Vagina is not a swear word!

A couple of weeks ago I read an article on the Metro by Ellen Scott titled “Why are tampon and pad brands so scared to say the word ‘vagina’?”. It’s a fair question to ask, on the surface. However, the answer isn’t quite so simple. So I thought I would share my view, from the inside of one such tampon company. As I totally agree with the principle, there is an issue here that needs addressing. But the solution is not quite so simple.

When I tell people where I work, the first question I’m always asked is “what’s it like being a man in a tampon company?”. And my answer is always the same. “It’s a lot more interesting than when I worked in Financial Services” (no offence to anyone working in FS). Yet people still seem shocked. Some even find it funny.

I’m used to the reactions, but it’s taken me some time to understand exactly why people find it an irregular role for a man. At first I thought it was just my male friends who may not be comfortable with menstruation (sorry chaps, don’t mean to generalise). I’m aware there’s an ever-increasing number of modern men, perfectly comfortable talking about periods, however the majority still turn a little red at the mere mention of tampons.

The ‘V’ word

Since working here I’ve been surprised to learn it’s not exclusively men who are uncomfortable discussing all things menstrual. In fact, it’s not even just menstruation that’s ‘taboo’. People seem to shy away from anything that has associations with vaginas. I’ve seen people recoil on hearing the word.

Personally, I find it bonkers. Why are people so shocked and uncomfortable to hear the correct anatomical term for part of the body?

A few years back, my son was in nursery and boldly exclaimed to one of the ladies in the nursey “you have a vagina, but I’m a boy, I have a penis”. When my wife went to collect him later that day, the nursery said they were shocked to hear him referring to these bits as ‘penis and vagina’. Not offended, just shocked. But why? Why should it be shocking for children to learn and use proper terms? He doesn’t call his elbow his ‘bendy-wendy’, or his head his ‘noddy-waddy’, so why are we teaching children to refer to their genitals as ‘wee-wees’ and ‘hoo-hoos’?

Vagina is not a swear word!

If I could suggest any word in the English language being underused, vagina would get my vote. For some reason, there is a part of the human body that we’ve randomly decided shan’t be named, and it’s this ludicrous reluctance to use the word that reinforces the taboo.

I’m sure we’ve all referred at one time or another to our ‘private parts’, and for this reason some people don’t want to speak openly about them. That’s fine. That’s your/their prerogative. But the shock felt when people only hear the word ‘vagina’ is absurd. And unfortunately, companies and society are attempting to “protect us” from this shock and discomfort.

The Google chastity belt

Working in marketing, my team are responsible for those irritating banner adverts you see (sorry). But Google is not making our job easy. Oh no.

If you’ve seen much of our brand before, you may know that our core slogan is ‘Be kinder to your vagina’. It’s a phrase we’re incredibly proud of, as it encapsulates our purpose succinctly. Whether you’re using our products, menstrual cups or some other alternative, our mission is to generate discussion and raise awareness of menstrual health. It’s an issue we strongly believe needs greater focus.

So, as any marketer would, we like to use our slogan in our advertising efforts. However, each time we’ve submitted display creative to Google using the phrase ‘Be kinder to your vagina’ it’s been rejected on the bases of “containing inappropriate adult content” … I’ll let that sink in a moment.

Google believes that advising people to look after themselves, to take care of their bodies, to be kinder to their vaginas, is ‘inappropriate’. How in the world have we reached this stage?

Likewise, our Google AdWords campaigns containing the phrase in the copy are tagged as ‘approved (non-family)’.

Here are Google’s definitions for ads that should fall within the ‘non-family’ categorisation of approval:

I appreciate that our ads are just being picked up by automated filters. But seeing our health focussed message, using an anatomical term, being captured within these categories just shouts of oversensitivity.

If you Google search the word ‘vagina’, the top 5 results are all factual, medical, or trivia. In fact, I went through pages of results and couldn’t find any content I would deem ‘inappropriate’. So why the sensitivity around the word? 

I thought Google was just being silly, and perhaps needed to grow up a little. However, something happened today. Something that made me realise perhaps Google has reason and justification for its caution.

Away from Google, we produced a display ad that included our beloved slogan. It was approved by the publisher who hosted the ad, and all seemed well. Until complaints started being sent to the ad host.

Yup, people took the time to complain about the phrase ‘Be kinder to your vagina’.

I’m dumbfounded.

So, what can we do?

There’s no way to deny it. There are people out there who are still nervy of the word vagina. But I can assure you, we’re certainly not going to stop saying it.

I believe in honest marketing and using messages that don’t hide behind euphemism.

Perhaps you’re perfectly comfortable with the word ‘vagina’, you’ve read this far after all. Which is great. Vagina is not a dirty word. But if you are one of the people not comfortable with using the word ‘vagina’, that’s ok too. I’m not going to try and convince you to start using it. The last thing I want is to make anyone uncomfortable. But I will ask you this. The next time you hear someone say the word vagina, and you start to feel the tightening of your shoulders and shiver down your neck. Remind yourself, it’s just a word, it’s just part of the part of the body, it’s completely natural. Maybe, just maybe, if we can increase comfort around saying vagina, we could go some way to breaking the taboo.

It’s important to us that we help raise awareness of menstrual health. So, whatever words you use in that discussion, we encourage it. We will however continue to say vagina. And we need you to be ok with that.