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Recently the big taboo over women’s menstrual cycles in Japan has been adressed by the Michi Kake retail company who are now offering ‘period badges’ for women to wear during their time of the month.
Though the woman’s cycle is generally a topic kept very discreet in society, the avoidance of the subject is taken even further in most Asian countries where menstruation is generally seen as a topic ideally kept private and not to be brought up in conversation.
Michi Kake is a store based in Osaka that has a focus of selling womens sexual health products. The store opened after the launch of the Michi Kake app, and is set up in a similar way as the digital layout, with a space divided into sections according to the stages of a woman’s cycle. What makes the store and company especially interesting is their ambition to end the stigma around the female menstrual health cycle in the surrounding community.
The use of the period badges was inititaed by the company not with the purpose of making their employees feel uncomfortable, but as an opportunity for the women to unite and take a stance against the social taboo by opening up about the topic to their female customers. The badges given out have a special symbolic value as they include an image of the cartoon Seiri Chan, a name that can be roughly translated into ‘Miss Period. This character is well recognised and known in the country as a representative of the female cycle, which makes it an appropriate icon for the task of announcng the employee’s time of the month.
Although the original intentions of connecting the female store staff with the customers, Michi Kake’s campaign has turned into a topic of global controversy and has recieved signifcant amounts of backlash since its comencement. The public seems to show mixed feelings about the badges, with some approving of the attempt to end the stigma over the topic, while others argue that the badges are merely another form of gender discrimination in the workforce.
Whether or not the company’s decision of adding the period badge to their employee uniform is a good one or not, it has stimulated debate and a needed worldwide discusison of a subject that is otherwise so often turned away from.
For more on the ‘taboo’ subject follow the article that compares period pains with heart attacks; https://www.trillmag.com//27983/read/life/doctor-confirms-period-pain-bad-heart-attack/
