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- Title
CRIMSON WAVES: NARRATIVES ABOUT MENSTRUATION, WATER, AND CLEANLINESS.
- Authors
RøSTVIK, CAMILLA MøRK
- Abstract
In 2017, pad brand Bodyform® launched the 'Blood Normal' campaign.1 By depicting realistic-looking blood, the campaign marked a first for a disposable menstrual product. In the advertising video, blood was shown trickling down the thighs of a showering woman. Despite its novelty, the image of the bleeding woman in water calls back to longstanding debates about menstruation, water, and cleanliness. In this article, I discuss the visual and cultural history of this imagery, exploring how Bodyform's campaign compares to older narratives. Drawing from ethnographic material, critical menstrual literature, and historical research, I investigate how the seemingly groundbreaking 'Blood Normal' campaign leans on decades of links between periods, water, and cleanliness.
- Subjects
MENSTRUATION; WOMEN'S history; ADVERTISING campaigns
- Publication
Visual Culture & Gender, 2018, Vol 13, p54
- ISSN
1936-1912
- Publication type
Article