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5. Reclassifying Menstrual Products

5.1. Reclassifying on the individual level: Educating

5.1.3. Providing ‘real’ information

Traditionally, medical expert knowledge has not only been positive for destigmatization, but findings show that it has always been valued higher than experiential knowledge. This seems to be changing, however. As menstruation and menstrual products are discussed more openly, more often, and in more diverse constellations, attitudes are changing, and curiosity is spreading. This seems to be triggering people to talk more about each other’s experiences, and knowledge is spreading as a consequence. Furthermore, the more people learn about other’s experiences, the more they realize that they are rarely alone in their concerns. This both increases the understanding and acceptance of their own body and menstrual cycle, resulting in higher confidence, which leads to destigmatization.

As previously mentioned, traditionally, there has been a focus on medical expert knowledge, and very little attention has been paid to the individual as well as shared experiential knowledge of menstruating. This includes menstrual product users’ experiences. Some respondents have indicated that menstruators who are asked to share such knowledge express gratitude that their opinions, thoughts, and experiences are valued and taken into consideration in the process of product development. Just as in the case with the men Louise Berg had spoken to, as demonstrated in the quotes above, it seems as though once the silence is broken and the conversation is started about menstrual products, people are often more than willing to discuss. This could be seen as a direct contradiction to the stigma, but what it might also indicate is that although social codes dictate that we should not talk about menstruation openly, people still want to do so. Once it is viewed as socially acceptable in a given situation, people will often uninhibitedly express their thoughts and experiences. Entrepreneur Ingrid Odlén stated that,

“when I did the market research, there were so many people who almost thanked me for allowing them to express their opinions when, really, I should be the one thanking them for contributing with their thoughts – there are a lot of companies who pay consumers to do this type of thing.”

Another respondent who discussed the notion of consumers showing appreciation when asked about their opinions on their menstrual product use is the Lead Product Developer at Feminine Care, Sofia Ekstedt at Essity, who stated that,

“Something regarding stigma that we can see is that we do lots of consumer research, and we talk a lot to the consumers, and most women are very happy about being allowed to talk about what doesn’t work and so on. So, there, it’s almost the opposite – one is very positive toward talking about what doesn’t work and their experiences.”

Taking users’ needs and preferences into consideration is at the core of developing products that succeed in the marketplace, not only for entrepreneurs developing brand new products but also for those developing their existing product portfolio.

This includes understanding how consumers feel about using their products and how they feel about menstruating in general. This is especially important to take into consideration when communicating through, for instance, advertisements.

Former product developer at SCA (now Essity), Solgun Drevik, for instance, stated that,

“So, you always have to see to consumers’ relevant insights in all of it and that is that ‘there are a number of days each month where I don’t feel like I normally do, even though [menstruation] is natural, I don’t feel as usual.’ And it is different how people handle this. Some become moody, some tired, others try to act normally, but mostly it comes out anyway. […] It is important to make women feel as though they are taken seriously.”

Taking the experience of menstruation seriously is considered a part of the mechanism I call claiming agency of menstruation and menstrual products and will thus be discussed in greater detail in the forthcoming chapter.

Another aspect of providing real knowledge that respondents considered important for the destigmatization of menstrual products was informing consumers about appropriate product selection for their different needs. Essity, for instance, deals with stigma, not only regarding menstrual products but also incontinence products. One challenge that these product stigmas hint at is that discussing both product groups at once implies that the user is stigmatized not only in one, but two ways simultaneously. This complicates things for manufacturers who have to deal with two matters that are not generally discussed openly. Jenny Smith at Essity discussed the differences between products intended for incontinence and menstruation and stated that due to stigma and associated difficulty in educating about these products and their use, many women habitually use suboptimal products for their needs. She argued that in order to

address the stigmas on these product categories, we need to educate about menstruation and incontinence, respectively, to be able to talk about their intended uses. Smith stated that,

“they are adapted for different types of fluids. Products that are for incontinence are adapted to be able to absorb a rather large amount of fluid – urine – and should be able to absorb very quickly and in one place. Menstruation is more viscous and needs protection both forward and backward, and these are the things women don’t know about. […] There are very many people who don’t know this, and they don’t understand why these products are more expensive, but it’s a completely different type of more advanced product. So, I would say that this is something we work a lot with at Libresse, to break the taboos because it really isn’t something you talk about.”

Another respondent who points out the importance of education about correct product use is entrepreneur Daniella Peri at Yoppie. She argued that not only is there a widespread suboptimal usage of incontinence versus menstrual products, but also of tampons. This is related to the notion that the discourse surrounding menstrual products is primarily made up of what companies communicate on and around their products. In the case of tampons, Peri argues, the labelling of different absorbency levels causes consumers to want to use the one called ‘normal’

in order to not feel more out of the ordinary than they already do while menstruating. Peri stated that,

“Women need to be educated about correct tampon use and why this is necessary.”

To summarize, there is traditionally a separation between medical or biological knowledge and experiential knowledge of menstruating, where the former is what is taught in schools and educational programs, and the latter is less a part of the conversation about menstruation and more something to keep for oneself and a matter of figuring out a way to handle one’s menstruation on one’s own. As the conversation is growing and spreading, however, people are becoming more likely to ask about and share experiences, which places experiential knowledge in a more valued position than before. This contributes to destigmatization by enabling a discussion that is close to the matter at hand, without detachment and euphemisms.

5.1.4. Concluding remarks on reclassifying through education and