Always advert - 61% of young people have felt ashamed for having a period

It's very telling that your first thought is about transwomen rather than transmen.

And it's not 'inclusive stats'. It's incorrect stats.

Obviously the % issue is all bollocks but to me the more worrying aspect is the constant obsession with shame. I don't think these adverts and campaigns are trying to destigmatise issues, I think they are feeding these feelings. I was sometimes embarrassed by my period but I never felt shame about it so if I was 13 now I think I'd feel really bad about not feeling shamed by them. It feels like kids are constantly being bombarded by messages that they should feel shame about so many things, that they are almost being persuaded into feeling negatively about themselves when they might otherwise have never considered feeling shamed by their period.

I've not considered it that way before but I think you have a point.

And yes it's all part of a wider issue where it has become a case of there's something wrong with you if there's not anything wrong with you. Coupled with a neediness for external validation from strangers all over the world that's never been seen before. A complete undermining of the family unit ( whatever form that takes)

It's a really disturbing path that they are being led down

A disturbing part of it is that instead of seeing the awkwardness and embarrassment as normal and addressing them as far as they can by being open to conversation at home and by parents equipping their daughters with a range of products that allow them to deal with periods successfully with minimal disruption to their lives ( medical.issues aside) they are made to feel that if rhet can't afford the more expensive ones that these companies offer, where its several pounds for probably 8 or something stupid, then you have to deal with scented ir inferior products.

What used to be standard/basic has slowly been made difficult. The packets are very similar, you really have to study the packets to make sure you get the right ones now. There seems to be a far greater chance if picking up a scented pack, or accidentally getting the ones with/without wings or picking up the normal ones when u meant to get the extra long heavy ones etc

Setting girls up to fail from the get go.

The ones that stand out and are easier to ensure are the right ones are the fancy infinity or equivalent which of course are more expensive.

I have never understood why adverts seem to always make you think the old version if a product is somehow now no good . They seem.quite happy to create doubt about their own.product's when promoting new ones.

And then of course we completely catastrophise these feelings..no longer are they something normal for every 9+Yr old girl they are something so extreme that in some cases the answer is even to completely pathologist them.

Obviously the % issue is all bollocks but to me the more worrying aspect is the constant obsession with shame. I don't think these adverts and campaigns are trying to destigmatise issues, I think they are feeding these feelings. I was sometimes embarrassed by my period but I never felt shame about it so if I was 13 now I think I'd feel really bad about not feeling shamed by them. It feels like kids are constantly being bombarded by messages that they should feel shame about so many things, that they are almost being persuaded into feeling negatively about themselves when they might otherwise have never considered feeling shamed by their period.

It's a really disturbing path that they are being led down.

Well the statistic they have quoted is impossible.
I mean why bother at all. Might as well just make up other random statistics to make an impact.

80% of businesses that make sanitary products are ashamed to state their products are made for use by females.

No wonder girls are ashamed to have periods if the language has been changed to make it seem as if it's not a female phenomenon.

I am laughing so hard that Disgusted has again come in and simply plopped something so wild down.

Everyone not obsessed with trans women got the message so I am guessing hardly any young women were confused by the language used.

So I take it this is projection.

Because Disgusted, you have missed the point spectacularly. You must be referring to your own obsession.

And tell us all again just what transitioned males have to do with periods? At all?

Seriously, no one outside of this thread ( and I think even some on here think its apreposterous suggestion ) that the inclusive stats were distracting the target audience from the message.

Then you’d be wrong. Several men I know made jokes about it. How wonderful is that!!!

Not only distracting from the serious message but mock worthy.

That’s ok disgusted! You see, as a female, my periods have been treated as a joke by males since puberty. Good to see organisations supposedly supporting us have now caught up in the misogyny.

Spot on, Datun.

Bit of an unfortunate slip from our friend there.

Whoops.

What 'young women' are you talking about? You have no definition for young women.

In your world, you're talking about teenage boys, teenage girls, adult men...

Jibber jabber.

Nothing to do with inclusion of gender non conforming female people, but everything to do with separating the words women and girls from anything to do with female biology. If woman= person with female reproductive , organs, then it excludes those with male reproductive organs, even if they identify as women.

It's not about inclusion at all, all this nonsense, is it? It's about coercion - enforcing compliance. And nothing else.

The correct statistic is 30% of young people have felt ashamed for having a period

Ffs not only stupid but also bollocks. Young girls might be embarrassed to start their periods but that's not the same as shame.

Something that is obscured by this ridiculous language is the correlation between feeling shame at your body’s natural functions, and being female.

The whole point of this ad is trying to destigmatise the issue. But you can’t address it properly if you’re ignoring the fact there’s a huge difference in the way girls and boys are socialised in terms of bodily shame in general, and that within that wider context this particular issue is something only girls and women, aka human females, experience and are shamed for. Can experience and be shamed for.

Only the female body does this thing. Only female children have to cope with the shame and embarrassment of dealing with their period when they enter puberty. And a huge part of the reason that shame is attached to it is precisely because we are female, in a profoundly misogynistic world. It’s not random.

The female body is still somehow viewed as inherently shameful, because of all the countless generations of patriarchy, of women being reduced to sub human status, of women being blamed for men’s cruelty and inhumanity towards us.

And of course in the same vein, female sexuality is also still policed, controlled and shamed - the sexual double standards of judging men and women who have multiple sexual partners, for example, differently are still very much alive and kicking.

Take away the explicit reference to the fact these people experiencing shame at the entirely natural functioning of their reproductive system are all female, and you lose the ability to analyse the misogyny inherent in this phenomenon, to recognise it as a feminist issue and address it as such.

It’s almost like they're ashamed of the connection between this issue and femaleness, too ashamed to point it out.

Great win for those who actually don’t want the status quo to change, a complete own goal in terms of what this campaign is supposed to achieve.

Everyone not obsessed with trans women got the message so I am guessing hardly any young women were confused by the language used.

What have transwomen got to do with this advert and its inaccurate statistics? Does Disgusted think transwomen menstruate? Maybe someone should explain to him that transwomen don't have the requisite body parts?

"Ads are supposed to be accurate. These have false statistics and we all should complain."

Well I think that's also a very important point. People = all human beings of any gender or sex or age. 60% of "people" feel ashamed for having a period literally means 60% = anyone ashamed for having a period / all people of any gender X 100. They specified "young people" which presumably means some specific age group, so let's narrow it down, let's say "young" refers to the age group 12 - 21. Then the statistic would mean:

60% = 100 X # of human beings of any gender or sex, aged 12-21, who feel ashamed of having a period /# of human beings of any gender or sex aged 12 - 21

Since only 50% to 51% of people, age 12-21, are of the sex capable of having a period, then the statistic, as cited, is impossible. The statistic is false, on its face. In fact, that is the only reason it is interpretable. If the statistic were "12% of young people feel ashamed of having a period," then viewers would NOT consider it obvious that the denominator was female-bodied people. They would be totally confused.

In addition to it being problematic to cite statistics that are openly false, it decreases public trust in statistical statements. If you'll say something openly false, knowing that the listener will understand that it is false, then how much more falsehood will you consider acceptable when you are hiding that your statistics are false?

Sorry, my last post went completely wrong and I have asked for it to be deleted!! I will try again....

Would it possibly be because the only reasons always get to virtue signal like this is because someone else has done the dirty work of explaining to their daughters that they are female. Girls. And that they have periods.

Exactly.

The only reason that Always can earn virtue cookies in this way is because we all know that only females have periods. Always are working on the assumption that when they say 'people' we are thinking 'women and girls'. Because, despite all the claims to the contrary, when it comes down to it everyone knows who are the men and who are the women.

Even @DisgustedofManchester.

Everyone not obsessed with trans women got the message so I am guessing hardly any young women were confused by the language used

And why would that be?

Would it possibly be because the only reasons always get to virtue signal like this is because someone else has done the dirty work of explaining to their daughters that they are female. Girls. And that they have periods.

None of this would work otherwise

Not caught up on whole thread yet - glad I found it as I was v annoyed when I saw the advert last night!

It's likely that the average viewer understands the true meaning of the statistic because the average viewer knows that boys and men do not menstruate.

On the other hand, when the same type of distorted language is used to describe how many women ("people") suffer from endometriosis, there is likely more misunderstanding on the part of the public. Likewise, when a woman receives a letter telling her that "people with a cervix" need cervical screening, that is problematic. Older women who just make an annual appointment with their regular gynecologist may not be affected because their gynecologist just automatically does the appropriate thing for women of that age. But a young woman who does not have a relationship with a gynecologist might have no idea what screenings she requires. A woman who has limited contact with healthcare providers because of her personal situation, might also not understand what is meant.

And it's even more problematic when it comes to statistics that SHOULD be broken down by sex, but where pushing male and female together, can allow inequities in care to be hidden. For example, "X% of young people in lower income communities have access to sport," or "Y% of young people miss school weekly because of taking care of younger siblings." In such cases, the public has an interest in knowing whether males and females are being treated equitably, and "young people" or just "people" does not give the needed information.

Imagine barging onto a thread about periods, on a feminist board, on a site for mothers, to talk about transwomen. As a male.