Pantone introduces a new shade: period, the color of menstrual blood.

Our society has a multitude of topics that are stigmatized and completely taboo. One of those topics is so common to women that it happens every month, and women spend the rest of their months preparing for it. That topic is our menstrual cycle. When talking about menstruation, the topic is nowhere near as accepted to talk about in daily life and our school system, and even in health class. To combat the stigmatization of women's periods, the company Pantone introduced a new shade of lipstick called Period, which is, as you may have already guessed, a bright red to symbolize the color of menstrual blood. This caused some people to cheer and others to gasp.

So what's the big deal?

The Color Institute Pantone recently debuted a brand new color. Well, it's not a brand new color. We already have this color in the world. But it's not the color that is causing the stir. It's the name of the color. If it did not have such a controversial name, most would call it a vibrant red, like a candy apple red. But it is not called candy apple red. It is called Period.

This new color and its name are significant because Pantone is one of the most important color companies in the world. The entire Global design industry relies on their vivid colors. So, with the click of a button, this new color is available to hundreds of thousands of companies and dozens of industries worldwide. Pantone has a system of over 2600 colors. So they're using their industry power to create a dialog about menstruation in the world and how women and their periods are viewed.

Pantone decided to name this vibrant red color Period because it wants to start a dialogue about periods among its customers and the media. The company states that they aim to support those who menstruate to feel proud of themselves and own their periods with self-assurance. They want their customers to rejoice in their menstruation and not feel ashamed or scrutinized for their natural bodily function.

Intimina

Along with Pantone, a Swedish feminine care brand called Intimina started a campaign to get people talking about periods and the menstrual cycle. One of the major reasons these two companies teamed up is the stigmatization of periods in many conservative parts of the world. In most countries, including major countries in the western world, it is seen as taboo to talk about menstruation.

The vice-president of the Pantone Color Institute, Lori Pressman, when on to say, "An active and adventurous red hue, 'period' emboldens people who menstruate to feel proud of who they are. To own their period with self-assurance; to stand up and passionately celebrate the exciting and powerful life force they are born with; to urge everyone regardless of gender to feel comfortable to talk spontaneously and openly about this pure and natural bodily function."

How is the topic of menstruation dealt with in the US?

In 2012, a female congresswoman named Lisa Brown was giving a speech about the plight of young women and their lack of critical health resources that are readily available in other countries. These important health resources also included abortion, a decisive topic in the US. Round, along with another politician, we're trying to stand up against the brand new house bill, which added many restrictions for abortion providers. Also, insurance companies will not have to pay for abortions anymore in the bill.

In her speech, she used the word vagina. Her speech was halted because of her use of the word vagina, and she was forcibly thrown out of the main chamber. There was no other reason given for why she was thrown out of Congress except to use the word vagina.

So you can see, not even grown adult men in one of the how do you spell dishes in the country can handle hearing the word vagina without feeling offended, irritated, and clutching their pearls. It sounds like they're too emotional.

These men later remarked that the word was offensive. The majority floor leader, who at the time was Jim's Stamas, ruled that Lisa Brown's use of the word vagina was a violation of the House's decorum rules. He even went on to say to a reporter that the word is so offensive he doesn't even want to say it in front of women and would never say it in mixed company.

So not only are periods stigmatized in the highest offices in the country, the complete topic of the vagina is seen as too offensive. Well, fuck that!!

In 2012, congress members acted as if the word vagina was equivalent to saying Voldemort. Give me a break.

The shame and stigma women experience because of our menstruation.

Some cultures even believe it is shameful when a woman has her period. You would be surprised how many cultural myths there are around a woman's menstruation cycle. Some myths say that you should never touch a woman on her period or have bad luck. Well, you should never touch a woman without her permission, but bad luck has nothing to do with it.

Many women from around the country have experienced shame about their period because others made fun of them or because of their parent's and relatives' negative reactions and statements.

When it comes to fathers helping their daughters with their periods, it is a 50-50 coin toss on the father's reaction. Some fathers are very loving and help their young daughters buy tampons and Kotex. But other fathers will completely avoid the topic altogether and not purchase any supplies their daughter needs. If you are a man who does not help their daughter with their periods, then you're just mean. You're not manly or the man of the House. You're just mean

When a young woman does not have access to Kotex tampons and proper menstrual health lessons, she's much more likely to miss school. Schools also do not have the proper funds to help young women with period problems. Some stores don't have medical equipment or even nurses. You would never see men treating young boys so badly when they have important medical issues. So why is society treating girls and women this way?

Periods in the UK

You would think that a modern Western country would regard menstruation as a normal bodily function and not as something disgusting or shameful. Unfortunately, there is no country on Earth where menstruation is viewed as normal. A study found that one in five girls and women are bullied for having periods in the UK. Some of the bullying is so bad that it technically counts as abuse. Those bullied for having periods and experiencing abuse are unlikely to tell other people about the abuse since the topic is about their body parts.

Another form of sexism practiced in the UK against women and their menstruation is forcing a 5% tax on essential female items like tampons, Kotex, and other Sanitary products. Those who argue in favor of the tax say that condoms are taxed at the same rate. But one can argue that people do not need to have sex, but menstruation and periods are involuntary and forced upon the female body. The tax is a classist fee against poor women who cannot afford monthly menstrual supplies.

How to improve society and its views of menstruation

The number one place where all girls should express their questions, statements, and views on menstruation should be the home. However, not all family members are well versed in menstruation education. Many parents and Guardians, especially those who are not college-educated, rely on cultural myths and poorly worded decades-old sex education from their own years in Elementary and high school.

Some parents come from cultures that are extremely negative towards young girls who have their periods, and they will teach their cultures' negative viewpoints to their own child, and they will be ashamed of themselves.

THE HOME

Well, societies and governments need to start a positive menstruation campaign centered around the home. They can do that with the power of social media. Still, they can also use daytime television, the news, and even television shows to influence how families view menstruation cycles. Plus, television and social media based-campaigns will bring positive messaging about the menstruation cycle straight into the home where young girls live. Even if their parents refuse to believe the facts about menstruation, at least the young ladies will be exposed to it. The campaign's point is to bring a more positive viewpoint directly to the girls themselves.

SCHOOL

School is the only other place where children spend most of their lives besides the household. So, teachers can influence how their students view menstruation by adding it to any lesson about health. Plus, all students should be taught about the human body in general. The human body is not sexual, and talking about genitals does not mean that the teacher is promoting sex to elementary or middle schoolers. There is a lot of shame in the United States around nudity even though everyone is born naked. So not only does the United States have to create a comprehensive sex education program, it needs to work on how it indicates its students on bodily health for both genders.

Period based myths around the world

Every culture views menstruation differently, and it is a toss-up between which cultures are positive about menstruation and which cultures are negative. Modern Health is relatively new, so billions of people worldwide are still learning myths about menstruation that are not true at all. Here are a few myths about periods and menstruation that millions of little girls need to unlearn.

• When a woman is on her period, she cannot get pregnant. This myth is an absolute lie. Women can get pregnant when they have penetrative sex with a fertile man while they're on their period. When a woman is on her period, she is not as fertile, but it's not like her fertility drops down to zero. There is still a pretty good chance she can get pregnant
• If a woman takes birth control that stops her period, the blood that should be released during her period is building up in her body. The number of people who believe this myth is the result of a poor sex ed system. No, blood just doesn't build up inside the woman's body.
• Inserting a tampon into your vagina means that the girl are no longer a virgin. This is an extremely harmful myth that is actively hurting women around the world today. A penis is nothing like a tampon and vice versa. A tampon is simply a device that absorbs a woman's menstrual blood. It cannot get a woman pregnant and is in no way connected to sex. Even some people out there believe, actually believe, that a woman experiences sexual pleasure when she inserts a tampon inside herself. Just fucking kill me now.
• Some cultures believe that a woman has her. Because her body is releasing all of the evil that she has accumulated throughout the month. So if a woman on her period touches another person, they will receive her evil. You know, some people are stupid.

Conclusion

We need to improve how we talk about menstruation, vagina, and women. We are half the population, and being treated as if a normal body function is disgusting and dirty is sexist and misogynistic. Men can talk about their dicks, erections, and ejaculate all day long. But someone utters the word vagina in the House of Representatives, and every member clutches their period. That reaction was just plain ridiculous. Hopefully, things will improve with the new generation of young people born in 2000 and the work of millennials, who have been much more progressive than other generations. But periods and menstruation. Periods are an everyday bodily function, and we should not treat women any differently because of them.