#TamponTim, now with 100% Midwestern Dad energy
How periods became icky and what happens when we stigmatize menstruation
#TamponTim started trending online yesterday after VP Harris confirmed her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Walz signed a law that requires restrooms in his state’s high schools to have free tampons and pads “for all menstruating students.”
What’s so bad about advocating for access to feminine hygiene products?
Nothing, unless you are under the impression that menstruation is bad and shameful.
“Tampon” is a dirty word
For people who think periods are “gross,” #TamponTim is a clever dig. But how did we get here? At some point, our culture started labeling bodily functions that disproportionately impact women — breastfeeding, menstruation, menopause, childbirth — as icky.
TIMELINE: Purity, modesty, and women’s bodily functions
The Victorian Era emphasized the purity of women, who were expected to uphold moral standards by restricting and covering their bodies. Think: Virginity; chastity; the “cult of domesticity.”
In the 1900s, menstruation was seen as a “monthly illness.” Periods were pathologized and reproductive illnesses were labeled as psych issues (“she’s hysterical!”).
When men returned to dominate the workforce after WWII, (white) American culture swung back to “traditional values” in which women were supposed to be wives and mothers. Menstrual products were commercialized but advertised as something to be hidden.
Conservative Christian groups rose up against second-wave feminism in the 1960s and 1970s and lobbied for abstinence-only sex ed, continuing the stigmatization of women’s bodily functions.
The Religious Right reinforced traditional gender roles and conservative values in 1990s and early-2000s purity culture, in which sex and reproduction are private and controlled.
Dehumanizing women and girls and people who menstruate
These beliefs infiltrated greater American culture and media. TV commercials still depict period blood as a mysterious blue liquid, and the emphasis of hygiene is always on being “discreet,” or risk being “gross” or embarrassing.
Embarrassing!
When I was in sixth grade all the girls in our class were sent to the art room for a “body talk” during which we watched a VHS tape about puberty and received a brown paper bag which held a few scratchy, enormous pads. I remember it being mortifying, and that we stowed our paper bags in our backpacks as quickly as possible to keep the boys from seeing evidence of our changing bodies, as if it wasn’t obvious in our budding breasts and emerging acne.
I lived in fear of getting my first period at school. When it did finally happen, I was twelve, and I couldn’t figure out how to use a tampon correctly. I left the cardboard applicator on and wondered why it hurt and why I repeatedly bled through my shorts. I was too embarrassed to ask anyone for help.
What happens when we stigmatize periods
The silence around our most predictable and natural body functions makes them easy to stigmatize. The punchlines go:
“She’s on the rag.” “What a bitch; she must be PMS-ing.”
We probably all remember high school boys who snapped our bra straps and laughed when we started our periods and bled through our pants (or is that just me?). But the implications are bigger than that …
If periods are gross and embarrassing, then:
🤡 It’s okay to tax period products
Discriminatory, inflated pricing of goods marketed primarily to women, including tampons, pads, and other feminine hygiene products, is called “the pink tax.”
🤡 We shouldn’t have sex ed
A lack of comprehensive sex education — in which we learn about how our bodies work, and, ideally also about sex communication and consent — leaves kids (and adults) misinformed and at risk of sexual violence, STIs, and unplanned pregnancy.
(Do you have any idea how many men think we can’t pee with a tampon in?)
🤡 F*ck reproductive healthcare
Misconceptions about women's bodies and reproduction can mean more support for restrictive laws and a lack of investment in necessary healthcare services, like preventative healthcare.
→ 5 moments that radicalized me as a feminist
Why this matters
In a patriarchy, the male body is the standard and the female body is “other.” The taboo surrounding menstruation and women's bodies reinforces these patriarchal beliefs by perpetuating the idea that natural functions are shameful and need to be controlled.
To patriarchal men and women, it is crazy that a man in power would willingly sign on to support and advocate for legislation that had to do with something so icky.
But that’s what makes Gov. Walz such an attractive candidate to me (and, it seems, to a lot of other folks!): He treats reproduction and menstruation like what they are — natural and necessary functions of human life. He even talks openly about how IVF impacted his family.
What happens when we talk about periods
When we talk about menstruation — and other body stuff like menopause, childbirth, postpartum — like it’s natural and normal and acceptable (because it is) ↓
🩸 We humanize everyone who menstruates
We’d have better, more supportive policies and more access to resources if everyone saw women — and all people who menstruate — as fully-dimensional humans deserving of equal respect.
🩸 We can offer better solutions for reproductive illnesses
Research on reproductive conditions that primarily affect women — like endometriosis and PMS — are critically underfunded and dismissed, and, therefore, under-diagnosed and go untreated. More dialogue about the realities of reproduction = more progress.
→ 7 f*cked up facts about women’s health I can’t get over
🩸 We promote equality
When our natural cycles aren’t pathologized or ridiculed, we aren’t “other.” We’re just … people. This is another step toward deconstructing limited gender roles.
What we can do about it
✅ Support comprehensive sex ed
Teaching about the nitty-gritty of menstruation can only serve to normalize it.
✅ Talk about our bodies authentically
We need more content that shows menstruation, menopause, childbirth, and postpartum authentically and without stigma.
✅ Increase access to menstrual products
Advocate for policies that ensure menstrual products are available in public restrooms, schools, and workplaces.
→ Heavy metal or hemorrhage (you pick)
✅ Correct language and misinformation
Avoiding euphemisms and calling out myths can help folks be more respectful and thoughtful re: menstruation and reproduction.
And, hopefully this goes without saying: VOTE. Check your vote registration status here.
🫖 Women’s Sharing Circles
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Women’s Sharing Circles start Aug. 21, 2024. Get on the zero-commitment “interested” list here.
I wrote my MA thesis on menstruation and my sweet Minnesotan dad listened calmly as I told him I want a red hat with Tampon Tim on it hahahahaha
I had a very similar experience with my period. I remember first, wondering where my period was? Was I weird since my friends all had their's? If only I'd know what an endless drain it would be. I had no clue how things worked and always got my flow during class in middle school. Teachers, including all the female ones were clueless and enforced the rules rigidly. I might have a coat wrapped around my waist and would be publicly humiliated to remove it. I was wearing that white faux leather coat with the bright red lining around my waist because my bottoms were stained. I never remember anyone giving a sh*t. I'm glad bathrooms have free access to whatever someone chooses (pad, cup or tampon) to manage their period with dignity. I hope they include info and a bit of humor.