Periods: brandish your tampon and reclaim the V-word

Psychologies' Wellness Director, Emine Rushton, speaks about the stigma of menstruation and the embarrassment that comes with this natural process

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Periods: brandish your tampon and reclaim the V-word

I have always hated the word โ€˜sanitaryโ€™ in relation to towels and tampons โ€“ as though there were some need to decontaminate this most natural and inevitable of processes. That a stigma should ever be attached to anything as commonplace as the monthly reproductive cycle defies logic โ€“ but when was the last time you openly took a tampon out of your bag and held it in plain view as you walked to the toilet? Precisely.

There seems to be no good time or place for our vaginas โ€“ but feeling in the dark has done us all a huge disservice.

In a recent column four our #360me pages in Psychologies, Melissa and Jasmine Hemsley championed the use of organic cotton tampons and towels. Why? Because non-organic cotton is grown with the use of pesticides; chlorine is then used to bleach it that โ€˜whiter than whiteโ€™ colour, and chlorine contains a chemical called dioxin, which is an endocrine disruptor; then thereโ€™s the plastic applicator itself, which contains phthalates, also endocrine disruptors.

Add to the fact that most commercial tampons are made from a mix of nonorganic cotton, rayon and synthetic fibres and the exposure to unnecessary chemicals rises further. Of course weโ€™re exposed to many chemicals every day of our lives โ€“ from traffic fumes to cleaning products โ€“ but that a woman will use an average of 12,000 tampons in her life makes her choice so cumulatively crucial.

Hooray for widely available, cheap, great British brand, Natracare โ€“ the first to introduce organic tampons to the global market in 1989. Yet it drives me mad that there still isnโ€™t an organic option at my local supermarket. But itโ€™s not all bad; consumer frustration drives innovation: from 100 per cent organic lube, YES Organic, to Elvie, the first toning gadget for pelvic-floor muscles, also supported by a training app (developed by Marie Stopesโ€™ former head of strategy and innovation, Tania Boler).

These are sexual health products for all women. Many are highly effacacious, beautifully designed, and cleverly marketed โ€“ no shame, no stigma, and not a sanitary bag in sight.

Follow Emine on Instagram@psydirector

Photograph: iStock

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