Let’s carry our tampons and pads without shame or secrecy! Blogger Karly Charrington, explains why she is not going to hide tampons anymore.
It was recently revealed in presenter Maya Jama’s podcast, ‘When Life Gives You Melons’, that 51% of women hide their tampons in their bags, 44% use pockets or sleeves and 10% hide them in their bra. ONLY 7% choose not to hide them. Worryingly, 15% of women won’t change their tampon at work at all to avoid embarrassment. These stats show that there is still very much a taboo around periods and how dangerous this taboo is. Blogger Karly Charrington has decided she no longer wants to hide her tampons and is going to carry them with pride, will you do the same?
Getting my tampon to the toilet…
“I pick up my cream coloured handbag and slope away from my desk. Hands in the James Bond gun position and back against the door frame, I move around the corner. The coast is clear, so I proceed to make my way through the corridor. Finally, I have reached my destination without being seen.
Surprisingly, all these efforts are not in order to transport the crown jewels for the Queen but a solitary tampon to the office toilet. I may be speaking alone here but I have an innate concern within me that no one should see or know that I am about to change my tampon.
Why do I feel embarrassed carrying a tampon?
Something that may have caused this embarrassed feeling could have started back in school. I remember the day we were gathered in a room to watch a strange cartoon in sex education. With the mention of periods and the butterfly-like imagery of the uterus, instantly generating sniggering from people in the room. From that day on if a tampon fell out of my school bag, I would feel mortified.
For years, I have been timing tampon changes to match lunchtimes as I am leaving the office. This is so I don’t arouse any suspicion around why I’m taking my handbag to the toilet. I have recently realised that if I were to boldly strut along the corridor of the office, tampon in hand, I suspect that no one would bat an eyelid. If indeed, they did see a discreetly wrapped object in my hand, they would not utter a word.
I’m pledging to change
I think tampons should be designed to be seen. Many of them already have bright colour wrappers.
Personally, I am not going to skulk around any longer. I decree that from here on out I am going to carry my tampons with pride! The next time one of my work wives sends me an awkward text asking if I have a spare tampon, I will shoot up from my desk and bellow “Yes, I have a tampon”!
Ok, maybe I am going a bit too far. But without shoving a tampon up your boss’s nose, I say, we should abolish this worry. We should be confident enough to hold a tampon in our hands. The words ‘period’ and ‘tampon’ have a connotation (thanks to an outdated taboo) that make us feel like we should say them in a hushed tone. But how is this tool of the tampon any different to a plaster that you use to cover a bleeding wound? We wouldn’t feel embarrassed to be seen holding a plaster.
Whatever the reason is for this tampon secrecy, we should feel free and confident and I hope you will join me in not hiding my tampons anymore! Let’s carry out tampons with pride. Are you with me?
