People with wombs have periods.
While this may not be an earth shattering sentence, periods have long been a taboo topic. Some menstrual activists, such as Kirhan Ghandi, who ran the 2015 London Marathon while bleeding freely, are trying to change the conversation surrounding periods. To an extent they are winning ,for example, David Cameron announced that the tampon tax will soon be coming to an end. However, it still remains that, amongst many other examples, that homeless people with periods struggle to source pads, tampons or access the facilities to comfortably clean and change menstrual cups, Japanese women have been traditionally stopped from becoming sushi chefs as it is believed menstruation alters the way that they taste, and a study in Ghana revealed that periods are responsible for up to five missed days of school a month due to lack of adequate hygiene facilities.
I'm not pointing out anything new when I say that most adverts surrounding menstrual products do nothing but reinforce the taboo. They refuse to mention blood, and their main concern seems to be allowing you to skip along in a white outfit. Out of sight, out of society's mind.
Happily, some adverts have started to buck the trend.
While I haven't actually seen any of these Always adverts on TV, they do deal with the topic in innovative and humorous ways. The First Moon Party ad is by far my favourite. While we don't see any blood, the word blood is used, we hear the word VAGINA and there is UTERUS PINATA (where can I get this?). We also get to see lots of fake blood and edible fake blood. The ad gently pokes fun at the taboo surrounding periods which means that getting your period should be a secret. It helps first time perioders see that it should be ok to talk about your period with whoever you want - mum, dad or grandpa - and know that everyone gets their first at a different time.
While these ads are great, when it came to ads directed at adults, I was so sick of seeing those stupid diagrams that show the blue fluid soaking into the pad. This is why I feel genuinely excited by Bodyform's new ad.
Not only does it tick my boxes of mentioning blood, not showing any of those diagrams but it also attempts to challenge and de-construct some of the stereotypes surrounding femininity by showing women sweating, bleeding and punching. The powerful message at the centre of the ad is that no blood should hold us back. Bleeding or fear that someone sees your menstrual blood should not stop you from doing whatever you want to do. The ad goes towards normalising the idea of menstruation and blood.
It isn't perfect, it could be a lot more explicit, it could promote the message that not everyone who identifies as a women has a period, it could also underline that if during your period you don't feel like skateboarding, riding a horse or mountain biking because it really, really hurts then that's ok too but what it really does do is bleed all over the idea that people are weaker just because they menstruate. It shows that people can still do physical activities during their period and that saying they can not it is just simply sexism.
Therefore, I see this as a victory for bloody vaginas everywhere.
It isn't perfect, it could be a lot more explicit, it could promote the message that not everyone who identifies as a women has a period, it could also underline that if during your period you don't feel like skateboarding, riding a horse or mountain biking because it really, really hurts then that's ok too but what it really does do is bleed all over the idea that people are weaker just because they menstruate. It shows that people can still do physical activities during their period and that saying they can not it is just simply sexism.
Therefore, I see this as a victory for bloody vaginas everywhere.