o. don’t b. silly

by Jean Ketterling

February 25, 2010 9:00 AM

Pop quiz time: pick three words to describe vaginas. For o.b. tampon co., the obvious choices are “Icky, Ugh and Eww.” Unfortunately if those were your choices, then like them, you are currently failing Sexuality 101.

The o.b. tampon company has recently come out with a series of ads that treats inserting a tampon like brain surgery, and the female body as dirty.

On the company website are displayed market research quotes including “I remember hating applicator tampons that can hurt if you’re not careful.” Now correct me if I am sorely mistaken, but inserting tampons isn’t a process that takes a PhD to master; of course for some women, medical conditions may make using tampons uncomfortable, but for many the tampon is the preferred option due to its comfort and ease of use.

The big problem is that o.b. marketing treats menstruation and female anatomy in the most juvenile way possible. While many of the user comments on their website reveal a more realistic view of tampon insertion and bodily function, o.b seems to think that the big thing standing in the way of us using their, or any, tampon is the fact we have to –gasp– touch ourselves.

Their advertising approach is therefore to appeal to women by telling us exactly what we think about our bodies, and our periods: Icky, Ugh and Eww. Connecting and identifying with the concerns of the desired consumer is a major concern of any ad campaign; therefore it is supremely disconcerting that o.b.’s attempts to connect with its menstruating audience is to demonize their bodies and pathologize the most natural of processes.

Last time I checked, condom aisles weren’t plastered with signs saying “Oh, gross. We know you hate your ejaculate so we made opaque condoms so you don’t even have to think about it anymore.”

Condoms are never constructed as “gross garbage” in public campaigns (to use o.b’s language).

Sure, very few enjoy used applicators or condoms, but the very fact that it is a selling point for tampons is profoundly disturbing and reflects a fear and embarrassment of talking about women’s bodies.

Yes, periods can be unpleasant, even painful, but that does not mean that they are gross. Although even that depends on who you ask; many a man and a woman has applied the metaphorical earmuffs or simply jumped ship whenever talk of “that time of the month” arises.

This is completely a product of our culture, where bodily issues are rarely addressed; the bodily issues of women even less so. These advertisements should offend women, because it should offend you that your culture feels like you are repulsed by your own body.

The notion of menstruation as dangerous, polluted and powerful is not a new; anthropologists have a long history of studying menstrual taboos governing cultures. Prohibitions against entering temples, participating in rituals, and touching men have all been called into question and actively rebelled against by natives of those cultures.

Menstrual huts and tents have also been deconstructed and reconstructed as symbols. In amongst this critical thinking among different cultures and academia we are expected to hide tampons up our sleeves, drag out the “granny panties” once a month and call our cycles icky.

My biggest problem is that o.b.’s ads insinuate that not only are periods unfortunate conditions but that the female body itself is gross in many ways, especially when contact needs to happen between you and your body. A sad reality for many girls is that they become acquainted with their own bodies only after becoming sexually active, and these ads reflect reasons for that. After all if we teach young girls that needing to touch their bodies is gross, then wanting to touch becomes gross.

Unfortunately, o.b’s crude advertising approach masks some positive aspects of the company, such as the fact they are intent on producing less waste through minimal packaging (a step few companies have taken). Besides cheapening their brand, o.b.’s campaign alienates those women who are concentrated on fighting negative discourse about the female body. If doubtful, a quick scan of the rebuttals scrawled on the walls next to the adverisements in the women’s bathroom will set you straight.

The hundreds of women passing through the bathrooms in the sub each day have taken the time to write “My body is not gross” in delicate script right next to “Fuck o.b.” Clearly women have been thinking hard about what companies are telling them they should believe about their bodies. If o.b. wants to sell its positive attributes to an intelligent consumer group, I suggest they do the same.