UK sanitary product company BodyForm is tackling the period taboo in their latest advertisement by swapping out the stereotypical blue liquid for a red liquid when demonstrating the pads’ absorbency.
In an effort to end the period stigma, the commercial depicts several other “period things”: boyfriends buying tampons, blood dripping on a woman’s leg in the shower, and a woman in some comfy period panties.
Theres finally a pad commercial I can watch without rolling my eyes thinking: Seriously? Who does that when they’re on their period? A step away from the images of woman eating salads, and swimming, or having a fun night out with their girls, is just what this industry needs. Depicting the everyday struggles of people who menstruate as something casual and light-hearted helps us all feel a little less embarrassed during that time of the month.
According to research conducted by BodyForm, 20 per cent of polled women had damaged confidence due to not having openly discussed their periods at any time. Another 42 per cent believe that young girls’ confidence will continue to decline in the future if period shaming continues.
Traci Baxter, a marketing manager at Bodyform, told the Evening Standard, “We were so shocked by the results of our research that we publicly vowed to address the continued silence around periods. We know that the ‘period taboo’ is damaging. It means people are more likely to struggle with the effects of period poverty, whilst others struggle with their mental health and wellbeing.”
Hopefully with more advertisements like BodyForm’s, the normalization of a bodily function that affects half the population every month can move forward.
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