Temple University student John Corrigan decided it would be a great idea to write a column for the student newspaper about menstruation.
In "Time of the month a time of care" -- Corrigan's apparent final column for The Temple News -- he attempts to advise his classmates on how to handle their girlfriends when those girlfriends have their periods.
Corrigan starts off discussing how terrible it is when he has "morning wood" and can't, shall we say, "do anything" with his girlfriend because of her period. He then explains the science behind menstruation cycles and discusses how hormones might affect a woman's mood:
Your appearance, your performance, your family, your friends -- everything is fair game for critique when you’re caught in a woman’s PMSing scorn.
They call it a period, but an exclamation point is more appropriate. As for advice, I can’t save you. I have yet to conquer the menstrual struggle.
[...]
She might not be pregnant, but she still demands 7-Eleven jalapeno cream cheese taquitos. Presents, cards and flowers help -- anything to make her feel special.
Chocolate is supposed to be the miracle drug, but my girl is immune to the powers of Dr. Hershey. Plus, she’s “in the mood.” So take advantage of soothing her aches with a couple pelvic shakes. Don’t expect a quickie, though. Your evening shall be spent nurturing your honey.
Based on the publicly available page-view counts, the column had received 16 times more clicks than other stories on the Temple News' website. It also received a lot of traffic and criticism on Twitter (as seen in the tweet round-up below).
"This article actually made me cringe, and I’m not even on my period," said the one online comment on the article from reader "Anne." Another, "Drew," wrote, "You, sir, obviously do not actually have a girlfriend." Another person called the column "sexist."
Requests for comment from Corrigan and editors of The Temple News were not immediately returned.
Corrigan did say in the article that he'll likely have his "relationship status revoked after this column is published." But he was willing to "bite the bullet for you, my loyal readers." He also sent out a tweet Tuesday afternoon with a link to the piece that just seemed a bit unusual:
Check out Twitter's reaction to Corrigan's column below: