About ( bloody) time
When it comes to our period we no longer have to settle, thanks to a raft of new products and tech. But what works?
Used to sliding your tampon up your sleeve, and then darting to the bathroom? Whispering to your friends, “I’m on,” when caught short on a night out? No longer. With campaigns like Bloody Good Period encouraging us to get candid about our cycles, the “red drop” emoji launching (thanks to an international girls’ rights group) and Netflix’s Period. End Of Sentence winning an Oscar this year, period chat has finally stopped being taboo.
“The opening up of the conversation is a pushback against the
Trumps of the world,” says Maisie Hill, women’s health practitioner and author of Period Power. “Women have realised the extent to which they have historically ‘put up’ with things: a lack of care, research and funding for women’s health issues.” Now, savvy entrepreneurs are getting in on the act with a range of products such as period underwear, menstrual cups, eco-friendly subscription boxes… the list goes on. And, of course, there are more tracking apps than Grammys on Beyoncé’s mantelpiece. The so-called femtech industry is worth
$200 million globally, but that number is estimated to rise to $50 billion by 2025. And it’s not just those buying the products who are benefitting. “Many of these companies are female-owned,” adds Hill. “These women are responding to needs that haven’t been served before.”
But amid the, ahem, heavy flow of products and services, it can be hard to distinguish true breakthroughs from puffed-up marketing. “Most of these products are unregulated, and the claims they make are not necessarily based on robust research,” says gynaecologist Jen Gunter. And despite their pro-women veneer, some products still exploit female anxieties, using messaging that subtly reinforces the ideas that leaking is an embarrassment and that periods make us moody. Ultimately, though, Hill feels positive about the direction of travel: “We have been socialised into believing we should just have to put up with the downsides of periods, but that’s not true.” ›