Bleeding for Beauty: Why Period Care Has Always Been a Man’s Game
Have you ever looked at your Always maxi pad in the light? What did you see? If you saw shadows and dark spots, rest assured you were not hallucinating. Those are pulp fibers. And if you look even closer, you’ll see that those shadows and dark spots represent the way women’s health has been neglected and abandoned under the constructs of patriarchy. Women have been viewed as trophies, objects, breeding cattle who are only suitable for producing children, and beings who should keep their mouths shut and be the perfect, doting wife.
In this current generation, we feel the suffocation of patriarchy now more than ever. And if men do not see us as whole human beings and do not truly care for us in the way that we need, how can we expect them to care about our health, especially our reproductive health? In lieu of being disregarded, women are doing what they’ve always done, fighting back and fighting for one another. The only difference is that in this generation, technology is more expansive than ever, and the word of women fighting the good fight can be spread globally. Holistic health and well-being have taken center stage as we witness the rise of organic products and efforts.
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Women have taken a stance on this issue and are fighting back against the production of toxic feminine products. For far too long, feminine products such as pads and tampons have been tainted with toxic chemicals and synthetic fragrances such as phthalates, parabens, and dioxins. These chemicals are used to make plastics, serve as solvents in perfumes to enhance potency, act as preservatives in several other products, and are used in the bleaching process to make items whiter. Although there are several issues with these chemicals circulating in our society, the fact that these ingredients are used in products that come into direct contact with our womanhood is an even more insidious concern.
You would think that the health of women, who are the mothers of the earth and have been producing life for generations, would be handled with significantly more care, but unfortunately, you would be sorely mistaken. Following the Toxic Shock Syndrome crisis of the 1980s, feminine hygiene products began to be tested using a saline solution. This became a standard procedure for testing a product's absorbency levels. Saline was viewed as consistent and easy to work with. But there was absolutely no way a saline solution could be compared to the complexities and variables of a menstrual cycle. Women are complex beings, and no one’s menstrual cycle is the same.
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Many variables and factors can cause a woman’s menstrual cycle to be heavier or lighter. It is disheartening that no one considered real women and their bodies in a predicament that targets them directly. It leads us to wonder who made the decision and thought the best course of action in combating toxic shock syndrome was testing absorbency for products that would be used by women and young girls with a saline solution. This leads us to a full-circle moment. Much like we see today, patriarchy has always influenced the narrative. We have a host of elder male politicians deciding if we should have access to abortion and contraception, as if they have any idea what it is to be a woman. Women found themselves in a similar scenario in the 1980s.
The consensus to use saline solution as the official test fluid for absorbency was made by a majority-male task force, given jurisdiction by the FDA over a scenario they had never experienced. This is another blip in history where society failed to show up for women and treated women as if we have no idea how to care for the body we live in day in and day out. The testing of menstrual products with saline went on for decades, leading more products to hit the market that were extremely harmful to women and blatantly ineffective.
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It was not until 2023 that a study at Oregon Health & Science University, led by all-female researchers, disrupted the status quo and provided groundbreaking insight by testing the absorbency of menstrual products using expired human red blood cells. Their study revealed that these products were falsely advertised and did not actually meet the standard that would make them suitable for a woman’s body. Their research sparked a conversation regarding the need to update standard testing materials to reflect the realistic and ideal scenarios in which different women experience different menstrual flows. Changing the standard testing materials would also help doctors identify and diagnose heavier menstrual cycles and better guide women in finding menstrual routines and practices that best suit them.
The fearless pursuit of knowledge and understanding by the women at Oregon Health & Science University further supports the fact that no one knows and understands the bodily functions and fundamental being of women better than women. And yet, we still receive pushback and experience the dehumanization of women. This is a direct reflection of patriarchy. Men continue to think they know what’s best for women because society has conditioned this toxic ideology into their psyches. Since the birth of civilization, men have assumed leadership roles and have often taken on these roles forcefully. Society continues to push this rhetoric through various forms of media. And while society seems to be regressing, there are still women who are willing to fight to improve the quality of life for all women.
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A new wave of menstrual products has become a beacon of hope and a saving grace for women today. Several women-owned organic menstrual product companies strive to enhance the health and safety of women. Brands such as Cora, LOLA, The Honey Pot, Rael, Femly, Here We Flo, and Riley are all brands owned or co-owned by women, offering products made from organic cotton, organic products infused with essential oils, and, most importantly, products that are fragrance- and chemical-free. And while society continues to shut the door on women and exile them, women are uplifting one another, climbing the ladder, and bringing others up with them, building houses in the corner where they were told to sit quietly, and inviting us in, throwing parties in houses they’ve been forced to build themselves and opening the back door to let us in just when society thinks it has silenced them.
What we can do now is spread the word and educate our friends, family members, and community members. We can advocate for accessibility and safety for all women. This generation of women has shown that, much like our former feminist heroines, we will not go quietly; our bodies matter. How we treat our bodies matters, even if it does not matter to the rest of society. We will continue to thrive in our most innovative and collaborative nature. We exist in our own realm where matriarchy is not just an idea but a lived experience.
by Trinity Battle
Image Credit: Serhii Mazur
