First, I read this hilarious article about them in the The Washington Post. Then Holly brought them up in conversation. What am I talking about? New applications for iPhone and (cue snicker) iPad that help men track a woman's menstrual cycle. Yep, there's an app for that. Several actually. The kind of dude who I imagine using them is a total Ed Hardy-wearing, former frat guy who checks his iPhone, sees the "warning symbol" for PMS on the screen (Code Red, a popular app, has a female figure with devil horns on days when the subject is most likely to be affected), shows it to all of his bro-dogs at the office, then heads off to the strip club rather than home after work. ’Cause, you know, "Bitch be crazy today!"
Okay, I'm exaggerating. But only a little. It’s hard not to see these apps as being inherently sexist -- which is not to say that I can't imagine their usefulness. Example: Every so often, Holly will begin behaving, how shall I put it...completely unreasonably. It could be comforting to be reminded that there's another possible reason besides, "My wife has gone insane." In other words, if a conflict comes up and I know she's PMS-ing, I might be less likely to take it personally. Does that make sense? On the flip side, if I were to say anything stupid like, "Oh honey, my iPhone says you're just PMS-ing right now," (head pat implied) I might be quickly and quietly decapitated.
What do you think? Men, women are these apps useful, offensive, or both?