Sparkle (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
myownface) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2018-03-22 07:57 am
myownface) wrote in fandomhigh2018-03-22 07:57 am
Entry tags:
Urban Survival - The Uglier Side of City Living, Thursday, Period 2
"So, hygiene!" Of course the week Sparkle thought to try to get himself employed at the fancy bath place, that was the week he got around to doing this lesson again. "This is a hard one. And one of the most important. You're not going to get a job if you smell like dumpster diving, and not many people are going to let you into their public bathroom to get cleaned up if you're already filthy. So you have to stay on top of things, and there's a lot to account for that most people take for granted when they have homes. Some people grow beards they gotta keep trim and tidy, for example. Some people get periods. God, the stories I have heard about what some people do to keep clean during their periods will amaze and astound."
Group home teens, in Sparkle's experience, came with many settings that varied from 'utterly silent' to 'overshare.' He preferred overshare, honestly. You learned a lot that way.
"At least for as hard as the workarounds to keeping clean can be, this is also one of those things where you can get the most creative," he offered. "You probably won't die if you miss a shower, the same way you can if you're sleeping outside in the middle of winter in wet clothes. You can probably get away with mostly sponge baths in a McDonald's restroom and the occasional shower somewhere. Hell, maybe you'll be super lucky and someone will agree to foot the bill for a single load of laundry at the laundromat, or you'll live near one of those airports that have showers people can use because flying for like two days straight sucks and everyone looks a little homeless after a trip like that. Or maybe you'll be even luckier still, and live hear a fountain or a swimming pool or a stream or a waterfall, and it'll be warm enough where you're at that you can go for a dip after dark year round, and take some of your clothes with you."
"God, I am just now realizing that I should've been making you guys keep a list of things you should have to your name for survival. Be gentle on me, this is my first time teaching," he sighed. "I'll draft one up for you another time. Anyway, if you can, keep a super-absorbent... small... towel, a washcloth, and soap in your bag at all times, and never pass up the opportunity to shower if one comes your way. Like, ever. You don't know when you'll get to next. You'll probably want to keep something to shave with, or at least to keep your beard trimmed if you're one of those people who happens to grow them. Likewise, if you get a time-of-the-month problem, you'll want something that you can use as a makeshift pad, because buying the actual ones can cost, like, the same as food for a fucking week. If you win the homeless-with-periods lottery and manage to find a food bank or shelter or something something that supplies them, then awesome, holy shit, I'm actually happy for you! Most of them get that stuff only by donation, and not many people think about 'bleeding from your downstairs' when they go to donate. But you'll probably have to get creative with folded toilet paper at least once in your life even if you aren't homeless. I'm only shooting in the dark, here, but the same theory probably applies when you are. But be careful about how you do. There are a bunch of health risks ranging from chemical irritation to yeast infections to toxic shock syndrome if improvised pads or tampons go horribly wrong."
The chatty group home girls hadn't gotten into that much detail. Or maybe they had, but this was not a class about yeast infections, and Sparkle was hardly a professional. So.
"Ahem. Back to showering. Or sponge bathing or whatever. You'll want to make sure you pay extra attention to your armpits, your privates, and your face when you clean. Between giveaway smells, keeping up appearances, and health risks, those are the big three. Easy to do if you have a stream or a shower, less easy but no less important if you're hiding in a stall in a McDonald's public washroom with a little bucket and a toiletries kit."
He sighed.
"And once again, I have to mention that homeless shelters will let you take care of a lot of that stuff basically free of charge, if they aren't full up when you come around to them. I'm guessing maybe next week I'll have to come around to my talk about those places, and a lot of general keeping safe stuff. I keep hesitating on jumping right to the shelter route partly because this would be a really short class if I did, and partly because they can get dangerous if you aren't careful. Or even if you are." He shrugged a little. "But they're worth a class about, before this semester is through. In the meantime... hygiene. Anybody have any tips or tricks or questions or suggestions about any of that stuff that I haven't covered, yet? It's a broad one, and god knows I spent more time talking about periods than any one gay cis dude should be able to. But some of you are from places that don't have things like 'public washrooms,' or you have experience with that sort of thing, so I'd love to hear your input, at least. About any and all of it. Don't be shy, even if it's an awkward topic, this stuff is literally a lifesaver."
[OOC: Open!]
Group home teens, in Sparkle's experience, came with many settings that varied from 'utterly silent' to 'overshare.' He preferred overshare, honestly. You learned a lot that way.
"At least for as hard as the workarounds to keeping clean can be, this is also one of those things where you can get the most creative," he offered. "You probably won't die if you miss a shower, the same way you can if you're sleeping outside in the middle of winter in wet clothes. You can probably get away with mostly sponge baths in a McDonald's restroom and the occasional shower somewhere. Hell, maybe you'll be super lucky and someone will agree to foot the bill for a single load of laundry at the laundromat, or you'll live near one of those airports that have showers people can use because flying for like two days straight sucks and everyone looks a little homeless after a trip like that. Or maybe you'll be even luckier still, and live hear a fountain or a swimming pool or a stream or a waterfall, and it'll be warm enough where you're at that you can go for a dip after dark year round, and take some of your clothes with you."
"God, I am just now realizing that I should've been making you guys keep a list of things you should have to your name for survival. Be gentle on me, this is my first time teaching," he sighed. "I'll draft one up for you another time. Anyway, if you can, keep a super-absorbent... small... towel, a washcloth, and soap in your bag at all times, and never pass up the opportunity to shower if one comes your way. Like, ever. You don't know when you'll get to next. You'll probably want to keep something to shave with, or at least to keep your beard trimmed if you're one of those people who happens to grow them. Likewise, if you get a time-of-the-month problem, you'll want something that you can use as a makeshift pad, because buying the actual ones can cost, like, the same as food for a fucking week. If you win the homeless-with-periods lottery and manage to find a food bank or shelter or something something that supplies them, then awesome, holy shit, I'm actually happy for you! Most of them get that stuff only by donation, and not many people think about 'bleeding from your downstairs' when they go to donate. But you'll probably have to get creative with folded toilet paper at least once in your life even if you aren't homeless. I'm only shooting in the dark, here, but the same theory probably applies when you are. But be careful about how you do. There are a bunch of health risks ranging from chemical irritation to yeast infections to toxic shock syndrome if improvised pads or tampons go horribly wrong."
The chatty group home girls hadn't gotten into that much detail. Or maybe they had, but this was not a class about yeast infections, and Sparkle was hardly a professional. So.
"Ahem. Back to showering. Or sponge bathing or whatever. You'll want to make sure you pay extra attention to your armpits, your privates, and your face when you clean. Between giveaway smells, keeping up appearances, and health risks, those are the big three. Easy to do if you have a stream or a shower, less easy but no less important if you're hiding in a stall in a McDonald's public washroom with a little bucket and a toiletries kit."
He sighed.
"And once again, I have to mention that homeless shelters will let you take care of a lot of that stuff basically free of charge, if they aren't full up when you come around to them. I'm guessing maybe next week I'll have to come around to my talk about those places, and a lot of general keeping safe stuff. I keep hesitating on jumping right to the shelter route partly because this would be a really short class if I did, and partly because they can get dangerous if you aren't careful. Or even if you are." He shrugged a little. "But they're worth a class about, before this semester is through. In the meantime... hygiene. Anybody have any tips or tricks or questions or suggestions about any of that stuff that I haven't covered, yet? It's a broad one, and god knows I spent more time talking about periods than any one gay cis dude should be able to. But some of you are from places that don't have things like 'public washrooms,' or you have experience with that sort of thing, so I'd love to hear your input, at least. About any and all of it. Don't be shy, even if it's an awkward topic, this stuff is literally a lifesaver."
[OOC: Open!]
Sign In!
Lecture!
Discuss!
Talk to Sparkle!
Talk to the TA!
OOC!
I forgot. It didn't snow at all. I have failed the team.
Re: Sign In!
Re: Talk to the TA!
Re: Discuss!
Although if there was a shortage of hot water Sparkle could probably guess who it was reserved for.
She also wasn't going to bring up experimental plumbing.
"I suppose the meds that prevents menstruation aren't available to homeless people," she said. "If they exist here."
Re: Discuss!
"I think that would be some forms of birth control," Sparkle mused. "I'm not completely on the up-and-up with some of that stuff. But that one kind of depends on where you go. Some countries have universal healthcare."
He wrinkled his nose.
"America does not. And when it comes to the health of anyone with a uterus, there are countries that go out of their way to make things way more difficult than it needs to be."
He'd been spoiled by Canada, and then Fandom, and he was coming from a place of privilege as a cis white dude. He was all too aware of that. And working at Dite's hadn't exactly given him a better understanding of anything that needed a prescription or a medical procedure to put in place.
Re: Discuss!
She added: "Do they want more children to be born or is it some kind of moral objection?"
She had come across both.
Re: Discuss!
"They say it's both," Sparkle replied, reaching a hand up to kind of scrub at his face. Okay, this was where the hygiene talk was going to go, today. "What it's really about is dehumanizing a good half the population. It's a power move. Deny people the basic human right to decide what happens to their own body, and you've got them at your mercy."
He paused a moment, and then added, "It's a shitty move. For a whole lot of reasons. I can talk with you about it another time, if you want. That stuff is going to take us way off-topic today, but I can try to squeeze a healthcare class in sometime before the semester's end."
Re: Discuss!
"I know it's not part of today's class. I was just curious why you didn't mention the medications. I know many places don't use or have access to them, but many places do. I understand that wouldn't be a solution here."
She added: "At least the quality of the water is less important than it is for drinking."
Re: Sign In!