oh man… it’s bad enough when you have to pick those items up for your wife with the more subtle packaging. why not stick a siren to it or something to it as well now. ‘look everyone, i’m buying kotex for my wife. that’s right.. she’s on her PERIOD!’ *pointing to box. jeeeze…

In Germany, we’ve had this going on for a while…

http://www.camelia.com/

I think women are comfortable with the new Helvetica, simple one-colored picture look.

It’s not the Helvetica that turns me off (if they used “Papyrus,” that’d be a real problem), nor is it the single image, or the single color. It’s the specific use of the color red in conjuntion with the overt vaginal/tampon/menstrual symbolism.

I have no problem with a picture of a tampon on the cover, but to substitute a tube of red lipstick takes it to an entirely different level of weird. It’s a little too Freudian. I’m going to stop there, I’m grossing myself out.

But I suppose that Europeans have always been a little more comfortable than Americans with the human body and all it’s functions. For me, I’d rather functions remained in the bathroom stall and didn’t wander out to the grocery shelves without covering up first.

I’m just going to say one more thing here. There have been some responses to this post along the lines of, “What an idiot. The ‘eww, gross, women bleed, let’s pretend like it doesn’t exist’ mentality is stupid.”

Well, I agree. I understand that women have periods, I’m married. I did a post about it. If I was so squeemish and anti-menstruation, I wouldn’t call attention to it and use the word “menstruation” more times than I ever thought I would in a post.

It’s not periods that are problematic, it’s the packaging and the Freudian implications of the packaging. It’s not that there are panties on the box, but the fact that they are red panties. Are you following me?

So now you can stop acting all high-and-mighty because you are comfortable with menses and we can all get on with our day.

Hey man, I actually posted on my blog on a very similar subject. It’s a little proposal I have to the feminine advertisers. We’ll trade them all the viagra/levitra/cialis commercials for their period related commercials. Check it out on my blog listed in the url. Feel free to link to it should you so desire. It’s the post on July 12th.

And that’s why I use Instead.

You guys have way too much time on your hands, if you were actually bleeding and needed one of their products, you wouldn’t care what the packaging looked like, you’ld just buy and run.

And that is why I use a Diva cup, never need any of these paper products again plus there has never been a case of toxic shock syndrome with the cups that have been around since the 1940’s but the paper companies who control the paper needed by newspapers and magazines prevented (still do) advertising this alternative that most people still don’t know is an option. If you love your wife tell her about menstrual cups and it only needs replaced every few years. 3 or 4 will last a lifetime.