When Media has its Say:
Representations of Menstrual Campaigns
Abarna K
PhD Research Scholar
Department of English
PSG College of Arts & Science
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
&
Dr. Saranya V M
Assistant Professor
Department of English
PSG College of Arts & Science
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract: Menstruation
being the natural process, has long been a shredded topic to discuss. This
research paper focuses on the representations of women’s menstruation in
newspaper and television ad media. It analyses how commercial advertising
campaigns transcend beyond promoting their sanitary products to becoming
significant platforms for social advocacy. Focusing on the Sanitary Napkin
brand Whisper’s Touch the Pickle Campaign and Stayfree’s Its Just A Period and
Beta Stayfree Le Aana campaigns, this paper analyses how these ad campaigns
communicate messages to spread awareness and normalise conversations around
menstruation. Further, this research also examines the South African daily
newspapers’ Period Paper campaign, advocating to end period poverty, public
shame and discrimination, thereby promoting menstrual health. Moreover, this
research paper exposes the transformative potential of media through such
commercial campaigns, ultimately addressing menstruation as to be glorified and
dignified by every woman and others.
Keywords: Menstruation, Media, Ad, Newspaper, Campaign.
Introduction
Humans coexist with the
media in today’s world. What was once regarded for the purpose of entertainment
and news dissemination has now evolved into an inevitable part of daily life.
From checking social media upon waking and before sleeping, media has become a
constant companion. However with increased use of media, awareness about one’s
bodily transformations remains a significant gap. Being vigilant about one’s
body and health is important, but comparatively being aware of certain
transitions experienced by other family members are also vital for a holistic
well-being.
In contemporary times,
despite living in a digital world which is at its zenith, many girls are still
blindsided by the onset of menarche, which is the onset of menstruation,
showing the female reproductive capacity (Carroll; Karapanou &
Papadimitriou). Today, conversations about menstruation often focus on period
pain, discomfort and mood swings relevant to McHug’s term “menstrual moaning,”
which is closely linked to the menstrual stigma (McHugh). Traditionally,
societies encouraged girls and women to keep menstruation in secret, which
contributed to menstrual shame. Therefore, to break the silence and challenge
the taboos, open conversations acts as a form of resistance against menstrual stigma.
To achieve this, the media
seems to be the perfect transmitter of information and communications as they
reach a wide range of audience. Media via television, radio, newspaper, digital
platforms like Instagram, YouTube play a significant role in making the
information accurate, accessible and relatable, through various educational
advertisements, announcements and awareness campaigns. In simple terms, the
media makes people think radically. Additionally, media awareness campaigns
promote gender equity, shattering the gender stereotypes and taboos. They also
aid in normalising the open discussions about periods, pads and likewise
respectively, which further facilitate to reduce the stigmas and empower
individuals to manage their menstruation with dignity rather than shame.
This research article sheds
light on the media advertisements and campaigns on menstruation and how they
facilitate in breaking the stigmas, taboos and silence surrounding the natural
process, ultimately promoting awareness, compassion and supportive society
where menstrual health is recognised and validated for holistic
well-being.
Menstruation and Ad Media
Evolution of the blood
colour from blue to red in television commercials for sanitary products, traces
the media’s ability to break the conventions and promote realistic depictions.
With this remarkable departure, which aimed to remove an iota of stigmas and
taboos surrounding periods, it provided the path to understand the biological
truth that every menstruator sheds blood in red (Joshi). This research paper
analyses the commercial media ads turned campaigns and a newspaper campaign
regarding menstruation.
Whisper’s Touch the Pickle
Campaign
Menstruating people are
subjected to various restrictions during their period. Some restrictions
include entering holy places (pooja room), kitchen to cook, watering plants,
and are also restricted to touch other individuals. And are also refrained from
touching certain foods like curds and pickles (Anand and Garg). Though
menstruation by itself is a cleansing process, still a menstruating person is treated
‘impure or unclean’ (Thomas). Such refraining practices reinforce gender
inequality and cause shame and embarrassment for menstruators during their
periods.
Whisper, one of the leading
sanitary napkin brands in India, found its name considering the cultural
sensitivity and society’s reality of then India. Though they stepped in
acknowledging the taboo and shame, paradoxically they accentuated the need for
menstrual hygiene and are dismantling the taboos and stigmas through various
resonating campaigns (MarkHub24). In 2015, Whisper, the sanitary napkin brand
by Procter & Gamble (P&G) India, along with the well-known advertising
agency BBDO India, launched the Touch the Pickle campaign to challenge the
long-lasting beliefs and stigmas (BBDO India). Further, this campaign
encouraged people to question the belief that touching pickles during
menstruation causes it to spoil (COTW).
Many menstrual restrictions
are imposed without scientific evidence, as they are myths passed from one
generation to the other. Touch the Pickle campaign encouraged women to touch
pickle jars during menstruation, thereby fostering resistance against the
rooted myths and beliefs through the symbolic act. This practical approach
motivated women to rethink and question the inherited beliefs and proved that
menstruation does not spoil foods.
Through this campaign, the
pickle jar became a significant metaphor challenging the menstrual taboos.
Additionally, this campaign also called for a collective act, encouraging women
across the nation to share posts touching the pickle jar during their periods.
Though this campaign was initiated by a commercial brand, it speaks beyond
product promotion, functioning as a social advocacy campaign. Thus, this
campaign aided for a better understanding of menstruation, using a cultural
symbol and participatory approach, ultimately overthrowing the restrictions and
the rooted misconceptions.
Stayfree’s Its Just A Period
and Beta Stayfree Le Aana Campaign
Menstruation is often
treated as a private or shameful subject, preventing open discussions within
families and communities. Usually, menstrual education is given to girls and
women, while other categories including men and non-binary people are excluded
as menstruation is considered to be “women’s issue” (Ferguson; O'Flynn). Such
exclusions have contributed to preserve the existing myths, embarrassment, and
gender stereotypes surrounding menstruation.
Yet another India’s leading
sanitary napkin brand Stayfree, fosters family conversations about periods
(Stayfree). With this aim, their long-term campaign It’s Just A Period focused
on normalising communications about menstruation, encouraging fathers and
parents to discuss periods. Stayfree additionally launched the Beta Stayfree Le
Aana (Son, get Stayfree) campaign, through which they encouraged boys in the
family, particularly sons, to purchase sanitary napkins for their female family
members (Kyoorius Creative Awards). Through this symbolic act of buying sanitary
napkins, boys learn to empathize, support and respect the menstruators.
Stayfree aids in transcending women’s concern into a shared responsibility of
the family. The powerful message of the campaign, “When we make our sons
comfortable with periods, we make our daughters comfortable with it too,”
affirms that normalisation and acceptance begin at home (Kenvue). Through these
acts of normalisation, both campaigns challenge the long-held beliefs, stigmas,
and silence surrounding menstruation, thereby promoting the importance of
educating boys alongside girls.
Stayfree transforms women’s
issues into societal issues, advocating for gender-inclusive menstrual
awareness. Besides these initiatives, Stayfree has also partnered with
Menstrupedia to promote menstrual education by circulating comic-based
self-help guides, supporting families to converse about menstruation. Beyond
commercial advertising, Stayfree has facilitated to destigmatise and reshape
societal attitudes towards menstruation, encouraging healthy period
conversations (Stayfree India). Thus, Stayfree’s campaigns It’s Just A Period
and Beta Stayfree Le Aana used the advertising platform as a communication
strategy for social advocacy.
South African Newspaper’s
Period Paper Campaign
Menstruators do bleed,
which is normal, but the sight of blood stain in clothes gains attention and
brings shame while reinforcing the menstrual stigmas. Similarly, blood seeping
through the pages of everyday South African newspapers attracted worldwide
attention. To challenge the taboos, stigmas and silence, Joe Public, an
advertising agency along with the MENstruation Foundation and Independent
Media, have launched the Period Paper campaign in South Africa. The campaign
appeared as full front-page advertisements in The Star, The Mercury, and Cape
Times.
The newspapers featured
menstrual blood stains printed directly on their front pages alongside the
message: “A newspaper can absorb the blood, but not the shame” (Jadhav).
Turning the newspaper medium into a significant platform, this Period Paper
campaign questions the misconceptions surrounding menstruation, shattering the
menstrual shame and addressing it as a normal aspect of women’s health, thus
promoting menstrual equity (Jadhav).
Period Paper’s display of
blood challenged one of society’s deepest taboos, shattering the notion that
menstruation is shameful and is not open for public discussion. Using
newspapers, which is a familiar, vastly distributed and accessible public
medium, as the campaign’s platform remains symbolic as it impacts the audience
on a large scale. Through the visual message, the campaign strongly encourages
its readers to ponder over and reconsider the deeply rooted societal attitudes
and to normalise and support menstruating people. This powerful campaign
created curiosity, gained public attention and opened pathways to discuss
menstruation beyond menstruating people (The Star).
Besides awareness, the
newspaper medium itself serves as an integral part of the campaign’s message.
The blood stain developed through photography, digital retouching, and
extensive print testing was not distinguishable from a real menstrual stain on
newsprint. Owing to period poverty, many girls and women rely on newspapers as
their impoverished sanitary products, as they cannot afford sanitary pads
(Jadhav). By printing menstrual blood directly onto newspapers, the campaign
transformed the newspaper into both the advertising medium and the evidence of
the social problem it sought to address. In this sense, the medium itself
became the message, illustrating the realities of menstrual inequality in a
highly visible and thought-provoking manner.
Thus, this campaign’s
slogan, “A newspaper can absorb the blood, but not the shame,” states
explicitly that the real issue lies not in menstruation but in the stigma and
inequalities surrounding it. Period Paper campaign aimed to educate
menstruators, advocating for menstrual equity, stressing the need to end period
poverty. Further, this South African newspaper campaign functions as a form of
social advocacy.
Conclusion
Despite the campaigns and
awareness, menstrual stigma remains a universal concern. “The menstrual cycle
is the bedrock of the human race,” says activist Kiran Gandhi, who ran the 2015
London marathon bleeding, thereby voicing against menstrual stigma (Time).
Alluding to a similar incident, Li Meizhen, a marathon runner from China
unexpectedly got her period during a marathon. Despite the visible blood stains
in her thighs, she chose to run and complete the race, breaking the silence
surrounding menstruation (Thanvi). With their decision to continue the rest of
the race, both these women challenged the menstrual taboos, advocating
menstrual dignity in both private and public spaces. Similarly, societal and
cultural taboos surrounding menstruation need to be addressed in order to
foster a supportive environment for menstruators.
Commercial advertisements
for sanitary products, such as Whisper’s Touch the Pickle and Stayfree’s Its Just
A Period campaigns, exemplified how advertising media platforms are used to
address menstrual stigma. The South African Period Paper campaign represents a
significant contribution by using the daily newspaper, illustrating how such
media platforms spread awareness, destigmatise menstruation and promote
menstrual health awareness. The media thus played a significant role in
dissemination of reliable information and in spreading awareness on menstrual
products and hygiene. Besides, they serve as the significant platform to
demystify the taboos and stigmas, promoting discussions and healthy
conversations about menstruation, thereby eliminating period shaming.
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