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Period, rule, red aunt. No matter what you call them, women’s menstruation has a bad reputation, as we saw in the discussion about “Pinky Gloves”. The pink glove should make it possible to discreetly throw away feminine hygiene articles in the glove as a non-transparent garbage bag. Two male founders introduced him to the “Lion's Den” and won a bid. What they hadn't expected, however, was the shit storm that followed. The gloves promote the tabooing of menstruation and are sexist, were the allegations. In fact, the glove was withdrawn from the market.
Stephanie Renz, 25, and Tania Hernández, 29, the founders of “Oh Woman”, also know the oppressive feeling of this debate.
With the help of crowdfunding, they launched a board game on the topic of menstruation - including sanitary towels and drops of blood.
She was surprised to find those who liked it particularly well.
WORLD:
There is a bloody revolution in progress, its last victim is the makers of "Pinky Gloves".
What do you think about it?
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Stephanie Renz:
Yes, that triggered an enormous wave, if not a tsunami, in our period and start-up community.
The debate about the fact that the 21st century does not need such a product is appropriate and also important, because firstly the period is not a problem, secondly not disgusting and thirdly it does not have to be covered up.
Rather, it is a sign that the menstruating person is healthy.
The board game includes small red stones that are supposed to represent drops of blood
Source: Herzbube / OH WOMAN GmbH
Tania Hernandez:
There are two more points: sustainability, which is definitely not the case with plastic disposable gloves, and the criticism that there is too little investment in female founders is justified.
WORLD:
What do you think of the reactions that Pinky Gloves triggered?
And how do you find it that the founders took the consequences and withdrew the product from the market?
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Renz:
We cannot support hatred, agitation and death threats against the founders. This only hardens the fronts instead of advancing society in terms of content. A common dialogue is essential to create a world of equality. It's definitely a good thing they took the product off the market, but if we just shoot male founders, laughing at them for their ignorance, it won't help us in the long run. How should they know better if we don't talk to each other and listen to each other? Therefore, as a constructive criticism, we sent investor Ralf Dümmel and the founders of Pinky Gloves a WoMAN game that they actually played. And that's exactly what we need: interest and the will to improve something.
WORLD:
How did you come up with the idea of launching a game on the topic of menstruation and cycle?
Hernandez:
We noticed that even as women we still have knowledge gaps that simply weren't covered in school or caused discomfort. Fortunately, we have great families in which the period was discussed openly. Nevertheless, we know the feeling that it was always somehow negative, but it is a completely natural and important process in a woman's body. For this reason, we developed a wooden board game with the help of a crowdfunding campaign. There are small red marbles that symbolize drops of blood, ties and 40 exciting questions about the female cycle. We want to help women, but also men, to deal with the topic more and above all in a playful way, which is why the name is very deliberately WoMAN. The period is a topic that not only affects half the world's population,but all of us.
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WORLD:
How are the reactions to such an intimate game?
Renz:
Surprisingly, we get very positive feedback from men.
They are very interested, but basically know little and usually learn everything from their friends.
And there is also great demand from teachers.
In puberty in particular, you begin to deal with your body, but sex education classes are often a bit dry and there is hardly any talk about your period.
Hernandez:
And in the advertisement, you are shown blue colored water as a blood substitute in the bandage.
That is why we are all the more pleased that our game is being tested in different schools in class and will hopefully help to normalize this taboo topic in the future.
WORLD:
So is the period still a taboo subject or do you see a change?
Hernandez:
A start-up like Pinky Gloves and their success with “Die Höhle der Löwen” brought the taboo back to our eyes.
The period is enormously negative in the midst of society: it is a problem and disgusting, and so we should treat it discreetly.
Renz:
At the same time, it was exactly the right trigger to bring the topic more into the middle of society.
A lot is happening to break the taboo on the period.
Companies and startups like Einhorn or The Female Company make sure that buying period products is cool.
A lot of attention is also paid to our game, which proves that more and more people are talking about this topic and grappling with it.
WORLD:
Are the period and the corresponding products now being used more as a marketing topic to generate sales, or does it remain an important feminist topic?
Renz:
The question is not easy to answer.
Feminism has such a bad taste.
Many think of men-hating-women.
But feminism is not about placing women as ruler of the world, but about equality.
So yes, it is definitely a feminist topic, but one that is becoming more and more mainstream.
Hernandez:
Whether it is used as a marketing tool or not, we see something positive in it: less shame, more normality and openness to your period, cycle and body.