How are Menstrual Products Sold - Coursework Example

Menstruation Menstruation is a natural process that all healthy women experience in their reproductive years. Although it is expected that everybody should know and understand the basics of human anatomy, which includes how the body of a woman works. However, the reality is that knowledge and information about the female reproductive cycle has not always been available to most members of society (Hardie and McMurray 26). The menses topic has been regarded as a cross-cultural taboo and a source of shame for womenfolk for many thousands of years. However, the media today, through advertising, is opening up the communication of this hitherto taboo topic. The commercialization of menstruation products as portrayed in the media has over the years influenced how society perceives the female reproductive cycle, and in particular, the process of menstruation (Walker 67). How are Menstrual Products Sold? Many of the materials or products used as protection during menses are sold as any other normal products in shops, stores and on the internet. There are many different types of menstrual supplies which are commercially available today. The most common are menstrual pads which have been in use since time immemorial. Their form has seen drastic changes over the centuries, but their core function remains the same. The first commercialized disposable sanitary pads may have started in the late 19th century, when Germany-based Hartmann Company and Johnson and Johnson in the USA started advertising for these products. Kortex and Curads later started advertising their products in the early 1920s. During the 1970s, the smaller pads which had adhesive strips were created (Hardie and McMurray 26). This marked a change in the pads industry, change which saw more commercials about the different products being aired and presented in the mainstream media more boldly than before. Due to media exposure of menstrual products to the general public, stores that stocked household items started displaying the products on their shelves. Before the 20th century, most menstrual products were discreetly sold in stores that specifically sold women sanitary items. This was mainly due to the unfortunately negative connotation the society had regarding the menstruation cycle of women (Hardie and McMurray 27). In many communities, the process was used as one of the reasons why women subjected to male egocentrism and unfair dominance, something that kept women from achieving as much as they would have wished to achieve in their lives. Today, finding women’s sanitary products displayed openly on shelves in different stores is not that much of a big deal as it was a few decades ago. However, these products are not the first ones that one is likely to see at the entrance of the stores. In the contrary, they are normally smartly arranged in a carefully hidden isle, which in most cases is also likely to contain other toilette products such as toilet papers, bathing soaps and toothpastes (33). Sellers of sanitary pads are the ones who are boldest when it comes to displaying their products in stores. Tampons on the other hand are normally not as openly displayed as pads. They are commonly found in pharmacology stores where they are sold as over the counter products. If supplied in stores and supermarkets, tampons are usually placed together with pharmaceutical products. Alternatively, they can be accessed on customer counters in most of these stores. Normally, all the menstrual products are placed on the same section in an isle. However, they are separately arranged depending on their brands. For instance, different brands of Stayfree are normally placed together in a row or two depending on their number. Other related products are arranged the same way. The internet has inarguably transformed how companies supply their products to their customers. Nowadays, one can get just about anything by clicking a few times on their computer. The same thing applies to women’s sanitary products. There are several online stores where women can access menstrual products from the comfort of wherever they are. A popular website that sells these products is http://www.period-products.com/ which offers all sorts of sanitary items from menstrual pads to tampons to sanitary disposal bags. The website clearly offers more products than are available in the common stores and drug stores (UbyKotex.com). Competing products are normally marketed by highlighting their strengths, especially those that are not found in other products. Alternative products can also be marketed by placing links to websites that sell them. The use of women’s magazines is also quite common when it comes to advertising menstruation products. Most menstruation products companies have taken advantage of the increasing number of teens magazines to advertise their products. Most of these adverts in teen magazines are normally colorful and designed in such a way that the reader will not feel put off when viewing them. The adverts are normally found in the middle pages or back pages of the magazines (Walker 56). There is a lot that one can learn about girls, women, and their bodies from the manner in which menstruation product are sold. One of the striking facts that come from the comparisons made above is that menstrual products are normally not in open display like other products. This shows that society has yet to get over the idea that menstruation is a taboo subject(UbyKotex.com). The discreet manner in which the products are sold also may signify the way many women feel ashamed when the subject of menstruation is brought up (Hardie and McMurray 28). How have Present-day Menstrual Product Advertisements differed from Previous Decades? The way menstrual products are advertised has changed drastically over the years. When the advertisements first started in the late 19th century, they mainly illustrated the products themselves and their advantages. However, in 1928, photographer Lee Miller became the first person to ever appear in an advert for menstrual products. His appearance caused quite a stir, with many people disapproving of his appearance. The reason for this disapproval could be due to the fact that the issue of menstruation was still considered a taboo subject by many people. However, public controversy did not put to a stop the advertisements of menstrual products. A few years later, the adverts became even bolder and started using the word ‘period’ on air (Walker 67). Today, most commercials use different euphemisms to denote phrases that are still considered taboo or too shameful to utter in public. For instance, some adverts may contain phrases such as ‘that day of the month’ to refer to menstruation. Most of the early advertisements of menstrual products during the early 19th century were mainly found in print publications. The content usually contained a lot of information about the product, how to get and probably how to use it. These advertisements were mostly crowded and colorless. However, as the years progressed, the nature of menstrual product advertisements also changed. The adverts became available both on the print and electronic media. The companies manufacturing these products also increased in number, thus giving rise to market competition where none existed some decades before. To beat competition, most companies devised innovative ways to market their products and this helped fuel bold advertisements of menstrual products on all media. Today, most advertisers have gone past the taboo issue and are marketing their menstruation products as openly as possible (UbyKotex.com). Although there are euphemisms used in these adverts, many people have learnt how not to cringe every time they see or hear the adverts in the print or electronic media. The construction of menstruation and the menstrual cycle in general has greatly changed over the years, thanks to he adverts. The word ‘period’ is no longer associated with shame as was the case a few decades ago when it could not be uttered in public (Visit4Ads.com). Society has somehow gotten used to the menstruation products advertisements to such an extent that most people actually do not mind the products being marketed openly on television, radio, magazines and on the internet. However, a few attitudes have not changed (Walker 89). For instance, the idea that menstruation is a nuisance is propagated in the adverts by the names given to some of the products, such as Carefree and Stayfree. However there are some important lessons that one can learn about menstruation from these advertisements. The issue of personal hygiene is normally emphasized during most of the adverts, especially those that come on television. The adverts are also important sources of information about the medical perspective of menstruation. Gone are the days when people used to think that the menstrual cycle was a curse. Society now understands that menarche is a natural part of womanhood which should be celebrated and not condemned like it was years ago. It is quite clear that there is nothing to ashamed of in one’s body and women should be empowered with the knowledge that rather than bring them down, menstruation and the menstrual cycle to act as the strong women they were intended to be (Hardie and McMurray 36). Conclusion The idea of menstruation has been surrounded by a shared taboo of secrecy and silence for the longest time the history of mankind. This is quite unfortunate considering that there is actually nothing to be ashamed of in regards to human sexuality. This silence is slowly being broken through the influence of media presentations of menstruation. However, there is still a long way to go as little has been achieved in the way people view menstruation. Experts have argued that increased advertisements of menstrual products does not necessarily mean that society has changed or even shunned the attitudes and taboos that have for a long time been associated with the female reproductive cycle. This is due to the fact that menstruation messages that are propagated in popular media are mostly based on the secrecy and taboo associated with the topic. A change in this attitude within the advertisement world will go a long way in ensuring that womenfolk and even men also change their attitudes about menarche. Works Cited Hardie, E. and McMurray, N. Self-stereotyping, Sex role Ideology and Menstrual Attitudes: A Social Identity approach, Sex Roles, 1992, Vol. 27, pp. 17-37. UbyKotex.com. Tellin’ It Like It Is, 2011. Web. August 8, 2011. http://www.ubykotex.com/get_real/view/detail?id=50738 Visit4ads.com. Always Sanitary Towel Range-List of Adverts, 2011. Web. August 8, 2011. http://www.visit4ads.com/brand/Always-Sanitary-Towel-Range/985 Walker, Anne. The Menstrual Cycle. Routledge, London, 1997. Print. Read More