When you think of having your period, do you think of this:
From Slate.com's XX "How to Sell a Tampon"
Or do you ever think of this:
From The Guardian, "It's in the blood" published Oct. 2, 2009
Slate.com’s XX has a charming new slideshow, How to Sell a Tampon, that looks at the history of advertising feminine hygiene products. Talk about sanitized for your protection: No mention of cramps, PMS or blood-stained panties; instead, think lots of beautiful outfits (mostly white), empowering work suits, even a 1980s shot of Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby showing off her well-toned backside, legs, and, of course, crotch. (That’s her in the top photo.)
Now I don’t know about you, but when I get my period, the last thing I want to do is a routine on the balance beam – I much prefer lying in yoga pants on the couch, watching DVDs of Angel and eating far too much Toblerone while waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in. And I’m okay with that.
But some people aren’t. The Globe and Mail once reported that a poll by the Museum of Menstruation suggested that four out of five women would stop their menstrual cycles if they could (no word on whether or not this stoppage would effect fertility), and a quick look at the comments page of MUM’s slightly wacky website shows a real hatred for periods, and an earnest desire to embrace contraceptive options like Depo-Provera that limit bleeding to a few times a year.
Yet over in the U.K., “menstrual anarchy” is on the verge of a breakthrough. Last month, Kira Cochrane reported in The Guardian that there is a movement of “simple efforts to speak openly about periods, radical affronts to negative attitudes and campaigns for more environmentally friendly sanitary products.” Cochrane points to people like Chella Quint, a menstrual activist with a touring comedy show and a zine called Adventures in Menstruating, and artist Ingrid Berthon-Moine who is working on photographing women “wearing their menstrual blood as lipstick.” (That’s one of her shots in the bottom photo.)
While a new lipgloss has often done wonders for my mood, I’m not quite sure that I’ll be following Berthon-Moine’s lead any time soon – but I’m equally wary of ingesting any substance that would reboot my body’s rhythms to the point of fake infertility.
The one thing I am glad of is that these discussions are happening: Leave sanitary for the pads, but let the ideas flow freely and let conversations get down and dirty.
What say you? Are you in favour of menstruation vacations? Or do you embrace your period in all of its glory?
- Rebecca Caldwell
