Period Undies & Ad Bans

I'll preface this by saying that this is a topic I'm certainly not qualified to talk about.

But this week has seen a couple of interesting stories. Local period underwear brand AWWA has been unable to advertise on Facebook due to its realistic use of red blood in its ads (though Facebook disputes this). Having periods is a basic biological function of about half the population. For too long women have been shamed and advertisers of products have been forced to use euphemistic depictions of blue liquids in place of blood.

Shaming has negative health consequences. I'd like to point out an excellent, related post, by committee member Daniel Ryan.

“In 2018, there were 311,000 deaths worldwide from cervical cancer. It's one of the most common cancers [1]. In New Zealand, about 50 women die every year. These deaths can be largely preventable if found at an early stage [2]. It doesn't help that there are ethnic disparities. For example, Māori women are 2.5 times more likely to die from cervical cancer than non-Māori women [3].

Whakamā (embarrassment/shyness/reticence) is one of the most frequently cited barriers to getting a pap test [4]. Screening every 3-5 years over a population level can reduce cervical cancer incidence by up to 80% [4].

The HPV vaccination is also a practical measure; those vaccinated have up to a 90% reduction of cervical cancer incidence [6]. The HPV vaccine also helps with other HPV cancers of the vulvar, vaginal, anal, penile, oropharyngeal and tonsil areas. There is no treatment for HPV infection itself [7]. The NZ vaccination rates are around 67%, missing the 75% coverage needed for herd immunity [8].“