Periods Know No Borders

To create truly diverse and inclusive spaces that cater to all women involves understanding cultural differences in menstrual care use to allow for transparent conversations. If periods can cross borders and affect all women globally, why not open up and discuss the importance of being diverse in the period care business?

Knowing that women’s health in the UK has strong values in embracing women’s differences in cultural, ethnic and religious aspects, it's time we talk about those differences in the context of period care. After surveying period care use, it was found that 52% of menstruating women use single-use pads, whilst only 30% of women use tampons. The remaining groups of women use a mixture of other resources such as menstrual cups, period underwear and so on. After understanding women’s reasonings for using the more conventional option of a pad, discourses on religious and cultural values are exposed.

Tampons can seem quite daunting at first and most people often avoid using them due to the difficulty of use as well as apprehensiveness of ingredients and chemicals used inside most non-sustainable tampons. When switching the dialogue to non-Western women, the story changes. Taboo fears are a major problem in global south communities as well as followers of specific faiths. The invasiveness of tampons in such an intimate area can scare away women and create unrealistic fears of menstrual care products and periods in general.

Being mindful and spreading awareness of the benefits of different period care products like pads and tampons within a cultural, and religious context is key to creating inclusion and diversity within women’s health discourse. Ensure your space is truly embodying diversity and inclusion by providing a suitable range of period care offerings in your spaces.

Join Freda in embracing diversity, one period at a time!