Goooooood grief.
Bonds brings in ‘Cheer Bleeders’ to show off period underwear range
Excuse me?
No, it’s not a joke. Cheerleaders=Cheer Bleeders, rah rah rah.
Bonds has launched its latest Bloody Comfy Period Undies campaign, Cheer Bleeders, featuring a specially created cheer team dedicated to making all Australians who menstruate feel more empowered before, after and during their period.
All Australians who menstruate…you mean women and girls? Oh no no no no no no no good god no. That would never do.
The integrated campaign, created in partnership with Special Group Australia, showcases the Bonds’ Cheer Bleeders wearing Bloody Comfy Period Undies as they cheer about different aspects of periods using the tagline ‘Cheer through the Bleed’.
What aspects would those be? Cramps? Having to change the tampon or the pad? Leaking? Those are things to cheer about are they?
‘Cheer Bleeders’ aims to change the uncomfortable experience many Australians still feel when getting their period, with many taking time out from school, sport and other activities due to discomfort, teasing and fears of embarrassment.
Instead, Bonds strives to show people that you don’t have to follow the conventional rules around periods. It’s your period on your terms.
How very very careful this blurb is not to mention the words “girls” and “women.” How very careful it is to pretend menstruation happens to everyone, to Australians in general, to people. How very careful it is to pretend that “teasing” isn’t boys shaming girls for menstruating but just a universal experience, can happen to anyone.
How can girls grow up as feminists in a world where the existence of girls and women is treated as a shameful secret? In a world where they’re forced to pretend that boys can menstruate too?
“Bonds’ mission is centred around making the world a more comfortable place for everyone and there has never been more opportunity to do this than when it comes to young Aussies and the cultural norms around periods,” Special Group creative director Luke Thompson says.
Well thank fuck Luke Thompson is there to explain periods to girls.
Comments
14 responses to “All Australians who menstruate”
Erasing the words “women” and “girls”, but still keeping up harmful stereotypes that brainless cheerleading is for “people who menstruate”! Way to go!
We have avoided most of the TRA insanity in Oz to date, with just occasional small outbreaks. I have no doubt that this is just more imported American crap as Bonds is now owned by Hanesbrands, of Winston – Salem NC.
That said, I will still be expressing my concern at the erasure of women from their advertising.
Let’s destigmatize menstruation by making it as gross as possible and erasing women in the bargain. *cheers*
Roj: interesting, as my first reaction on seeing this was that it felt very American (I mean, cheerleading?)
I think you might be underestimating the degree to which TRA influence is prevalent in Australia. Local TRA’s don’t have to do much (so don’t have much media profile), but corporations, media, government agencies just copy/implement what they see happening in the US/UK. A certain amount is hidden due to effectively zero public discussion, making it difficult to judge.
SwanAlien, agree that it is here, it does seem to fly a little more under the radar, but it sure does exist. Jordan is my step-grandson. He “defriended” me as I am, apparently a TERF. https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/south-australian-queer-couple-to-raise-child-genderless/199665
When he came out as Gay I was fully supportive, and I still think he’s gay/bi, but my biggest concern was for the baby with the hormones Emryk was obviously using. Thankfully, the child was born 5 weeks ago and is healthy.
@GW #1, “brainless cheerleading”
Cheerleading is a form of acrobatics, at the highest levels requires great skill, and is one of the most dangerous sports practiced by young people, leading to a distressing number of neck and back injuries, concussions, and broken bones. It sometimes involves male and female performers, but with extremely different roles played by each. Here are some examples of routines, with both all-female and mixed-sex teams.
Even without the woman/girl erasing, “inclusive” language, this campaign is infantalizing, and part of the enforced, obligatory, constant, smiling, happiness that women are supposed to display. I’m sure there are ways of reducing or removing the pointless, harmful stigma around menstruation that don’t involve denying the actual pain, discomfort, and inconvenience that many women and girls experience around their periods. Forcing them to be “cheerful” about it is rather heartless and counterproductive if women and girls end up feeling shame and stigma because they’re not cheerful enough (or at all).
Roj, oh my god that article is so… I’m not sure. Precious, in the eyeroll-worthy sense.
The good news is not that a couple is expecting a child, it’s that they are raising it genderless. Dear god.
The couple is a man and a woman. They’re pretty close to being an unfashionable heterosexual couple, with the only unusual feature being that the woman is taking clearly testosterone, and neither of them consider themselves a man or woman.
This implies that a couple falling within ‘binary normality’ would not have shared roles, responsibilities, and equality. Meaning we’re back to whether we match or mismatch sexist stereotypes again: they share the cooking and cleaning, therefore non-binary.
Those markers determine sex, and establishing that your child is male or female i.e. a boy or a girl in no way means they are limited in their clothing, their toys, their activities. Fight gendering by declaring that girls and boys can both play with any toy, wear any garment, have any hobby; they can both do anything. Not by declaring girls and boys are a matter of which toy and clothing category they happen to match, as this necessarily requires the retention of those categories. Trans and non-binary theory requires the retention of gender.
Hah! The supreme confidence of it all. We will educate you, boomer.
Roj detected!
@6: I can’t tell how serious you’re being.
@5:
I’m relieved to hear that!
GW, I can’t account for how serious Sackbut is being, since I do not identify as Sackbut, but he is correct. Cheerleading is often overlooked as a mindless thing, but it is no more mindless than any other sport. It requires strength, coordination, and balance, as well as the ability to endure punishing levels of exercise. There are three reasons that I was not a cheerleader, balance being second on the list. The first was lack of interest.
It is easy to denigrate cheerleading, especially now that is is mostly women and girls doing it, but it should be counted as a sport in itself.
Re #11, #9:
Yes, I was being serious, and iknklast covered it well, thanks. If you check out the video I linked to, I think you’ll see how acrobatic the sport of cheerleading can be.
The OP refers to “cheer team”, which to me is indication that this is about competitive cheerleading not necessarily connected to rousing the fans at a football or basketball game. They have their own competitions against other cheer teams.
Thanks, very interesting!
Nailed it. Is not a bug to these people. Is the whole point.