You would think companies that sell feminine hygiene products would be the last place you’d find wokesters who seem hell-bent on erasing women, but Proctor & Gamble’s ‘Always’ brand keeps demonstrating that is simply not the case.
As the UK Daily Mail reported, the company is under fire after a teacher was reviewing a puberty guide sent to her school to be distributed to students and noticed how women were described:
A leading brand of sanitary products has been accused of ‘dehumanising’ women by referring to girls as ‘bodies with female sex organs’ in a pamphlet explaining puberty to children.The guidance produced by Always also faced charges that it was attempting to ‘erase’ women by avoiding the use of the word ‘girls’.The pamphlets are included in ‘puberty kits’ containing period pads and panty liners the brand sends to schools to give to pupils.The 22-page booklet, entitled a ‘Puberty and Confidence Guide for Everyone’, details both female and male puberty developments but at no point mentions ‘boys’ or ‘girls’, instead using ‘people’ or ‘person’.In a section on the menstrual cycle, the guide says: ‘Every month, bodies with female sex organs prepare for pregnancy.’
Though I was unable to find a PDF version of the puberty guide in question, I was able to find a 14-page version that Always offers “for parents and carers.” In it, they describe young girls as “young people with female sex organs” on page three:
Here’s a quick refresher of the changes young people with female sex organs go through during puberty.
On the same page, they refer to menstrual cycles as “the sequence of events that occur within a person with female sex organs’ body”:
What is the menstrual cycle? It’s the sequence of events that occur within a person with female sex organs’ body as it prepares for the possibility of pregnancy each month.
On page 13 of the guide, they have a section on “helping them navigate gender,” and advises them that if a child is questioning their gender, the caregiver “can help [the child by] simply observing and accepting that finding your identity is a natural part of growing up.”
On the last page of the undated guide, they list UK-based websites people can go to for more information. It’s unclear if this guide is also being offered in the U.S., and it’s also unclear as to whether the version they send to schools to distribute to students is also being disseminated in the U.S. because the brand has thus far not commented on the matter.
In response to the Daily Mail‘s report, Always was heavily criticized for their actions:
Back in October 2019, Always also took heat for removing the Venus symbol from their products, which they proudly bragged about in an announcement in which they also patted themselves on the backs for their supposed commitment “to diversity & inclusion”:
“For over 35 years Always has championed girls and women, and we will continue to do so,” the company said in a statement Tuesday, according to The Independent. “We’re also committed to diversity & inclusion and are on a continual journey to understand the needs of all of our consumers.”Company officials added that they realize not everyone who needs feminine hygiene products “identif[ies] as female.” Procter & Gamble did not immediately respond to an after-hours email from Fox News.
The move came after pressure from transgender activists.
Tampax, another feminine products maker, faced intense pushback after a September 2020 tweet in which they referred to women as “people who bleed”:
Earlier this year, Tampax denied claims that they had given a paid sponsorship to transgender “woman” and Bud Light ambassador Dylan Mulvaney.
Relatedly, a UK-based, woman-owned feminine products company doubled down in March 2022 after criticism over calling women “bleeders”:
A London-based feminine products company is facing backlash on social media after referring to its customers as “bleeders” rather than women.“Most bleeders know how they are impacted by their period, but unfortunately aren’t in touch with their feelings and symptoms in the other phases of their cycle,” the company posted earlier this week on Instagram. “We’re here to change that.”
Daniella Peri, who is Yoppie’s founder and CEO, responded to the outrage expressed on the Yoppie Instagram page by posting a word salad of a “justification,” which essentially confirmed what her critics said about her and her company:
We recognise the menstrual cycle is a biological function. We should be proud of this cycle, of bleeding from our uterus, it’s what makes us different. So we want to have this conversation, to bust the social stigma of talking about it publicly.[…]I, myself, am a woman. But I understand many of our customers are not. I also understand it is neither my place nor that of Yoppie to tell anyone how they should identify.We’re an open, straight talking and transparent brand that is trying to navigate the right language. We will continue to promote that discrimination prevents all people from having equal opportunities – and we make no apology for that stance. This is the hard conversation everyone needs to have and we’re here to have it. Join the conversation.
It’s bad enough when feminine product brands go “woke” in the name of “inclusion,” but it’s even worse when women-owned businesses follow suit. Good grief.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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