Period underwear maker Thinx believes the U.S. has a “body literacy problem” — and it’s aiming to change that.
This week, the company unveiled its Get BodyWise campaign to tackle stigmas around periods and menstruation.
According to a recent company survey, 80% of teenagers reported learning more about the biology of frogs than the female body in school. Thinx highlighted that statistic as a stark reminder of the lack of education around women’s health in the U.S.
Lack of education can contribute to stigma, shame and misconceptions around women’s health, especially when it comes to periods.
That’s the reason the team developed the Get BodyWise platform, which aims to normalize conversations and stop the shame around periods, the company said in a blog post.
At the center of the campaign is a video developed with the help of agency BBDO Los Angeles, which incorporates AI images that appeared after searching for terms like “a girl during puberty” or “woman during menopause.”
Many of the images showed women in states of sadness, shame or distress.
That bias holds women back from being open about their menstrual health or even going to the doctor to discuss it, according to naturopathic doctor Saru Bala, who is partnering with Thinx on the campaign.
“I’ve seen firsthand how my patients struggle to understand what is normal when it comes to their health due to the perception that the topic is taboo or can’t be openly discussed,” Bala wrote in the blog post. “By promoting body literacy, we help women become self-advocates and embrace open conversations that combat the notion that menstruation and menopause are shameful.”
As part of the campaign, Thinx will also nonprofit partnerships that provide leak protection products to fight period poverty — which refers to situations where people don’t have access to safe and clean menstrual products.
Another period underwear maker, Knix, has also been on a kick lately rolling out campaigns that aim to educate people about women’s health — from menopause and perimenopause.
Last year, Knix launched a campaign called The Invisible Period that highlights perimenopause or the transition to menopause — a period of time that isn’t often talked about.