Panty Challenge Debunks Health Myth

It's hard to know why certain trends take root on social media. Take the #pantychallenge, for instance. In recent days, women on social media have been sharing photos of their undergarments. Why? Let's take a look.

Have you heard of this? SHARE with your friends.

It's called the #pantychallenge.

Really, it doesn't have much to do with the actual panties themselves. Rather, it's about vaginal discharge.

Wait, what?

It's unclear what started the trend (it always is with weird social media trends), but it may have been this video posted by Facebook user Brittany Hunter.

In the vid, Brittany boasts about her clean underwear.

She brags about the lack of "crusty discharge" in her panties. It's kind of a weird video. In fact, it's entirely possible that she's not serious at all and just trolling the whole internet.

Regardless, the #pantychallenge took off.

While some women were posting pictures of their immaculately clean panties, the truth about the whole thing was coming to light.

It's possible that society's obsession with cleanliness helped the #pantychallenge take off.

But our bodies are complex, and certain things that gross people out are actually totally natural.

Case in point: Vaginal discharge.

As the #pantychallenge continued to trend, people on social media started to point out that vaginal discharge is totally, 100 percent normal.

Every woman is different, so results can differ.

It's not like everyone's panties are going to look exactly the same. But the fact remains that seeing some discharge simply means that part of your body is working properly. Giving women the expectation of perfectly clean panties after wearing them for a day is totally unrealistic and contributes to the body-shaming epidemic on social media.

The experts agree.

This comes from the McKinley Health Center at the University of Illinois: 

"A healthy vagina produces secretions to cleanse and regulate itself, similar to how saliva cleanses and regulates the environment of the mouth. These vaginal secretions are normal vaginal discharge. Any interference with the delicate balance of vaginal secretions sets up an environment conducive to infection."

So relax, don't buy into the #pantychallenge and wear your panties with confidence, however they look!

SHARE this with the women in your life. They need to hear this!