Call Periods, Periods. Period. Take a look, How advertisers poorly advertise Menstruation Process?
Menstruation is a process that has been in the deepest corner of the taboo zone ever since we came to know about this process. White has been associated with multiple stigmas and myths, what is scud is the way, the process of menstruation and the media message of menstrual hygiene has been advertised. Menstruation is a process that is as natural as it can be. The fact that there exist different sexes and all of them possess different biological processes which are natural. So, is menstruation but the advertisements about menstruation do not just make them a stigma but create havoc about a process no one has any control over.
Here are the loopholes in how advertisers advertise menstruation
Promoting that their menstrual product will give them wings to be empowered women
Well, the advertisements have a product to advertise and for them, it hardly matters what connotations can their media message may contain. For them, women empowerment is something marketable and what they portray in their ads is that right after wearing their company’s menstrual product, all of a sudden, the woman will start flying and become super powerful.
Read more: What is purple washing? How does it show the double standards of the perpetrator?
Using blue colour in replacement of red
We wonder why did the ad-makers feel that a menstruator becomes an octopus during periods because truly, no human shells out blue blood even during menstruation. The use of blue colour only enforces the log living stigmas around menstruation and empowers the ugly thought that menstruation is ugly.
The extremely white misc-en-scene
There is some extreme whiteness in the ads on menstruation. Maybe you might not have realized it till now, but the next time you will watch them, you will see that everything around a menstruator is put in the scene with extreme whiteness. Starting from the clothes she is wearing to the place where she will sleep, everything is white. This only makes it feel like there is something serious happening during menstruation, something that is not normal. And yes, even if they are wearing and sitting on whites, their menstrual product will help them avoid stains.
Avoiding calling periods what they are
These advertisements really struggle to call periods, periods and we do wonder why? Instead of normalizing the concept of menstruation, the used terms like ‘un dinoon mai’, ‘din chalte Hai‘, ‘Mushkil Din’ for reasons no one can really tell. One side, they empower women during menstruation, and on the other, they only promote that there is something wrong in the days when she menstruates.
Showing periods as a mishappening
The common narrative of most of the sanitary product advertisement is to show that the menstruator is not alright while they menstruate. They either show the protagonist as weak, troubled, conscious and as someone suffering from something. The larger idea only seems to look like the menstruator is not healthy while they menstruate which is really not true.
Making menstruation only a women’s issue
Well, less did we know that it is not only women who menstruate, and we know less about it because we are told less about this. And who tells about this are the advertisements that only show menstruation as a women’s problem and make it less inclusive for other genders.
Due you recalled any such poorly advertised Pad, period or menstrual hygiene ads ? Do not forget to share with us.
