YOUTH NOW
The Power of Period Humor
TV has gotten better at menstrual jokes, but for the sake of young girls, it needs to go further
Throughout history, ads, TV shows, movies, news, and product packaging have often sent the message that periods make people less capable. It is common for TV shows to have episodes that feature women “going crazy” while they’re on their period. Jokes like these send the message to men (and women) that women who are on their period are out of control, emotional, and irrational.
There is also the problem of the lack of conversation around menstruation on TV, period. In the 10 years of airtime for the hit sitcom Friends, “only once did producers see fit to mention periods — when Chandler and Monica are figuring out the best time to have sex to get pregnant (‘The One Where Rachel Has a Baby’),” writes Chemmie Squier in Grazia. This despite the fact that the “series existed for 3,650 days, and 840 of those days would have involved at least one of them being on their period,” Squier adds, referring to the three main female characters, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe. This lack of acknowledgment of menstruation as a very natural and routine part of life in a show that is about candid friendships and everyday experiences is problematic (or, at least, very telling) because it advances the…
