One of the most significant variations between male and female humans is the monthly menstruation experienced by the majority of females. As our bodies prepare to make and house a kid, our uterus develops a cushiony blood lining. When no fertilized eggs appear, the uterus sheds its lining, resulting in a variety of monthly symptoms, including but not limited to unpleasant uterine cramps.

Menstrual cramps can range in severity from hardly apparent to incapacitating, lasting a few hours or many days. People who suffer from severe cramps frequently attempt to describe how terrible they are, but others who have not experienced them have no way of knowing or understanding what they truly feel like.

Or, more precisely, they did not until the period cramp simulator was introduced. You may have seen videos of males being connected up to cramp/contraction machines that imitate uterine pains, but have you ever seen a man attempt to sing while wearing one?

Talia Fossum-Wernick posted a video of herself and her fiancé, Tommy Montgomery, on stage during Tommy’s Dogs in Strollers Babies on Leashes comedy act at People’s Improv Theater in Manhattan. Tommy is linked up to a time simulator that Talia controls, and as she advances through the stages, he attempts to sing “Go the Distance” from Hercules. Tommy is a gifted vocalist who gives it his all, but by the time the machine reaches level three, he is wincing. By stage 5, the discomfort interferes with his singing.

@shoobiedoboop He did not go the distance. #comedy #sketchcomedy #musicalcomedy #feminism #periodsimlator ♬ original sound – Taliawernick

“Why do I feel it in my knee?!?” he exclaims as he hunches over in pain at level 7. His attempts at singing fail repeatedly, punctuated by gasps, wheezes, moans, and uneasy laughter. At one point, he just tells Talia, “I love you; I’m sorry.” Tommy tries to execute a big finale note as she brings it to level ten, but he finally fails to “go the distance.”

Tommy and Talia told Upworthy that they decided to include the part into their act around 20 minutes before leaving the house for the concert, so nothing was prepared or written. However, Tommy had used the simulator before.

“He bought it as a birthday present [a few years ago],” Talia adds, “and he was like, ‘I have a whole collection of videos of my male friends trying this.'”

They’ve had a number of their male and female friends try it, and the comments, much like the comment area, demonstrate how diverse everyone’s experience is. According to Talia, the comments range from ‘As a woman I’ve never experienced this’ to ‘As a woman I’ve experienced so much worse.’ “I think it is a good reminder for the wide spectrum that all of this lives on.”

Women in the comments emphasized that the simulator only replicates pain and not the dozen or so additional symptoms that often accompany cramping.

“Mind you, just the pain; no added nausea, feeling the blood exit, digestive issues, worsening of disabilities and symptoms, heat flashes, tiredness and fatigue…”

“And yet women perform on stage all the time while on their period.”

“I think this is the best period pain simulator video that I’ve seen. Because generally, the guys sit or stand, but witnessing this demonstrates how it might affect your day-to-day life if you’re not prepared or acclimated to it.”

“Meanwhile, the lady who voiced Mirabelle was in ACTIVE LABOR while recording ‘Waiting on a Miracle,’ hehe.”

“Endometriosis is more than just a monthly issue. 😭” Despite my sorrow, I was a competitive gymnast and dancer.

@shoobiedoboop Replying to @Friedfish1092 ♬ original sound – Taliawernick

“Women are tough.”

“Honestly, as someone with endometriosis who is also a performer, this made me feel so much better.”

“When I first got cramps, I was very surprised… I couldn’t believe ladies were supposed to perform properly while cramping. 😅”

When you watch Tommy’s response, you can’t believe that so many women are supposed to suck it up and not let it impact them on a monthly basis. Yes, ladies “get used to” it. Sure, it doesn’t normally go from 1 to 10 so rapidly (but it may). But also? Women have every right to claim a prize for toughness in this regard.

Check out what happens when they exchange and Talia puts on the cramp simulator in response to a commenter who argued the simulator had to be worse than cramps since he’d never seen a woman collapse over in pain as men do with it. Hahahahaha.