Mainstream brands and bestselling books are supporting the normalisation of periods — and bringing about a global change in attitudes
A review of Eat, Pray, Love noted that Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir “passed from woman to woman like the secret of life.”
This phenomenon is happening again, with Maisie Hill’s Period Power and Lisa Hendrickson-Jack’s The Fifth Vital Sign. Both books were released in 2019 and continue to feature among Amazon’s bestselling health books. Their fresh takes on hormonal and menstrual health precipitated a sea change in openly discussing periods.
In October 2020, the Pantone Color Institute added Period red as an official new shade. The intention was to destigmatize menstruation and “to urge everyone, regardless of gender, to feel comfortable to talk spontaneously and openly about this pure and natural bodily function.” Pantone is not the only major brand to recognise these barriers, and commit to changing them.
In a major new campaign fronted by actress Amy Schumer, leading menstrual health brand Tampax announced its intention to normalise talking about menstruation. The brand’s 2020 Period Education Survey proved that there is still a significant knowledge gap today concerning periods and tampons. In fact, only 6% of US adults (regardless of gender) can correctly guess how many days the average menstrual cycle lasts.
Tantra yoga teacher Jenny Keane is part of a growing number of holistic sex educators who also seek to bridge the knowledge gap. Based in her native Ireland, Keane’s has been offering her popular “Period Power” classes online since the pandemic paused her in-person classes. Keane equips students with a better understanding of their bodies, hormonal cycles and menstrual health.
The language around who has them is also becoming more inclusive. The Pantone press release does not mention any specific genders. Trends analyst Wunderman Thompson recently observed the discourse around periods “becoming ungendered and destigmatized”. They point to “a host of brands changing their language, marketing and products to better represent a variety of experiences.”
Tara Costello’s upcoming book Red Moon Gang battles these stigmas by taking into account “how periods are a particular challenge to those experiencing body dysmorphia, individuals living in poverty, and disabled people.” To be released in 2021, the book also includes resources for further education.
As highlighted in a New York Times article around the Pantone launch, the coronavirus pandemic has increased the inequality by disrupting supply chains, resulting in numerous “women and girls around the world … struggling to find basic essentials like pads and tampons.”
Fortunately, world governments and big brands alike are coming alive to their power to tackle period inequality and the knowledge gap. The Scottish government, which has a female leader, has blazed a trail on both fronts. In 2020, Scotland began offering free period products to all resident students and launched the media campaign “Let’s call periods, periods”.
To quote Amy Schumer’s hilarious Tampax promo video, “I have a vagina that I know very little about … and when we don’t talk about them, we don’t learn about them.” Standing in a US shopping mall, Schumer interviews people of all genders. The message is clear: menstrual health is not just something secret, only to be shared “woman to woman.”
The hashtag #periodpower has over 64000 posts on Instagram alone. There has clearly never been a better or more supportive time to start talking, or learning, about periods.
