Shame on girls
From male teachers complaining about a student’s skirt length to the point of having distant relatives tell your parents that you’re rebellious for posting a bikini picture on Instagram, there’s always been shame revolving around the female body.
“Your shoulders are distracting”.
Heard of that one before?
As a girl, even your period was seen as something to be ashamed of. Growing up, I was never shy about the fact that I had my period, because the pain that followed was already too much to handle.
Once a month, I would get severe cramps and vomit almost everything I consumed, so why was I expected to pretend that everything was fine?
Why were my friends hiding their sanitary pads up their sleeves on the way to the toilet? Why would the store wrap up my sanitary pad purchase in a way that seemed like I was buying something illegal?
Despite being in an international school, sex education was not provided as it is greatly frowned upon in Malaysia. Comprehensive sex education programs would have given women the tools to manage menstruation with dignity but those in power relied on the notion that ‘sex education would lead to sex’ and dismissed it completely.
So, when female hygiene brand Libresse released their ‘Know-Your-V’ campaign, I was ecstatic and immediately sent it to all of my friends. It brought V-zone confidence and femininity through a modern interpretation of the Nyonya kebaya floral designs, hoping to inspire women to be proud and confident in their own skin while raising awareness on menstrual health.
This campaign gained a great deal of media traction, both positive and negative. The Yadim Muslim Women’s Council led by Islamic law professor, Safinar Salled, lashed out stating, “To misuse an image of women’s private part on the advertisement design of your sanitary products is dishonour to women,”.
I honestly thought that this was a truly successful campaign despite the backlash because it was educational for everyone. This was obvious from the arguments against the campaign when many equated the vulva to the vagina, concluding with how the floral designs were indeed too ‘sexual’. Their obstinate determination to convince the world that a company selling sanitary pads should not be raising awareness on the difference between a vulva and a vagina was unbelievable.
Libresse has always been a progressive brand in terms of menstrual health, pioneering the fight to overcome the stigma around periods in Malaysia. Even though they were forced to take down the campaign, they gained an impressive number of supporters and customers.
As Libresse continues pushing boundaries in its campaigns, more conversations around the importance of menstrual health will be had. Campaigns like this should be shared, because girls deserve better than having to continuously internalise society’s taboos and feel ashamed for something they have no control over.
Menstruation should stop being regarded as a ‘dirty’ event but understood for what it is; natural.
