Period Projects

Women’s periods have been something society has kept so secret for so long. In the late 1800s it was seen as a medical condition that needed to be fixed and ever since that time men been trying to control women's bodies ever since. Periods were meant to be seen as a disease as if it was something wrong with the woman. Kotex has decided to start the Period Projects, which is their way to destigmatize woman's menstruation and end the stigma that a woman's menstrual cycle is something that needs to be silenced and never discussed. This project is led by women who share a passion and do not want a woman's menstrual cycle to stop her from living her life. This site by Kotex has videos of women speaking about the stigma around the menstrual cycle, and Instagram of uplifting pictures and messages for women to show them that their menstrual cycle is nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to be silenced it out. One of the photos on the main website says "It's not my PMS, you're just annoying”. Personally, I love the saying, men use this saying ‘oh do you have your period?’ all the time to get women to feel bad about the hormonal changes and being very agitated. However, a lot of men use it as a joke whenever a woman gets mad at them and try to play the victim and make a woman feel like her feelings are not valid because he's just pushing it off to being her PMS when, in reality, he may just be annoying. 

I believe that the menstrual cycle needs to be destigmatized. I believe that something that women needs in order to be able to conceive a child one day should never be silenced. Women did not choose this to happen to them and this is something that God made women get starting at around 10 to 12 years old and it's something that women have for the majority of their life. It's nothing to be ashamed of because it's normal to get and I believe that men need to stop thinking of a woman's menstrual cycle as something disgusting and gross that they don't want to talk about because it is necessary for a woman to get this in her lifetime.

As we read in class, if men were to get their period, we would not have any of these problems. Sanitary products would most likely be federally funded and free, first getting your menstrual cycle will be a celebration and there would not be this fear of germs and unsanitary this about a menstrual cycle.

I believe Kotex is doing a great thing to end the stigma around the menstrual cycle. It needs to become a norm about society people need to be able to talk about the menstrual cycle openly. Young girls need to know what their period is and they should not have to be silenced. Young girls need to be taught about sex and their cycle and how it works and why they're getting this, they can't just be blind to the reality for the entirety of their young teenage years. 

Link to Kotex's Period Project:

https://www.ubykotex.com/en-us/period-projects