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

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?

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.

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

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

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

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.

Spot on, Datun.

Bit of an unfortunate slip from our friend there.

Whoops.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

A complete undermining of the family unit ( whatever form that takes)

Yep totally agree along with this, which I think contributes to that undermining:

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.

And who benefits from that....

A rainbow invisibility cloak prevents us from.being able to say

"Yes, the idea is that women and girls must know the real biological basis of sex but not talk about it. We must actively work to maintain the fiction for the convenience, pleasure and gratification of males."

Yup. Women must be silent, except when we're permitted to say only what pleases males.

There seems to be slightly less need for " inclusivity " when it cones to say incontinence products from what I've seen anyway. Strange really because given that transmen who have had phalloplasty spend an awful lot of time unable to control their urine relying in catheters and bags and revision surgeries etc, well they'd have a need for the products. Far less claim.fir incontinence amd menopause.

Almost as if it isn't about transmen 🤔

Now what do periods have that incontinence doesn't i wonder

I have just seen the advert and came to start a thread on it, so glad to see the knowledgeable women here are also utterly perplexed about what message Always were actually trying to send.

How can Always have an advert that is specifically about tackling period shame for teenagers and not use the word ‘girls’ ? It completely ruins the whole point of the advert which is that girls shouldn’t be made to feel ashamed of their sex or the biological functions of their sex .

How much more powerful and effective and connected to the message would this be if they had used the world girls in their message .

If a child’s dysphoria is so bad that they cannot cope with the word ‘girl’ the solution should be to help and support that child , not erase the word ‘girl’ from existence.

If a child’s dysphoria is so bad that they cannot cope with the word ‘girl’ the solution should be to help and support that child , not erase the word ‘girl’ from existence*

Its also dangerous.

If a girl has not started their periods by 16 or their periods stop she needs medical attention. Rule out a DSD or pregnancy or tumor or an eating disorder etc

Not just to be allowed to assume she has become a person or is a person who doesn't have periods

I know, right? Don't be ashamed of having your period, but the words "woman" and "girl" are now unspeakable. Oookaaaay.......

What they mean is 31% of people and 61% of woman. Thats the real figure. because even if every woman felt shame that still only amounts to 51% of people. Where exactly are the 10% of men feeling shame over their periods and why arent they getting medical help. because that sounds pretty worrying.
On a side note seriously considering complaining to Always about the flowery, feminine smell and asking for something more nonbinary you know like fragrance-free. Theyre so woke they might actually do something about the disgusting stench.