This groovy animation graphically illustrates period 'shame'

A new film from U.K. period poverty charity Bloody Good Period graphically illustrates the "shame" people can be made to feel over their periods in an entertaining animation marking Menstrual Health Day. 

Created by Mother London, the "NoShameHere" campaign aims to remove shame around both menstruation and menstrual products and kickstart conversations around period stigma. It comes as the pandemic has worsened the problem of access and affordability of sanitary products. Bloody Good Period, which supplies products to refugees, asylum seekers and others who can't afford them, says it is now meeting a level of demand six times higher than pre-Covid, with over 81,000 packs of products distributed  since the start of U.K. lockdown.

The film, featuring colorful and groovy retro-style animation by Strange Beast, depicts a diverse group of people dealing with unexpectedly getting their periods but with some positive twists; bloodstains appear and spread into clothing, turning it colorfully red, tampons double as cocktail sticks and a couple in bed deal with the period's appearance in a positive way. It's set a reworking of the CeCe Peniston track "Finally," renamed "Typically," and featuring lyrics like "Typically, I'm coming on/ my period has started, please let me be wrong." 

The campaign is the latest to try to open up conversations around periods and period stigma; earlier this month, a film by another brand addressing period poverty, Hey Girls, deliberately tried to enrage women around the idea of period shame. Previous campaigns by the likes of Thinx and Libresse have also paved the way for more graphic depictions of menstruation, while this week has also seen a campaign by Kotex aimed at demystifying the process with explanations from a YouTuber.  

“It’s 2021 and time we confine period shame to history," said Gabby Edlin, CEO of Bloody Good Period, in a statement. "On Menstrual Health Day, we’re asking everyone to wake up to periods being a part of life and recognize that society needs to accept this natural biological process. By shifting attitudes and making period products accessible, we can help everyone, especially the most marginalized in our society—those living in poverty, refugees and asylum seekers or lacking period education—to live life to its full potential.” 

“Periods are a part of life for so many of us, and though we don’t always want to sing and dance about them, a promo was a brilliant medium to get us talking about them," added Susan Hosking, executive creative director, international at Mother. "Using positivity and entertainment is a way for us to get the conversation flowing, and hopefully help us shake off the shame and stigma so wrongly attached to them.”