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The menstrual product stigma in Sweden

4. The Mechanisms of Destigmatization

4.2. The menstrual product stigma and first steps toward destigmatization

4.2.2. The menstrual product stigma in Sweden

of Northern India or Nepal. The following section will discuss the menstrual product stigma in Sweden.

On the other hand, the following quote may signify that Drevik’s management techniques may also be to protect herself by preventing others from expressing potentially devaluing and stigmatizing statements. Namely, if they were to enter the conversation topic of developing menstrual products, Drevik recalled she would frequently get comments from men that disregard the complexity of the product development work, the products themselves, and trivializing women’s needs, and the experience of having a menstrual cycle. Drevik stated that,

“a typical question from a man, actually it was more of a statement than a question, would be ‘but oh, my God, how hard can it be to stick some cotton in one’s underwear?’ They didn’t see it as something to develop, they didn’t get it.”

Such comments reflect not only a trivialization but also a lack of understanding of the products, as ‘sticking cotton in one’s underwear’ would be a rather inefficient and uncomfortable means to handle menstruation. One of the main causes of such attitudes, especially among men, is that they have been excluded from the conversation their whole lives. A lack of knowledge and understanding of what menstruation entails has conditioned them not to think about it, in which case trivialization may come as a natural response when being asked to do so.

Louise Berg stated,

“that classes are still divided in a way that girls are to talk about menstruation and boys are not allowed to participate causes the notion where boys think they are not allowed to talk about menstruation, which implies that there is an initial taboo that boys are not allowed to touch, which then causes boys not to think about it because they were never let in, and girls learn from the beginning not to talk about it because this is her own secret.”

Drevik, however, has experienced the destigmatization process of menstruation and menstrual products over her years being engaged in the business. She recognizes that although the process is underway, we are far from reaching complete normalization, as the matters are still infrequently discussed openly. She stated that,

“this was many years ago and I know that guys today have become more loosened up, but it still isn’t that easy. It’s still quite hush hush.”

For those respondents who have not worked with menstrual products for as long as Drevik, such as entrepreneurs Louise Berg and Ingrid Odlén, their stories of their work diverge markedly. Odlén, who has actively worked in this area for a couple of years, has only had mostly positive experiences and reactions about her work. Berg, on the other hand, who has been working with menstruation for around seven years, has experienced many more barriers and difficulties gaining traction for her project, especially in the beginning. Hearing about Odlén’s experiences, Berg stated that,

“that’s why I was thinking that Ingrid can’t have been working for as long as me if she has such positive experiences of menstrual entrepreneurship.”

Another entrepreneur, Daniella Peri at Yoppie, discussed that there is currently great interest in ‘femcare’ and in a positive sense, adding that a lot of new technologies, data, content, and demand are increasing around it. She argued that there are great opportunities involved with the ongoing destigmatization of menstrual products, but people still seem afraid or hesitant to venture around it.

Peri stated that,

“There is so much to do for women, but no one dares or wants to.”

Further, Berg expressed a clear conviction that she has experienced the destigmatization of menstruation and menstrual products, however, stating that there has been a shift in attitudes on the matter. She stated that, generally, people have previously received her business endeavor with skepticism and disinterest.

Years later, in 2018, the same individuals showed her respect and interest, although her ideas remained the same. Berg stated that,

“That feeling of respect was probably not there three years ago. Now, I get a lot of praise by the same people who said there was no market three years ago, and I have not changed my business plan at all.”

Furthermore, societies go through changes such as in the case of large influxes of immigrants from widely differing cultures. According to Drevik, such matters can affect the process of destigmatization, and there might even be a risk that it slows down or even regresses. She stated that,

“but we are so influenced by another culture in Sweden, now, who have a different view of menstruation. I really hope it doesn’t go backward, that would be a damn shame.”

Moreover, respondents recognized that it is not necessarily only culture and religiosity that play roles in determining the fortitude of the menstrual stigma in a given social setting, but also population trends including demographics such as a growing segment of elderly. Anders who works in regulatory affairs at Essity stated that,

“It might be a question of age as well. Older people have a harder time and young people have an easier time taking in and discussing and are more open. I think this is true, at least when I look at my own children that’s the case. And that’s great.

I’m sure it’s complicated and that many different factors are involved.”

Solgun Drevik agreed that age plays a large role in the destigmatization process, especially in combination with gender. As someone who has been in the business for a long time, she also identified trends such as pivotal leaps where the destigmatization increased periodically. She stated that,

“Men don’t know how to tackle the matter if they are a bit older – no, no, no. But it’s that slow process of change and it’s really funny, I think it’s really funny to see what happened between the 60s and 70s and the 80s – you see really clear jumps there. So, you can look at someone and think ‘wait, what was that damn man like?

Oh, right! He was born in the 60s!’ So, you have to think about where we’re coming from. I can only look at my own kids, they are very desensitized in this area.”

Furthermore, those working at Essity discuss the stigma, in terms of a V-Zone taboo. What they refer to as the v-zone is anything related to the female reproductive organs, including culturally engrained notions about how the menstrual cycle should work, how female genitals should look, what menstruation might smell like, et cetera. Jenny Smith, Regional Marketing Manager in the Nordic division for Essity and TENA stated that,

“The v-zone is what we talk about and when we talk about the v-zone from a Libresse perspective, we mean what is in this area [gesturing around her pelvic area]: both the vagina, vulva, and the bikini area. We work a lot with that term,

so, we talk about the v-zone taboo and everything connected to this part of the body.”

Essity have categorized the menstrual taboo into four labels as a tool for understanding how to handle it. First, invisibility implies that menstruation and everything related to it should be hidden, ignored, censored, discrete, and disappearing. Smith explained that,

“There are really four large parts that there are taboos within, which we all recognize and relate to. It should be hush, hush, invisible; it shouldn’t be noticeable that we are menstruating, you sneak around and so on. That’s something you recognize from your own experience, how it’s been growing up and that’s even worse in other parts of the world.”

Second, purity gathers all the ‘positive’ connotations associated with menstruation and the female genitals and implies that the v-zone should be clean, white, virgin, and sanitized in unrealistic, unattainable ways. Smith described this as,

“Then, it’s about cleanliness; it should almost be virgin-like and nothing is allowed to smell, and it should be white and clean and such – this applies to everything regarding the genitals. Lots of taboo around this.”

Third, objectification represents the pressures to look and be sexy and includes the culture of pornography and domination. This category includes practices such as having surgery in order to get ‘the perfect vulva,’ which is often an idea established and reaffirmed in pornography and does not reflect the norm. Smith explained that,

“There is a lot of taboo on how to look. There are even people who go and have surgery to look ‘right’ down there, according to someone’s idea about how one should look. Awful things, really, that we are exposed to because we are fed with these notions through media and expectations on us.”

Fourth, and finally, repulsion is the category containing all the negative associations with menstruation and female genitals including impurity, dirt, staining, disgust, stigma, undesirability, smell, ugly, and so on. Smith stated that,

“And then, there’s a loathing toward menstruation and that it smells. That it’s something dirty and disgusting about menstruation, and it’s not something I want

to see. It’s almost like I don’t want to throw it in the public trash can because someone might discover that I am menstruating. So, there are lots of taboo aspects out there when you start digging into it.”

With these notions about menstruation at the core of the stigma, there are a number of consequences on the menstrual product market. For example, there is a social risk implied by potentially failing products, which has effects on how consumers purchase and use them and simultaneously what and how products are developed from the producing end. It also has effects on how legislation treats menstrual products, where the regulations and standards are often associated with the neglect of menstrual products as a stigmatized matter by respondents. The lack of pressure from consumers to rectify these issues can also be connected to the stigma. These matters will be discussed in the forthcoming sections, where I discuss my findings on the ways in which the menstrual product stigma affects the menstrual product market in Sweden, currently.

4.2.3. Lack of knowledge, regulations, and standards regarding product