Mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives, daughters… They all have periods, they all use period products, so how do men manage to avoid getting clued up about the way of the menstrual cycle?
Launching a period product brand has, among other things, been an eye opening experience. Friends don’t share posts on social media like they might if you were selling candles or soaps or jewellery. I mean why would they? Periods are embarrassing and shameful aren’t they?
We say NO! Periods are a regular part of life for half the population! But it’s true, most people cringe a little bit at the mere mention of periods and “it’s so uncouth” to discuss in public. Well, we think it’s time to change the mindset about periods and period products. How do we do this? We think it’s really important to educate EVERYONE regardless of sex or gender. We’re starting with our mates, dads, brothers and most importantly our sons. If we talk to our nearest and dearest about menstruation as if it’s completely normal then we’ll start to see that trickle effect (pardon the pun) ?? and the taboo will be well, no longer a taboo!
It’s still the case that while girls are educated about periods in school the boys are often taken off to do something else. We believe it’s time that education was inclusive. Talking to friends suggests that lots of us are not even comfortable talking to our partners about our periods and this leads to the menfolk to think of period as a dirty word. It’s not really surprising if it’s kept as some big secret for so long right?
What we’ve discovered on our product launch journey is that talking to men about periods is really not such a big deal. Mostly, once the subject is open and they realise no one else in the conversation is embarrassed they are not that resistant to discussion. There’s a little shock value sometimes on introduction but once it’s out there it’s pretty easy.
I’m confident that no guy wants their mother, wife or daughter stuffing toilet paper in their knickers because they haven’t got access to the appropriate products. A better understanding of menstrual needs should make for a better more comfortable future. Dads should be comfortable purchasing period products for their daughters and daughters should be comfortable asking dad to do the shopping when necessary.
Let’s keep making progress, stop being embarrassed and make life easier for everyone.