My mother didn’t teach me anything about grooming, self-care, menstruation, boys, dating, social issues, etc. I had to learn on my own and navigate this in the 90s before the internet. If I had any kind of personal question, like about issues with friends, she’d berate me for bothering her. I remember this happening when I was about 9 years old.

I enjoyed reading, so I turned to the teen magazines of this era to get all of this information. These magazines often had ads for free samples of menstrual products that came with informational pamphlets, and I remember ordering several that way I had the supplies ready for when my period did arrive. I researched on my own how to use these products.

I now see how my mother’s neglect left me in a dangerous situation where I could have been susceptible to misinformation (like relying on friends or other unreliable sources). And during those critical teen years, those magazines taught me about important topics such as sex and reproduction, birth control, STIs, and consent.