girls have got an alarming knowledge of sex techniques, but most of them
have no idea about illness or hygiene," says Tsuneo Akaeda, a gynecologist.
"Some girls think it's fine not to change their underwear for a few days as
long as they replace the protective sheets for secretions."
Akaeda tells Shukan Asahi that a random test he conducted last year found that
82 percent of 125 girls in their late teens or women in their early 20s have
had some form of venereal disease. He adds that random tests on teen-age girls
this year have come up with even more alarming results.
"Just changing the protective sheets and not their panties can lead to a
build-up of smells and conceal the degree [to which a sexually transmitted
disease (STD)] has progressed. Sometimes, this makes it too late to treat the
STDs," Akaeda says.
Shinya Iwamuro, a doctor from Kanagawa Prefecture specializing in public
health, agrees there're problems with young women's awareness.
"Most of them think that if they come down with an STD it'll be easily
treated," he says. "But they've got no idea of the difference between germs and
bacteria, or what's clean or dirty."
It seems the problem lies largely at the feet of the protective sheets women
can insert in their panties to absorb nether-region secretions. But the
sheet-makers are shocked to hear that many young girls are using their products
as an alternative to changing their panties, Shukan Asahi notes.
"Many women feel uncomfortable with the fact that secretions can dirty their
underwear. Protective sheets were developed in 1988 so that even if secretions
did appear, women could feel clean in their delicate zones without having to
change their underwear," says a spokesman for Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals Co.,
Japan's largest manufacturer of the sheets.
Kobayashi has found that 36 percent of all Japanese women use the sheets, with
the core market made up by 20- and 30-somethings. Those in their teens account
for 39 percent of all sales.
"With the declining birthrate, sales of all women's sanitary products are down,
except protective sheet sales, which are booming," the spokesman says.
Shukan Asahi finds that some girls feel that using the sheets as an alternative
to underwear helps their sex life.
"If secretions dirty my panties, it's really embarrassing when I have sex,"
says a 17-year-old girl. "But all I need to do is take the sheets out just
before I do it, and my panties stay clean."
Perhaps cartoonist Mimei Sakamoto speaks for many when he utters his disgust at
the idea of girls leaving their knickers on for days.
"They're not changing their undies?" Sakamoto scoffs in disbelief. "Letting
their panties smell so bad that anyone who gets a whiff becomes sick shows a
complete disregard for others."
Copyright 1999-2004, Mainchi Daily. All rights reserved. Ryann
Connell is a Staff Writer and Senoir Desk Editor for the Mainchi Daily News. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
 |
