Periods Aren’t Blue!

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

2256

Abstract

tching the after school special?</p><p id="08c7">Until 1985, the word period, in reference to menstruation, hadn’t even been uttered on the airwaves. Pads and tampons made their prime time appearance that year as well. And in 2020, apparently we still have Windex coming from our nether regions.</p><p id="ca73">So, there it is. Women have been made to feel ashamed of a perfectly natural process for, well, ever. Men (not all) have been known to get all sweaty and nervous when they have to buy these products for their wives and daughters — paranoid that cashier is assuming you have nefarious plans for when you get home. Presumably they get sweatier and more nervous when they have to create a commercial for it. (I know there are plenty of women in marketing now, but let’s face it, the glass ceiling still exists and the majority of advertising will, at some point, still have to pass through a man’s hands before it goes to air).</p><p id="3eec">But one company was finally brave enough to put an end to this garbage. I don’t work for them. I will receive nothing for mentioning them. It’s not even a product I use. I’m just really damn proud of them!!</p><p id="087c">Way to go Kotex!!</p><p id="d4d7">Last night, during the Toronto Raptors’ basketball game, Kotex aired a commercial for their pads, and they used realistic looking red liquid! I lost my bloody mind! <i>(wink wink). </i>Both my boyfriend and daughter were in the room with me and neither immediately understood why I was so excited, but it felt so liberating!! And during a basketball game no less. I’m a huge sports fan, as are many women, but the majority of viewers are still male.</p><p id="9a64">It may seem like a small thing, but to me it was huge. I am raising a daughter and a son, and I want them both to know about all of the things our bodies will go through as we mature. It’s one less myth I have to dispel for them, one less lie I have to undo.</p><p id="f079">My takeaway is simple. Be honest. Nobody died last night because red blood-like liquid, instead of blue, was poured from a vial. But I’m guessing a few people learned something.</p><p id="8a95">So, thank you Kotex. For being brave enough to go first. For telling little girls everywhere that you don’t hav

Options

e to be ashamed of your period. For helping the rest of the world understand that periods aren’t blue.</p><blockquote id="eb46"><p>©<i>Deborah Weir, 2021</i></p></blockquote><p id="d940"><i>Author’s Note: Since writing this, I have learned that the companies in the UK and Australia were light years, ok four years, ahead of Canada on this one. Their realistic colour choices date back to 2017. So way to go Bodyform and Libra, too! (not getting any money from them either)</i></p><h1 id="8056">Read more from Deb</h1><div id="d63e" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/5-things-no-one-tells-you-about-becoming-a-mom-or-dad-c45539acd066"> <div> <div> <h2>5 Things No One Tells You About Becoming a Mom (or Dad)</h2> <div><h3>Even the best baby books leave this stuff out!</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*[email protected])"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="4bd9" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-understand-your-grief-650e3fb18a49"> <div> <div> <h2>How to Understand Your Grief</h2> <div><h3>Navigating from loss to living</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*[email protected])"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="7605" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/elemental-e0c92ffcdf48"> <div> <div> <h2>Elemental</h2> <div><h3>POETRY</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*VR1kzQLALzzda4KU0oOUbg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Periods Aren’t Blue!

There is a problem in the marketing world, or, dare I suggest, society in general. Certain products have made marketers uneasy for decades and it’s about time someone did something about it. Well, someone did, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Now, for some groundbreaking information: PERIODS AREN’T BLUE!

Oh my god, she said period. (Audible gasp)

Now, I know you’re confused by my bold declaration, as every commercial for tampons or pads have indicated that, on a monthly basis, women clearly leak antifreeze from their lady bits.

Let me get this out of the way early. Women have periods. Periods are bloody. It’s not gross, it’s not taboo, it’s necessary for the propagation of the species. Everyone still on board? Good.

So why does every period product advertise by showing some woman pour a small vial of what might as well be Gatorade onto the product in question? It’s not because they have to hide blood, because we’ve seen bandage ads featuring scraped knees and cut fingers. It’s not because it’s gross. I have seen mucus explain why I should use a specific cold medication. Animated mucus. Even when incontinence products are shown, they are marketed only for women, and only with the mysterious blue liquid.

And please don’t tell me that periods are a delicate matter that not everyone wants to see on TV, or that young, impressionable children might be watching. If my kids can learn about erectile dysfunction during their after-school special, then they can absolutely learn about a perfectly normal bodily function that will affect most girls by the time they are 13. Y’know, the ones actually watching the after school special?

Until 1985, the word period, in reference to menstruation, hadn’t even been uttered on the airwaves. Pads and tampons made their prime time appearance that year as well. And in 2020, apparently we still have Windex coming from our nether regions.

So, there it is. Women have been made to feel ashamed of a perfectly natural process for, well, ever. Men (not all) have been known to get all sweaty and nervous when they have to buy these products for their wives and daughters — paranoid that cashier is assuming you have nefarious plans for when you get home. Presumably they get sweatier and more nervous when they have to create a commercial for it. (I know there are plenty of women in marketing now, but let’s face it, the glass ceiling still exists and the majority of advertising will, at some point, still have to pass through a man’s hands before it goes to air).

But one company was finally brave enough to put an end to this garbage. I don’t work for them. I will receive nothing for mentioning them. It’s not even a product I use. I’m just really damn proud of them!!

Way to go Kotex!!

Last night, during the Toronto Raptors’ basketball game, Kotex aired a commercial for their pads, and they used realistic looking red liquid! I lost my bloody mind! (wink wink). Both my boyfriend and daughter were in the room with me and neither immediately understood why I was so excited, but it felt so liberating!! And during a basketball game no less. I’m a huge sports fan, as are many women, but the majority of viewers are still male.

It may seem like a small thing, but to me it was huge. I am raising a daughter and a son, and I want them both to know about all of the things our bodies will go through as we mature. It’s one less myth I have to dispel for them, one less lie I have to undo.

My takeaway is simple. Be honest. Nobody died last night because red blood-like liquid, instead of blue, was poured from a vial. But I’m guessing a few people learned something.

So, thank you Kotex. For being brave enough to go first. For telling little girls everywhere that you don’t have to be ashamed of your period. For helping the rest of the world understand that periods aren’t blue.

Author’s Note: Since writing this, I have learned that the companies in the UK and Australia were light years, ok four years, ahead of Canada on this one. Their realistic colour choices date back to 2017. So way to go Bodyform and Libra, too! (not getting any money from them either)