The iPeriod: Mother Nature is Calling!

    
     A friend of mine recently informed me of an application existing for the iPhone, which is geared specifically toward women and is entitled the iPeriod. Not the punctuation mark, mind you. Yep, we’re talking about full fledged menstruation-- a menstruation tracker, to be precise. This iPeriod product description explains its purpose:

     “Enter in the first day and last day of your period for  

     at least two consecutive cycles, and iPeriod

     calculates your average duration, cycle length and

     estimates the dates of your next expected periods. A

     must have for doctor’s appointments, event planning

     and estimating when to leave the house prepared!”

     I feel conflicted on this one.
The feminist side of my brain is happy that such an accessory is available for women to give them the kind of support and vital information about their bodies that have been hard to come by in our historically gynophobic culture. However, my more pragmatic sensibilities (not to say that feminists aren’t pragmatic, that is) make me worry that some users may become too reliant on this technology.

     Of course, we’ve all experienced the failures of technology before (that paper with all of the spelling errors that Microsoft Word didn’t catch, that one time your server crashed, that e-mail attachment that just would not open, etc.). This a wee bit more significant, though. Such an application could influence some women’s behaviors and lifestyles choices (both sexually and in regard to personal hygiene), and a single glitch in the system (a miscalculation or an error programmed into one's cyclical calendar) could be detrimental to their health and well-being.

     Am I going overboard here (writing as someone who is ignorant to the woes of Aunt Flow)? Does anyone else want to contribute an opinion? Are there any iPeriod users out there who want to share their stories? I'd love to learn more!