Pantone Adds a New Color, Period Red, to ‘Embolden Those Who Menstruate’
The famed color company Pantone has debuted a new shade of red called, simply, Period.
The candy apple shade is an “energizing and dynamic red,” according to the company's press release. It is intended to draw cheerful attention to the fact that periods are normal and shouldn't be any more stigmatized than breathing.
“An active and adventurous red hue, courageous Period emboldens those who menstruate to feel proud of who they are,” vice president of the Pantone Color Institute Laurie Pressman said of the shade, which is part of a partnership with the menstrual cup company Intimina. “To own their period with self-assurance; to stand up and passionately celebrate the exciting and powerful life force they are born with; to urge everyone, regardless of gender, to feel comfortable to talk spontaneously and openly about this pure and natural bodily function.”
Well, huzzah. Is it possible to be laughing very hard at corporate-speak and quite moved by it at the same time? The fact that, at any given time, a woman could be quietly seeping into her underpants and is fully expected to hide it—even though it can be incredibly painful!—is one of patriarchal society's most clownish rules. If color institutes want to do their part changing this, well, governments, politicians, religious leaders, and celebrities, get in line behind Pantone!
If there is a slight snag here, it is probably that the Period shade is…not the color or shade of most uterus owners' periods. At least, no one I know with a period has a flow that looks quite so friendly.
Wanting not to extrapolate only from my personal experience (and from walking into truly horrific public bathroom stalls), I heroically searched Google Images for “period blood.” I can confirm that Period is perhaps the color of period blood on day two or three, in the split second between menstrual fluid leaving the body and hitting any other surface. As it swirls, Chagal-like, into the basin of a toilet, your period might be Period colored. Maybe. As Glamour wellness editor Macaela MacKenzie puts it, “It is a very friendly/censored shade of period blood.”
Pantone says the shade is “an original red color emblematic of a steady flow during menstruation,” adding that it worked with a gynecologist and examined research before landing on the shade. But Pressman adds in a P.R. statement, “By no means is this supposed to be an accurate depiction. Instead, we created a visual identifier of a red shade that would help Intimina leverage the power of color to share their story.” But wouldn't a more realistic warm rust-colored red-brown with hints of deep scarlet be just as great?
If you want to go a step further to destigmatize periods, there's lots you can do—research and fight the tampon tax, watch the Academy Award–winning documentary about period stigma, donate period supplies to a local shelter, make open and shameless references to periods a normal part of conversation.
Still, I'm drawn to that unnatural, clown-nose-colored shade. Imagine being able to tell your guests that your bathroom is painted the color of the third day of your period. Or forget interior design and do what your middle school self would have found the scariest thing of all: carry a tampon in public, with no shirt cuff, waistband, or other hack to hide the fact that you have a glorious, red-paint-colored period.
Jenny Singer is a staff writer for Glamour. You can follow her on Twitter.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
