We all get our period, so what’s with the 007 top secret missions to the bathroom?
Okay, I’ll admit: When I get my period, I’m not one to broadcast it. Not because I’m uncomfortable with it – you know, aside from the cramps, bloating, and the murderous amount of blood that could stain my jeans at any second – but because I’m uncomfortable with other people’s discomfort.
First, there’s the whole speaking in code thing: Aunt Flo’s in town, on the rag, riding the cotton pony, surfing the crimson tide, that time of the month, smoking a lady cigar, massacre at the Y, and my favorite: Rusty pipes. Meanwhile, the code words are worse than just saying you’re on your period.
Then there are the traumatizing tampon commercials we’ve been subjected to since the beginning of time: The white pants, the jumping off diving boards, the yoga, the woman at the party with the big, “I’m totally ovulating right now,” grin on her face. Yeah, okay society. Because that’s what it’s really like. The commercials are almost as patronizing as those vintage magazine ads where the woman’s vacuuming and basting a turkey. Vom. It.
We all get our period – so why don’t we start acting like it? I mean, it’s not like we need to walk around wearing an “I Heart Periods” sandwich board while throwing tampons around like confetti, but we do need to stop being so second grade about it in our everyday lives. Naamo Bloom, founder of HelloFlo, a subscription service aimed at making our periods a little less dreadful, has launched a new campaign to help us along.
She hopes that by using the hashtag #TamponLiberation, women everywhere will stop hiding their tampons up their sleeve, down their shirt, or in their back pocket when they have to use the bathroom at work or out on the town.
“While we don’t think that we’ll actually get women to start walking to the bathroom with their head held high and their tampon held higher,” Bloom wrote in an essay, “We do want to encourage women to think about why tampons, pads, menstrual cups, sponges, etc. are shrouded in such secrecy. What if we just treated them as the tools they are?”
Plus, if you take a picture of yourself with a tampon (or other menstrual product) and post it to social media using the hashtag #TamponLiberation, you’ll score this adorable uterus sticker:
Image: HelloFlo
Those of us steering clear of the more “traditional” products – which are taking up an unthinkable amount of space in North American landfills and may contain illness-causing chemicals – have an even greater responsibility to talk proudly about our Diva Cups and Dear Kate underwear and banish the stigma of ickiness that surrounds the (gasp!) reusable options available in the marketplace.
Will you be joining the #TamponLiberation?
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HelloFlo: The Best Tampon Commercial Ever
This Song About Your Period Is the Funny Anthem We’ve All Been Waiting For
Image: Terry Robinson