Tag Archives: menstruation

Libra Tampon Ad Called Transphobic For Implying “Real Women” Have Periods

Jessica WakemanJanuary 3, 2012 //
"Tranny" Slur
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Transphobia
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When pop culture depicts transgender people, they usually do it in such a facepalm way that I wonder why anyone bothers anymore. The latest what-were-you-thinking? comes courtesy of Libra tampons in New Zealand, which aired a commercial that implies trans folks who dress as women are not “real women.” The commercial shows an ostensibly “real” woman standing next to a trans person in the bathroom, who I guess is a drag queen. They both put on their lip gloss and mascara and adjust their boobs in their tight party dress. Then the “real” woman pulls a tampon out of her purse. The drag queen makes a “hmmph!” face and walks away. Keep reading »

Is This Spoof Always Ad With Drag Queens Transphobic — Or Revolutionary?

Jessica WakemanAugust 12, 2011 //

Men aren’t usually in commercials for period products. But this spoof ad — which Proctor & Gamble denied via Twitter is affiliated with Always — has lots of them. Men in bright red lipstick, men in bustiers, men with beehive hairdos that would put Amy Winehouse to shame. The spoof stars drag queens and lots of ‘em; each one is boo-hooing like a three-year-old girl because he’s got man parts down south. “There are some people who would just love to have a period,” the subtitling reads. “Let alone a happy one.” I, a person not usually known for her love of advertisements, think the commercial is actually pretty revolutionary. I mean, drag queens? In a commercial? And it’s not the Super Bowl and they’re not being mocked?

Other bloggers did not quite agree with me, calling the commercial “transphobic.” Keep reading »

My Monthly Deathly Hallows And Other New Names For Your Period

Julie GersteinJuly 14, 2011 //

Let’s get one thing straight: my period and I are not friends. And that’s why last week, when I was going through the worst of it, I started referring to my period as The Deathly Hallows. It just seemed appropriate, you know? Granted, I’ve never seen a Harry Potter movie or read the books, but come on, what’s more deathly or hallows-y than bleeding for five days straight? With that in mind, I’ve decided we need to come up with some fresh new period euphemisms, because “Aunt Flo,” “the rag,” and “my monthly lusty bloodletting” just aren’t cutting it anymore. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Man Says Periods Make Women Workers Less Productive

Jessica WakemanJuly 8, 2011 //
  • A New Zealand man was fired from his leadership of a business group after he suggested that women are paid less because “once a month they have sick problems” and they also take time off to have kids. “I’m sorry, I don’t like saying these things because it sounds like I’m sexist, but it’s the facts of life,” said Alasdair Thompson. The kids thing makes slightly more sense, but blaming periods on productivity and using it as justification to pay women less is absurd. Also, who calls periods “sick problems”? Is that some kind of Kiwi thing? [BBC]
  • An anti-abortion group in Wisconsin has asked the state’s attorney general to stop the University of Wisconsin medical school from teaching med students how to perform abortions. Because, really, neglecting to teach doctors how to perform and/or respond to a widespread medical procedure is an excellent idea to promote health. [Think Progress]
  • The TSA is accused of demanding to search inside a black woman’s hair. [The Grio]
  • Pop culture’s most fascinating “weak female characters.” [Flavorwire]

Keep reading »

Always Maxi Pad Ad Draws Blood

Amelia McDonell-ParryJuly 7, 2011 //

Whoa. Is … is … is that what I think it is? Is this Always maxi-pad daring to suggest that red blood is involved with a woman’s menstrual cycle? Such a thing has never before occurred in the history of tampon and pad ads, which usually imply that a soft, inoffensive blue liquid flows down there. I, for one, am very glad to see Always leading the charge towards getting bloody real. [Tres Sugar] Keep reading »

Should I Be Embarrassed To Buy Tampons?

Amelia McDonell-ParryJune 15, 2011 //
tampon photo

I just had the strangest thing happen. About 10 minutes ago, I ran to the drugstore to buy a box of tampons, picking up the latest copy of Us Weekly while I was at it. After I paid, the cashier folded the magazine around the outside of the tampon box and stuck them both in a plastic bag. Then she lowered her voice discreetly and said, “Sorry, that’s the best I can do — we’re out of paper bags.” In other words, “When you walk out of the store, someone might notice that you have just purchased tampons which may lead them to assume you are bleeding from your vagina. I am sorry I can’t do anything to prevent this embarrassment from occurring.” Keep reading »

I Am Never Trying To Skip My Period Again

Amelia McDonell-ParryJune 6, 2011 //

I have been fascinated by the notion of going without a period since the 8th grade, when I heard about an older, incredibly beautiful girl at my school who didn’t wear underwear. I was a maxi pad user at the time — tampons did not register as an option until 10th grade — so I couldn’t understand how this chick could go panty-less during her monthly flow.

“Where does she stick her pad?” I asked a friend as we sat on the school’s front lawn giving each other hairwraps. (It was a hippie school and it was the early-’90s.)

“Oh, I heard her tell someone that she rarely gets her period because she drinks so much water.” Keep reading »

Mind Of Man: What Men Think About Menstruation

John DeVoreMay 4, 2011 //

When I was a little kid, my teenage sister explained to me that she had become a woman. This meant that for one week out of the month, I had better do exactly what she tells me. I would never know exactly when that week would be, so for my sake, she lovingly suggested I play it safe and stay out of her way. Because during that week, she would be going through a natural change that happens to all grown adult women and she wouldn’t be able to control her rage.

So, largely, I did what my older sister told me, because it was obvious that she was a werewolf. Keep reading »

Girl Talk: Love Me, Love My Period

Ami AngelowiczApril 28, 2011 //

The decision to cohabit with my now ex-boyfriend Jeff was prompted by a fight over my period.

Jeff and I came back to my place after dinner to find my male roommate and some of his buddies sitting on the couch. He was angry because he just got laid off. He was drunk. In general he was a big a**hole. Keep reading »

Bleed All Over This: Patricia Field Designs A Maxi Pad

Jessica WakemanApril 7, 2011 //


“Can I ask you a question? Who designed your maxi pad?”

“Patricia Field for Kotex.”

“Fabulous, dah-ling!”

OK, just kidding. This is a conversation that will not actually happen. Patricia Field has leant her name to Kotex, but only to cases that carry feminine hygiene products in and this trippy maxi pad won’t actually be produced. (Besides, she’s a tampon fan anyway.)

Patricia will, however, mentor young designers who want to “ban the bland” and funkify a maxi pad for a Kotex contest. She told Fashionista, “I would put a design element to anything because I don’t want anything around me that’s ugly and boring. Period. Anything I can make beautiful I’ll make beautiful.” Pun, I’m assuming, not intended. [U By Kotex via Fashionista] Keep reading »

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