Say no to shame, waste, inequality—and leaks! Menstrual activism in the market for alternative period products

ABSTRACT

For decades, advertisements for mainstream menstrual products have been criticised for upholding harmful menstrual taboos. Meanwhile, the range of alternative products has increased, and menstrual cups, discs, underwear, and cloth pads have become more easily available. This article examines how online promotional materials of alternative products relate to the menstrual taboo and other concerns raised by menstrual activists. Based on thematic analysis of seven websites selling alternative period products, the article shows how the companies function in a double bind typical for contemporary feminisms. While selling products meant to hide menstruation in a cultural environment that expects concealment, the sites discuss menstruation openly and declare periods as nothing shameful. The sites also support calls for fair access to products and education, advocate sustainability, and recognize the diversity of the menstrual experience. Yet, the companies also apply marketing language that stresses leak-prevention and discreetness. By doing so, they profit from the worries over leaks ingrained in menstruators by a culture of concealment. Furthermore, despite calls for openness, blood remains relatively invisible. The article discusses the results of the thematic analysis in relation to menstrual activism, and popular and postfeminism.

KEYWORDS:

• Alternative period products
• menstrual activism
• menstrual movement
• popular feminism
• postfeminism

Introduction

We believe that despite being a small company we can achieve greater systemic change, through raising discussions on menstrual health to the forefront. (…) The space for discussions on sexual and reproductive health and rights is shrinking, but we’ve proven that the private sector has a crucial role to play as advocates and drivers of change. (Heli Kurjanen 2018)

The quote above is an extract from the UN Communication on Progress -report of a Finnish company selling menstrual cups. The statement connects long-term feminist goals of “systemic change” and “reproductive health and rights” with the activities of a private company. But how can selling and promoting menstrual cups function as a driver for systemic change and reproductive rights?

Previously virtually absent in public discussions, menstruation has recently become more visible in media across continents (e.g., Saptarshi Dutta 2018; Karen Zraick 2018). Diverse movements under names such as menstrual activism and menstrual anarchy or “menarchy” offer new framings for menstruation and give concrete (although at times conflicting) proposals on how to ease the social, financial, and environmental costs related to menstruation (e.g., Chris Bobel 2010; Elizabeth Arveda Kissling 2006). One target of activists’ critique is the market for period products. Alongside environmental concerns, it has been argued that the advertising of disposable pads and tampons has framed menstruation as a problem to be managed, hidden, or suppressed in private with commercial products (e.g., Elizabeth Arveda Kissling 2013; Ela Przybylo and Breanne Fahs 2020).

To substitute mainstream period products, activists have encouraged the use of do-it-yourself or alternative menstrual products. The term “alternative products” usually refers to products other than disposable pads and tampons produced by the four multinationals dominating the menstrual market (see Shannon Docherty 2010; Rose Grace Grose and Shelly Grabe 2014; Maria Punzi and Mirjam Werner 2020). Alternative products include for instance menstrual cups and discs, cloth pads, period underwear and sometimes organic tampons and pads.

Previous research has suggested that rather than relying on the notions of freedom and freshness, marketing for alternative products frames menstruation “as a fact of life that one must accept, rather than hide or control” (Janice Delaney, Mary J. Lupton, and Emily Toth 1988, 133; Kissling 2006, 97). In addition, based mainly on interview data, Punzi and Werner (2020) recently argued that alternative product businesses seek to challenge the menstruation taboo by conveying positive and educational messages (835).

This research examines whether website data collected from seven companies selling alternative period products support these arguments and how the promotional materials of alternative products relate to menstrual activism and contemporary forms of feminism(s). The study answers two questions:

1. How are alternative products marketed on their websites?

2. How do the online promotional materials of alternative period products reflect postfeminist and popular feminist tendencies in their approaches to menstrual activism?

Addressing these questions fulfils three gaps in existing literature. First, although advertising of menstrual products has been a topic in feminist research for decades, alternative products have received scant attention (for exceptions see Kissling 2006, 95–100; Punzi and Werner 2020). However, understanding how the marketing of alternative products may support and/or repudiate activist efforts for menstrual justice is essential in building public discussion and policy that addresses concerns over product sustainability and access, as well as menstrual shame and education. Second, by focussing on the struggle over meanings of menstruation, the research sheds light on an under-researched area of consumption and activism: the everyday of women and other menstruators.¹ Third, by discussing the marketing of period products in relation to postfeminist sensibility and popular feminism, the analysis deepens our knowledge of the ambiguous role of companies in promoting typically feminist causes.

Commercial culture and feminism(s)

It is not a new phenomenon for products aimed at women to utilise feminist ideas or a discourse of empowerment in marketing. Already in the early 1990s, Robert Goldman, Deborah Heath, and Sharon L. Smith (1991) formulated the concept of commodity feminism to denote the adoption of feminist discourses in marketing goods for women. According to them, commodity feminism arises from a capitalist logic of individualism and free choice (336). By equating feminist goals with personal purchasing decisions, commodity feminism depoliticizes feminism and presents individualised body freedom as liberation (334–344).

The neoliberal notions of choice, freedom, and individualism are also the defining characteristics of post-feminism (or later, postfeminism) (e.g., Rosalind Gill 2007, 2016; Angela McRobbie 2004). While taking into account some feminist values, postfeminism undermines earlier feminist gains by turning the focus of attention from structural inequalities to choice and empowerment, in particular in the context of the body (Gill 2016, 624; McRobbie 2004). Gill (2007) has further theorised postfeminism as a contemporary sensibility fixated on self-surveillance and commodification (149). Within postfeminism, injustice is not solved by working with others but by empowering work on the self (Gill 2016, 617).

Discussing empowerment and choice as characteristics of contemporary commercial culture and feminism(s), Sarah Banet-Weiser (2018) employs the concept of popular feminism (17). Describing a corporate-friendly feminism that embraces feminist values yet focuses on individual empowerment through the visible body (20, 25), the concept of popular feminism is characterized by ambivalence. Similar to postfeminism, it feeds off the ambiguities in commercial messages that promote certain feminist goals while undoing others. Advertising campaigns for hygiene products and sportswear, for example, rely on contradictory messages that simultaneously celebrate female empowerment, confidence, and variation in body shape while selling products that promise to modify appearance to fit social norms (Banet-Weiser 2018, 75; see also Rosalind Gill and Shani Orgad 2015, 332–333).

Both postfeminism and popular feminism centre on empowerment through self-directed action and present feminism as something “happy” (Sarah Banet-Weiser, Rosalind Gill, and Catherine Rottenberg 2020, 9) or decidedly not angry (Gill 2016, 618). However, whereas postfeminism suggests that equality no longer needs to be fought for (McRobbie 2004, 255), popular feminism recognizes the existence of inequality and the need for feminism yet evades structural critique by focussing on visibility and inclusion as solutions to injustice (Banet-Weiser 2018, 10–20).

In this article, rather than making judgments about the kind of feminist activism the companies for alternative period products advocate (if they can be seen to participate in activism), I examine the marketing of alternative products in a culture characterised by the ambivalences constitutive of both postfeminism and popular feminism. The analysis answers to the need of examining how consumerism “as used by and as affecting women can be detrimental, regressive, and conservative as well as emancipatory” (Jo Littler 2009, 182).

Menstruation as a field of activism

Menstruation is a bodily function that affects approximately half the world’s population for a large part of their lives. In most contemporary cultures, it is a topic riddled with social stigma and misunderstandings (e.g., Ingrid Johnston-Robledo and Joan Chrisler 2013). Menstruation was for centuries—and sometimes still is—used as proof of women’s inferiority or incompetence and seen as a reason to exclude them from public spaces (e.g., Delaney, Lupton, and Toth 1988; Tomi-Ann Roberts, Jamie L. Goldenberg, Cathleen Power, and Tom Pyszczynski 2002). Girls miss school due to menstrual shame and limited access to menstrual products in both low-income and high-income countries (Plan International UK 2018). In addition, incarcerated menstruators report humiliation and insufficient access to menstrual products (e.g., Holly Seibold and Gianna Fienberg 2019). These issues among others have made menstruation a terrain for activism.

Menstrual activism dates back to the 1970s. One of the original arguments was that women did not have sufficient knowledge of their bodily processes, which meant they lacked control over their bodies (Chris Bobel 2008, 740). Early examples of menstrual activism included for example the distribution of information and menstrual extraction (removing uterine contents with a cannula and a syringe) (Bobel 2008; Delaney, Lupton, and Toth 1988; Breanne Fahs 2016). Since then, menstrual activism has been carried out in various ways and under many names, including menarchy, the menstrual equity movement, and the menstrual movement.

One of the leading researchers in the field, Chris Bobel (2010), has divided contemporary menstrual activists into two main groups: feminist spiritualists and radical menstruationists. Whereas feminist spiritualists seek change through personal transformation, radical menstruationists challenge the commercialization of menstruation as well as the “dichotomous gender structure at the base of gender-based oppression” (66, 76, 99–100). A third category might be added, one that depicts activists who seek changes in laws and advocate education and public discussion on menstrual policy without adhering to either of the groups above. Overall, “menstrual activists include a range of people interested in reimagining the menstruating body: student activists, do-it-yourself advocates, health experts, scholars, teachers, public health researchers and practitioners, anarchists, anti-consumerist advocates, and a host of others” (Fahs 2016, 3).

Although the range of issues and strategies within menstrual activism is wide, the movement shares a common goal: “the depathologization of menstruation as a ‘disorder’ or a problem” (Fahs 2016, 3). Menstrual activists strive to break harmful taboos related to the menstruating body and advocate universal access to products and education, as well as more sustainable product options (e.g., Bobel 2010; Fahs 2016; Jennifer Weiss-Wolf 2017). Table 1 depicts key goals of menstrual activism based on a range of academic publications as well as popular press. Although the list may not be fully comprehensive, it shows the multitude of goals and tactics used by a diverse range of activists.

Table 1. The goals, strategies, and tactics of menstrual activism.

Goal	Strategies	Tactics
Breaking menstrual taboos	Increasing public discussions about menstruation	Public events and interventions Publishing on menstruation (zines, books, videos, art)
	Increasing private discussions about menstruation	Celebrating menarche Menstrual courses
	Increasing contact with one’s own blood	Free bleeding, using alternative products, menstrual extraction
Ensuring equitable access to products, facilities, and information	Demanding tax reforms/exemptions for menstrual products
	Advocating free-for-all menstrual products (in particular students, homeless and incarcerated)	Distributing products to less well-off Pressing changes in laws
	Advocating access to safe toilet facilities	Unisex bathrooms Toilets and sewage systems in schools in Majority World
	Demanding accurate and inclusive education	Early education Non gender-based menstrual education
	Advocating education in healthcare	Inclusive language
Lessening the strain on environment	Advocating use of DIY-products	Holding workshops
	Advocating use of organic products	Blogs and vlogs
	Advocating use of reusable commercial products	Education on options
	Advocating use of products with no plastic	Education on consequences of plastics in disposables
Lessening consumerism and the power of corporations	Advocating use of DIY-products	Posting on social media
	Advocating use of alternative products produced by small companies	Education on product options in schools
	Advocating free bleeding
Advocating safe products and safe use	Demanding more research and regulation	Questioning use of non-organic cotton and rayon Questioning bleaching processes Education and research on sex specific conditions
	Demanding law reforms
	Demanding comprehensive labelling
	Advocating use of organic products
Breaking norms and gender-based oppression	Advocating inclusive language Advocating more diversity in portraying menstruators	“Not all women menstruate, not only women menstruate” From feminine hygiene to period products
	Demanding tax reforms/exemptions for menstrual products

Table 1 shows the intimate and complex relationship between menstrual activism and the market for menstrual products. First, ensuring comprehensive access to products often requires the distribution of disposable menstrual products, even if their environmental strain is simultaneously criticised. Second, activists often advocate the use of alternative products, even commercial ones, maintaining that at least they connect women more directly to their blood and weaken the menstrual stigma (Docherty 2010, 19). Third, commercialization is resisted by for example sewing do-it-yourself menstrual products, which may necessitate the purchase of other products, such as machinery, thread, and cloth. Even DIY is therefore not necessarily a fully uncommercial solution.

The table also shows how menstrual activism functions on both individual and social levels. On an individual level, menstrual activists encourage for instance menstrual rites, open discussion with others, and more contact with one’s own blood. Although these practices may make one more at ease with monthly bleeding, they may also individualize a systemic problem (see Bobel 2010, 66; Kissling 2006, 44). On a social level, activism aims at tax reforms, free products for all, inclusive and comprehensive education, and environmental sustainability. Although more socially oriented, for example the focus on taxation and access to products has been criticised for neglecting broader issues related to menstrual shame (Chris Bobel and Breanne Fahs 2020). These contradictions should not, however, be a reason to discard the topic (see Gill 2016, 622). Instead, to support or to effect change, the contradictions and ambiguities within contemporary consumer culture and activism need to be carefully examined.

Marketing for menstruation

Menstrual products have had both a liberating and a confining effect on menstruators. On the one hand, convenient, relatively hygienic products that are easy to change and dispose of have enabled women’s participation in spheres previously out of their reach (Kissling 2006, 6). On the other hand, research has convincingly shown how commercial advertising has framed menstruation as a problem to be kept out of sight (e.g., Delaney, Lupton, and Toth 1988; Kissling 2006; Timothy de Waal Malefyt and Maryann McCabe 2016; Laura Mamo and Jennifer Ruth Fosket 2009; Jill Wood 2020). Karen Houppert (1999) discusses the resulting situation as “the culture of concealment”. Since concealment is expected, products that absorb or collect menstrual blood are marketed through the rhetoric of freedom. Paradoxically, exercising this freedom becomes a method of social control over the body (Wood 2020).

Some recent changes have, however, taken place in the marketing for period products. Even if advertisements for mainstream products still market successful concealment as freedom, they also address periods more directly (see Przybylo and Fahs 2020). The year 2017, for instance, marked the first year that blood-resembling liquid was used to advertise menstrual products on UK television (Brittaney Kiefer 2017). Ending with a quote, “Periods are normal. Showing them should be too”, the Bodyform(UK)/Libra(AU) ad was both praised for destigmatizing menstruation and accused of being offensive and disgusting (Australian Advertising Standards Board 2019; Kiefer 2017). Meanwhile, the number of alternative products has increased, and reusables have become more mainstream (Bobel 2008, 739). Their marketing strategies are also suggested to differ from those of mainstream products by employing more positive and educational messages (Kissling 2006; Punzi and Werner 2020). But to what extent can the marketing for period products designed to hide menstruation support the goals of menstrual activism? And how do the ambiguities characteristic of popular feminism and postfeminism manifest in the marketing of alternative products? The next section introduces the research methods and data used to examine these questions.

Methods and materials

This research is principally a qualitative examination of the online promotional materials of alternative period products. The primary method was thematic analysis, since it allowed an intricate description of the data without losing sight of the complexity and context of the examined issues (Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke 2006, 78). Thematic analysis also enabled the development of the research questions through the research process (84).

Since research on the marketing of alternative period products is scarce, the first question was: How are alternative menstrual products promoted on their websites? To answer the question, I used website data from seven companies selling reusable pads, period underwear, menstrual cups, and menstrual discs. Reusable pads are cloth pads attached to underwear to absorb menstrual fluid. Menstrual underwear is, as the name suggests, underwear made to absorb menstrual blood. Menstrual cups and discs are products inserted into the vagina (the vaginal canal or the vaginal fornix, respectively) to collect menstrual fluid. Menstrual discs come in reusable and disposable forms.

Data selection and collection

The data were collected between 24.4.2020–9.5.2020. The websites were chosen in the following manner: I first searched on Google with search terms “alternative menstrual products”, “menstrual cup”, “reusable pads”, and “period underwear”. I narrowed the searches for websites in English and Finnish, since those are the languages I am fully competent in. From each search, I listed 10 first product websites and went through in total 15 popular media sites with listings of “best” alternative period products. My reasoning was that a person searching for alternatives to pads and tampons might use these search terms and popular media sites to find such products. The searches gave me a list of over 50 alternative product brands. Not to focus on a single country or product category, I chose different products from different countries. The product choices were made based on a cross-comparison of product name appearance in the search results and media listings, product type, and country of origin. Since most of the products were from the United States, I chose three companies from the US (Thinx, Gladrags, and The Flex Company). I chose one from Canada (Aisle, previously known as Lunapads), one from the UK (Mooncup), and one from Australia (Modibodi). To avoid being fully limited in the Anglophone world, I included one Nordic-based brand with global reach (Lunette) that appeared in many of the listings. Of these companies, Gladrags sells reusable pads and menstrual cups, Aisle reusable pads, menstrual cups, and period underwear, Thinx and Modibodi period underwear and incontinence underwear, and Mooncup, Lunette, and The Flex Company (Flex) menstrual cups. Flex also sells menstrual discs.

The data included facsimiles of all the main pages and sub-pages of the websites, including blog posts from the past year (May 1 2019 to April 30 2020) or 30 newest blog posts. Since it was not always possible to differentiate blog posts from other content, the number of blog posts varied between 26 and 76 posts. The data consisted of in total 475 documents (mostly full screen captures) including 852 images (of which some were used more than once on the sites) and 40 videos (of which two were no longer available).

Process of analysis

The analysis was carried out in two phases: a data-driven coding and development of a thematic map followed by an examination of the themes through existing research on menstrual activism, postfeminism and popular feminism. In formulating a thematic map, I followed the steps of thematic analysis presented by Braun and Clarke (2006, 87). After familiarizing myself generally with the data, I coded the material in an open and explorative way in Atlas.ti. The initial coding ended with 382 codes, notwithstanding the images and videos. Since it was beyond the scope of this research to analyse each image in detail, I coded them with a single code based on the main element in the image. Detailed descriptions of the 38 videos available were coded as text.

After examining the codes in relation to each other, I arranged them into 12 preliminary themes: access to education, access to products, body positivity, consumerism, cost-savings, diversity and inclusiveness, ethical business, leak-prevention and comfort, period positivity, period taboo, sustainability, and women’s health. After reviewing the codes and contents in each theme, I constructed four final themes: No more shame, No more leaks, No more waste, and No more inequality. Finally, I went through all the codes and quotations in each theme to make sure they represented the full scope of the data and reflected the contents of the sites in the most comprehensive yet concise way. I also translated all the quotes from the Lunette website from Finnish to English. After building the four themes, I briefly examined two randomly selected alternative product websites with the codes I had created from the data. Since these sites generally followed similar patterns to the sites I had originally chosen, I contended that seven sites were enough for a general view, yet not too many to analyse in detail.

Based on the final four themes, I formulated the second research question: How do the online promotional materials of alternative period products reflect postfeminist and popular feminist tendencies in their approaches to menstrual activism? To answer this question, I compared the themes to existing literature on postfeminism, popular feminism, and to the goals and strategies of menstrual activism in Table 1. In addition, since menstrual activism strives for more visibility of menstruation, and as previous research had found that period product advertisements rarely mentioned or showed blood, I counted the occasions where blood-like fluid was visible. I also counted how often people and bodies of different colours were represented in the material. However, as I later insist, this was not sufficient for a thorough analysis of race in the context of promoting period products. The next section presents the four final themes in detail, and the section that follows further examines how the themes and the ways in which the themes were discussed reflected the characteristics of popular feminism and postfeminism.

Results: saying no to shame, leaks, waste, and inequality

The four final themes were visible to some extent on all the sites examined. Nevertheless, there were differences in how the sites approached the themes and to what extent.

No more shame: menstruation as a natural and positive bodily process

The first and most visible theme on all the sites was the naturalness of menstruation. All the sites stressed that menstruation was nothing to be ashamed of and encouraged open discussion about periods. This included detailed explanations of hormonal changes, stages of the menstrual cycle, and anatomical images of sexual and reproductive organs. The sites also repeatedly stated that “the menstrual taboo” needed to be broken. Moreover, they encouraged period positivity by presenting menstruation as a potentially empowering experience. Period positivity was often related to larger themes of body positivity, self-acceptance, and celebration.

Menstrual fluid isn’t dirty or unsafe, and neither are you. Periods are an essential part of life and you shouldn’t feel gross for having one or talking about them. The more we can talk about the funny/annoying/awesome experience of periods, the fewer people will think they’re gross. (Thinx)

The menstrual cycle is a healthy and natural process. (Gladrags)

We at Lunette want to fight to break the shame and taboo surrounding menstruation everywhere in the world. (Lunette)

I MENSTRUATE! AND I AM PROUD! (Mooncup)

We believe in a world where every woman loves her body (Flex)

Nevertheless, while hailing period positivity, the sites also acknowledged the potential problems related to menstruation. All the sites discussed period problems such as pain, bloating, cramps, and cravings. They offered hundreds of tips on how to avoid or manage period-related problems, whether physical, mental, or social. Presenting the menstrual experience as anything ranging from empowered positivity to debilitating pain, the sites recognized the individuality of the menstrual experience. In a few cases, this included discussing trans-experiences of menstruation.

Pain is really subjective, we each have our own threshold and experience of what is normal. (Modibodi)

As anyone who has ever experienced period pain knows it’s a multifaceted experience dependent on many factors: family history, environment, time of year, general mental well-being, and age (to name just a few). This makes treating period pain, or dysmenorrhea (as its formally called) an equally complex endeavour. (Aisle)

The bloating, bleeding, and breast pain before and during my period are awful reminders that I have a body I don’t want. (…) For transgender folks, periods are not “girl problems”—they are mental health concerns. (Thinx)

Getting to know oneself was presented as one method of decreasing menstrual shame. In some instances, the sites also encouraged menstrual sex as a way of breaking the menstrual taboo. However, one of the products was also specifically marketed as allowing menstrual sex without the sight of blood.

We believe that everyone should know oneself and one’s body. Everyone is an individual – perfect as you are. (Lunette)

By having sex while menstruating, you are a part of a big social women’s movement that breaks useless and old taboos related to periods. Great, isn’t it! (Lunette)

Not as comfortable with your blood getting on your partner’s parts? A menstrual disc might be the what you’re looking for. You can keep it in even during foreplay, oral, and penetration. (Flex)

The discussion on the sites about menstruation as a natural and positive process that should be openly discussed was somewhat contradicted by the imagery on the sites. Only four images in the 852 collected from the sites showed blood or blood-resembling liquid. The same tendency continued with videos: only five videos of the 38 on the sites displayed fluid looking like blood.

No more leaks: managing menstruation with comfort, convenience, and cost-savings

All the sites repeatedly stressed the comfort, convenience, and cost-savings provided by alternative products. With the help of the products offered, periods would not hinder the individual menstruator’s ability to live a comfortable and active life. Alternative products were described as easy to use and take care of, although it was also admitted that they might take some getting used to.

The Mooncup is … Comfortable. Made from soft, medical-grade silicone, it’s so comfortable you can’t feel it’s there. (Mooncup)

Don’t sacrifice comfort because you have your period. (Flex)

RED girls are raw, real and far too busy getting on with all the amazing things that need to be done NOW. Period or no period. (Modibodi)

It does take a bit of practice during the first couple of periods but it’s definitely worth it. (Mooncup)

Products were also said to be safer and more hygienic than disposables. They were presented as a modern option manufactured with new, innovative and in some cases patented technologies. Disposables were instead presented as problematic in terms of health, comfort, and cost.

Our undies are made with a patented design that neutralizes bad odors and bacteria. Plus, they are also super-absorbent and sweat-wicking to keep you fresh and dry. Yay! (Thinx)

Many women experience discomfort during their periods, and I believe that menstrual products are partially to blame. When we wear a tampon or pad, we’re constantly reminded that we’re undergoing a really uncomfortable experience. (Flex)

It depends on the products you use, but you can expect to save around 750 USD over a five year period - even more if you switch to a cup! (Aisle)

Comfort and convenience permitted by the use of alternative products were treated not only as individual but also as broader social questions. Being comfortable and free to move were framed in terms of rights, choice, and deservingness.

To have a good period - to make space for your period and do it on your own terms - is a decision to assert your right to comfort. (Aisle)

Women deserve a choice when it comes to their monthly cycle, and FLEX offers women more flexibility when it comes to being on their period and exercising, traveling, or having sex with their partner. (Flex)

The comfort and confidence provided by the products was suggested to result from their ability to securely hold blood and prevent (dreaded) leaks. Products were marketed as “leakproof protection” (Aisle), “leak-proof apparel” (Modibodi), “ultimate in leak protection” (Gladrags), “leak-free period protection” (Flex), with “leak-fighting technology” (Thinx). Although in some cases leaks referred to urinary leaks, the term was usually used for blood leaks. Rather than an issue of physical discomfort, leaks were framed in terms of social discomfort and embarrassment, such as not wanting to leave one’s seat “like a murder scene” (Thinx). The fear of being unaware of a potential leak was described on one site as follows:

The peace of mind that comes from a 12-hour capacity menstrual cup […] is a beautiful thing. But that doesn’t mean doubt won’t leak into your mind and make you want to climb out from under your seat neighbors to go double-check. (Gladrags)

Although leaks were also treated as a normal, yet unwelcome part of life, the companies assured freedom from leaks by offering “longer lasting protection” (Mooncup), “reliable protection” (Lunette) and “an easy, discreet way to care for your cycle” (Gladrags). This focus on leak-prevention, protection and discreetness contrasts the second theme with the first one advocating openness and denying shame.

No more waste: sustainable period products for the health of the planet

The third theme illuminates how alternative period products were presented as an environmentally friendly option to disposables. Many of the sites cited statistics on the amount of waste created by disposables. In particular, the sites discussed the effects of plastics on oceanic and sea life. Even the only disposable product in the data, the menstrual disc, was marketed as one “that reduces your global footprint with 60% less waste in comparison to pads and tampons” (Flex).

We’re in the business of working to drastically reduce single-use period products by offering thoughtfully-designed reusable period products that have been produced with as small a footprint as possible. (Gladrags)

In the UK alone, 4 million period products are flushed down the toilet every day with many of those ending up in the sea or on our beaches. (Mooncup)

An estimated 20 billion pads, tampons and applicators are being sent to North American landfills annually. Since plastic can take as long as 500 years to decompose, that means every disposable menstrual product that’s ever been used is still sitting in a landfill somewhere. (Aisle)

In a number of instances, the sites criticised the effects of consumerism more generally and stressed the need for businesses to be ethical, transparent, and respect human rights.

And as a company we feel strongly that we’re not here to ‘accessorise’ periods. That’s why you won’t see us creating a range of colourful cups or selling unnecessary, waste-creating products such as wipes. (Mooncup)

That’s what’s behind our products - the belief that we can create a different way to do business, with a steadfast commitment to transparency, sustainability and inclusivity. (Aisle)

The current global crisis has revealed an urgent and undeniable requirement to re-set our thinking, and build something better, together. Let’s let business as unusual begin. (Gladrags)

Finally, nearly all the sites included blog posts offering a range of tips on how to live more sustainably and produce less waste in general. The theme of environmental protection and sustainability was further reinforced with many images of plants, animals, beach and sea views, and mounts of waste on the sites.

No more inequality: everyone deserves access to period products and education

The fourth and final key theme on the sites was access. Almost all the sites emphasised that everyone, regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, size, or ability, deserves safe and affordable access to period products and menstrual education.

First, most of the sites addressed the issue of lack of access to products both in Majority and Minority worlds.² The sites cited studies on period poverty and girls missing school due to lack of period products. Most of the sites also included a page for a charity or give back -program providing free access to menstrual products and education.

What if not having sanitary supplies meant DAYS without school, DAYS without income, DAYS without leaving the house? Girls use leaves, mattress stuffing, newspaper, corn husks, rocks, anything they can find … but still miss up to 2 months of school every year. (Modibodi)

By providing safe and reusable Mooncup® menstrual cups to the female students and staff, they [HGiving] hope to make sure that no students will miss any of their education and will be able to live an equal and hygienic life. (Mooncup)

Additionally, many blog posts discussed the taxation of period products, and the need for proper toilet facilities, and demanded free products in public spaces. The data also included for example a petition to end period poverty in the US, and a petition for free period products at workplaces in Canada.

We believe all people deserve access to the products they need to manage basic bodily functions. So why do US laws still include discriminatory policies like the pink tax? And when will free period products be in every public restroom, just like toilet paper and soap? (Thinx)

A few years ago we got rid of the tampon tax that implied menstrual products are luxury items. They aren’t luxuries, nor amenities, they are necessities. The next logical step is putting them in restrooms for free, just like toilet paper. (Aisle)

Bad toilet facilities, lack of clean water and bad waste management at the workplace leads to monthly work absences of many women. (Lunette)

Second, in addition to access to products, the sites stressed the need for accurate and inclusive education on menstruation and product options. The focus on education links the third theme to the first one, as education was treated also as a major component in breaking the menstrual taboo.

Mooncup Ltd is supporting Let’s talk. Period, a project by young peoples’ sexual health and wellbeing charity, Brook, in partnership with girls’ rights charity, Plan International UK. (Mooncup)

GladRags partnered with a number of non-profit organizations to bring free menstrual products and menstrual health education to those in need. (Gladrags)

Educating boys and men changes attitudes and improves women’s rights. (Lunette)

The educational materials on the sites strengthened this theme. Even the site that contained practically no reference to access for the less fortunate insisted on the importance of more research on menstruation-related issues, and included a large variety of materials about menstruation, sexuality, and other bodily functions. These educational materials even included descriptions of menstrual products other than the ones sold by the company in question.

Third, access to products and education intertwined with questions of inclusiveness and diversity. Most of the sites marketed their products for “menstruators”, “people with periods” or “period-ers” or navigated between these and gendered terms. The product ranges reinforced these calls for inclusiveness: menstrual underwear included neutral coloured boxer shorts, and cloth pads came in all kinds of prints and colours. Furthermore, some of the sites directly addressed issues related to trans-rights.

Our attitude - We’re still 100% committed to kicking the patriarchy out of your period and making products for all bodies. (Aisle)

Access to menstrual products and safe, hygienic facilities in which to use them are essential for anyone who menstruates. (Mooncup)

We need more inclusive language and added sensitivity to the conversation about periods so that space can be held for trans folks who feel betrayed by their body whether they are capable of bleeding or not. (Thinx)

Finally, although all the sites used a variety of people of different colours to market their products, white people and bodies formed a significant majority. In addition, although a few of the sites directly addressed questions of racial inequality and for instance discussed the effects of racism on access to education and medical care, racial discrimination was not a broadly addressed topic on the sites.

Discussion

The four themes together capture the complexities of combining commercial activity with menstrual activism in a cultural environment that requires concealment of menstruation. Based on the results, this section examines how the online promotional materials of alternative products reflect postfeminist and popular feminist tendencies in their approaches to menstrual activism.

The results show how the entanglement of personal and social transformation within menstrual activism is replicated in the marketing of alternative products. On the one hand, “to have a good period” depends mainly on one’s own choice of asserting the right to be comfortable. The stress the websites put on choice, positivity, and being active continues an individualistic notion of change characteristic for postfeminism and popular feminism (see e.g., Banet-Weiser 2018; Gill 2016, 617–618; Gill and Orgad 2018, 491). By discussing for example menstrual sex as a way of breaking the menstrual taboo, the sites make the fight against the culture of concealment an individual endeavour taking place within one’s personal life. Furthermore, although some of the sites challenge consumerism more generally, the focus on “shopping for change” continues the paradoxical idea of individual purchases as a route to sustainability (cf. Ken Peattie 2010).

On the other hand, all the sites recognise that how we relate to menstruation is a systemic problem. Shame and secrecy spurred by advertising are cultural norms that limit menstruators’ freedom, and product pricing forecloses access to products for the less well-off. It should therefore be a joint effort to ensure access to period products for all and to challenge the industry for neglecting menstruators unfitting the narrow category of women. However, the idea of solving inequality by increasing the availability of products is problematic in that it masks the root causes of menstrual stigma (Bobel and Fahs 2020). It also follows a popular feminist logic in which the problem of inequality is recognised in a sentimentally earnest way, yet instead of challenging the structural basis of that inequality, the problem is “fixed” with more products for everyone (Banet-Weiser 2018). That said, contrary to a popular feminist and postfeminist trend of focussing on the individual and evading all structural critique, some of the sites also openly condemned structural misogyny and encouraged collective action such as signing petitions (cf. Banet-Weiser 2018, 91; Gill 2016, 617). Furthermore, even if the companies stressed individual responsibility in advancing environmental sustainability, pollution from period products was framed as a result of menstrual taboos, lack of regulation, and inadequate education rather than the fault of individuals purchasing disposables.

Although some of the sites also readily denounced institutionalized racial discrimination, racial inequality was not one of the main topics addressed on the sites. Since contemporary product-based menstrual activism has lacked attention to institutionalized racism (Bobel and Fahs 2020, 972), this is hardly surprising. A deeper analysis of race in both menstrual activism and within the menstrual market is therefore undeniably needed. The analysis should include not only an examination of who is visible and how often but also in what context and in which manner. Based on this study, an examination of race in period product marketing should ask for example if black girls and women are more likely to be represented as “at-risk”, meaning vulnerable due to their living conditions, whereas white girls and women are more likely to be assigned a “can-do” appearance of optimism and self-invention (Anita Harris 2004, 16–34). Research on menstrual activism should likewise examine how to combine grassroots efforts to reimagine menstruation with social movements fighting racial inequality (Bobel and Fahs 2020).

Nevertheless, the data suggest that the companies selling alternative products strive for a new, more inclusive, open and holistic approach to menstruation. Stressing inclusion and diversity are, however, also corporate friendly endeavours characteristic for popular feminism (Banet-Weiser 2018, 12). Furthermore, while the sites for alternative products call for menstruators to break with conventional attitudes and discuss periods openly, the stress on leak-prevention and the relative invisibility of menstrual blood on the sites tell a different story. Gill (2016) argues that within contemporary postfeminist sensibility, feminism risks becoming a contentless “cheer word” when it is not backed up by political action (618–619). Similarly, calling for menstrual justice while keeping blood out of sight calls one to ask whether declarations of period positivity are only permitted insofar as they do not visibly contradict the menstrual taboo or deter potential customers. The unwillingness to show menstrual blood follows and reinforces the menstrual concealment imperative and the tendency to frame the menstruating body as flawed and problematic (cf. Kissling 2013; Wood 2020).

According to Banet-Weiser (2018), these contradictions are typical in popular feminism; while challenging the beauty industry’s focus on shaming the body, businesses depend on this shame to encourage consumption. However, studies have shown that a negative attitude towards menstruation lessens the likelihood of using for example a menstrual cup (e.g., Grose and Grabe 2014). Therefore, unlike for companies selling disposable pads and tampons, it is also in the commercial interest of alternative companies to strengthen a positive attitude towards menstruation. This positivity was clearly visible in how the sites discussed menstruation. However, while marketing a positive attitude, the companies also acknowledged the pains and troubles related to menstruation. They did not merely celebrate menstruation or offer positive thinking as a solution to the difficulties related to periods (cf. Gill and Orgad 2018, 484). Instead, they seemed to recognise the “uncomfortable and dissident feelings that are part and parcel of the menstrual experience” (Przybylo and Fahs 2020).

Finally, even if the social stigma of menstruation is not broken through individually oriented change or proclamations of period positivity, the relative ease with which the sites discussed menstruation and sexual and reproductive health supports the goals of menstrual activism. As Bobel (2008) has documented, one of the founding arguments of the menstrual movement was that women needed education about the functioning of their bodies to gain control over their lives. Covering topics such as anatomical differences, irregular bleeding, endometriosis, and postpartum depression, the sites discussed and encouraged readers to discuss health issues that remain underresearched and underfunded (see Sawsan As-Sanie, Rebecca Black, Linda C. Giudice, Tanika Gray Valbrun, Jhumka Gupta, Brittany Jones, Marc R. Laufer, et al. 2019). Calling for openness about menstruation in a culture that presents concealment as freedom mirrors the complexities of feminist activism as performed by menstruators as bleeders, consumers, entrepreneurs, and citizens. By combining period positivity with intricate descriptions of leak-prevention technologies, the sites selling alternative menstrual products represent the paradox that menstruators live (see Malefyt and McCabe 2016, 570).

The major limitation of this research is its centeredness in dominant, mostly Anglophone countries in the Minority World. Since thematic analysis required the generation of themes through analysing language, I found it necessary to choose websites in languages I am fully competent in. Also, the research was designed to explore how alternative products are promoted in a relatively coherent cultural setting. This meant not making cross-cultural comparisons but conducting the research and reporting the findings in a way that would enable future comparisons. However, even if these choices were necessary in limiting the scope of the study, they also continue the problematic tendency to interpret the meanings of menstruation from a Minority World perspective. Additional research on the marketing of alternative products in other languages and countries is needed to explore the ways in which menstruation, feminist activism, and commercial activity may intertwine in diverse cultural settings.

Conclusion

To return to the question posed in the introduction: How can selling and promoting alternative menstrual products drive systemic change and reproductive rights? As shown, the websites selling alternative period products address a wide range of issues from period positivity and access to products and education, to women’s health, and sustainability. These topics intertwine with dozens of individual reasons for substituting mainstream products with alternative ones. The analysis supports Chris Bobel’s view that, “it is sometimes hard to separate the activism from the business side of challenging the menstrual status quo” (2010, 94).

The major contradiction that inhabits the promotional materials of alternative menstrual products is that while the companies advocate openness about menstruation and stress its normality, blood remains relatively invisible. It seems that the taboo related to menstrual blood persists on the sites, even if the discussion on blood and menstruation suggests otherwise. Additionally, the language of leak-prevention and period protection continues an earlier noted tendency of making profit from the worries over leaks ingrained in menstruators.

That said, as Helana Darwin and Amara Miller (2020) write about body positivity, “Ideally women should not need to worry about beauty; yet, we do not live in that ideal world and it is unfair to blame victims for adapting to their circumstances” (8). Similarly, we do not live in a world where bloodstains on one’s pants, on the bus stop bench, or on one’s seat in school would be considered “totally cool” and socially acceptable. Menstruators need products (preferably safe, affordable, and environmentally sustainable ones) that minimize discomfort and allow them to move freely in public and private spaces at all times of the month. That the businesses for alternative products harness that need should not be a reason to discard their potential in driving change towards more sustainable solutions. Moreover, even if the companies might not eradicate the menstrual taboo or disassemble negative attitudes associated with monthly bleeding, the data suggest that the sites promoting alternative period products do support activists’ calls for fairer access to products and education without resorting to hollow celebration of menstruation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aino Koskenniemi

Aino Koskenniemi works as a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki. She is currently working on her dissertation on menstrual activism and the politics of consumption. E-mail: [email protected]

Notes

1. I follow Przybylo and Fahs (2020, 377) in moving between the terms “women” and “menstruators” to acknowledge that although menstruation is predominantly a female issue (and perhaps therefore considered taboo), not all women menstruate and not only women menstruate.

2. I use the terms Minority and Majority World since they illustrate the amount of people in both non-geographically determined regions and do not represent development as a straightforward process.