“Use Your Period For Good” – Part II
December 8, 2007 by Gabrielle
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
I am still fuming about this and its taken me a little while to figure out why. I think I’ve got it now.
At the very heart of this statement is an implication that a period somehow needs to be put to use or justified beyond its very existence. There is an assumption that “just” a period is somehow not good enough. Your period is more than just a symbol of your fertility. It is an integral part of a cycle that creates human life.
Dear Tampax, is that not enough for you?
Apparently not. With your new slogan you are perpetuating the idea that periods are a burden, a nuisance, something synonymous with PMS, mood swings and other negative connotations put upon them by a society that does not value motherhood. Your new slogan says to me, “Well, If I have to get my period and I have to buy tampons anyway, I might as well buy tampons that save the world, or at least Africa.”
And I am not buying it.
Hey. It’s Femily from Feminists to the Rescue. Thought I’d comment on this topic since I actually like the slogan. I don’t think Tampax and Always are trying to imply that a woman’s period isn’t good enough the way it is. I think people in this country have tremendous power to change the market and that our shopping choices have a huge impact on other people. Why by Walmart clothing made in sweatshops when you can buy quality clothing that’s union made? Why buy Pantene when you can buy shampoo that’s not tested on animals? I think Tampax and Always are going by the same logic. As an American, my period is not a burden, in part because I have a variety of products to choose from. But for these girls in Africa, it is a burden because they don’t have that privilege. Our society thinks menstruation is disgusting, and I think “using your period for good” sort of slaps that notion right in the face. But at the same time, I do get what you’re saying, that periods shouldn’t need to have a value.