The Problem with Gendering Period Products
When I think of purchasing pads or tampons at the grocery store, the image of an aisle filled with pink boxes and wrappers fills my mind. When I think about period advertisements, I think of all the women in commercials, most of them wearing white, dancing along a beach, and talking about how “painless” their periods are (excuse me while my eyes roll into the back of my head). There’s a lot wrong with this, outside of the fact that never once have I worn a white dress while on my period.
The narrative that women are the only menstruators is incredibly harmful to menstruators who don’t identify as women. What about trans menstruators? What about non-binary menstruators?
Admittedly, this problem never crossed my mind until a few years ago when I began doing work in menstrual activism. I’m a cis-gendered woman. I’ve grown up being taught that periods are a health topic related to my gender, and my gender alone. Many of those misinformed notions come from the way that period products are marketed.
Sure, the wrapping on the pads is pink, and pink is just a color. But what do you associate pink with? Women. And women aren’t the only people who menstruate. Gendered marketing can be harmful to people who need to purchase these products for their health, but don’t feel safe or comfortable doing so.
Period product companies need to start marketing their products in more inclusive ways that allow all menstruators to feel safe and comfortable shopping in the “feminine products” aisle. They’re health products. Not just female products.
