Recently, Apple has been heading in a much more “lady-friendly” direction if you know what I mean [insert iPad joke here]. Now, Winkpass Creations has developed an application that allows women to track their menstrual cycle via their iPhones. That’s right—we have entered into the age of the aptly named iPeriod “period-tracker.”

This detailed application affords the user a multitude of services—it generates the average length of one’s cycle and the estimated start date of one’s period. Cutesy hearts and flowers mark important dates on the calendar, such as the start and end of the ovulation cycle.

In fact, the application itself is dominated by pink and purple hues, as if to alert the user that iPeriod is indeed intended for those of the female persuasion; nothing says “menstruation!” like magenta and cartoon fauna.

Despite the fact that iPeriod’s presentation seems to lend itself to the Bratz-doll set, it does provide useful services for women hoping to get pregnant—the notifications of the days of ovulation are particularly helpful. The app also allows the user to record “flow,” “mood,” “appetite,” “cramps,” “breast tenderness” and “headaches.” As a result, iPeriod can effectively predict the time, duration, and severity of one’s next period.

iPregnancy on the other hand is designed to—you guessed it—track the details of one’s pregnancy. As such, it seems like a natural extension of iPeriod. The app allows users to track the exact age of the fetus (“Baby Heidi is now 24 weeks 5 days”), and the amount of time remaining until the due date. It also records the fetus’ approximate length and weight, provides a baby name generator, and tracks the user’s OB appointments, among other things.

But despite these apps’ apparent utility, there is something inherently creepy about them. Maybe this derives from the fact that technology is encroaching upon something as intimate as one’s menstrual cycle and pregnancy.

Perhaps it also adds certain sterility to these two natural processes in a way that is generally disturbing. Aren’t women supposed to be earth-goddesses in tune with the natural rhythms of the world? However, women’s health has often benefited from technological advancements—I’d venture a guess that few women would call for pre-1900 gynecology.
Maybe it has more to do with the name? There is something so hilariously nonchalant about an app called iPeriod. Or maybe it’s that the emphasis on the micromanaging one’s life has progressed to a farcical point—that menstruation and pregnancy must be managed by an iPhone.