How Purity Culture Stays Demonizing Tampon Use Even Among Gen Zers

The idea that tampons take away virginity exists in numerous cultures throughout the world, one that has threatened the safety of many women.

Photography by Megan Madden

Purity culture is a hydra — an evil many-headed thing made of problems. Taking its roots from religious prescriptions of chastity, it has helped subserve patriarchal and misogynistic beliefs that have proven damaging to women. Popular tenets of purity culture involve restricting women to tight notions of modesty, sexual ‘purity’ and a deep obsession with keeping their hymen “intact”. It technically reinforces the idea that a woman’s virginity status is what identifies her as a worthy person deserving of respect, decency, and care. It instills in women fear, guilt, and shame. Women’s bodies continue to be a lab bench where the dictations, desires, and demands of men can be engineered.

 

The idea that tampons take away virginity exists in numerous cultures throughout the world, one that has threatened the safety of many women. As it is an object that requires insertion into the vagina, people believe that it has the ability to make a woman “impure”. Thus, it has remained a taboo in lots of  societies, most especially those with Black people and People of Colour. While some women or menstruators have no issues with trying out tampons, others remain hesitant and scared to try it. 22-year-old Kiira from Kenya expresses, “I never subscribed to the idea of virginity. I don’t think there should even be a thing like that. But even though all my friends were having sex and I was familiar with sex-related stuff, I still was hesitant about doing anything that required penetration. So using tampons was an option I never explored because deep within me, I still held those nasty beliefs about preserving my hymen.” Kiira’s experience is similar to those of many other women who have been affected by the deeply-ingrained influence of purity culture.


A lot of these myths staining the images of tampons stem from the age-old desire for men to control the bodies of women, molding them to suit their own proclivities. In Africa where period poverty continues to soar, many women and girls who can’t afford sanitary products like pads, tampons or menstrual cups use foam, cloth strips, newspapers and/or rags. Therefore, tampons are an underexplored product. 


Gabby Edlin, CEO/founder of Bloody Good Period, who supplies menstrual products for people who cannot afford them, says that many of the Blacks and People of Colour who use her organisation's donation centres tend to prefer to not use tampons due to religious reasons and “virginity” issues. She adds that a lot of menstruators have never heard of them. Tampon usage in Africa is greatly determined by economic status and social class. The fact that it is not a common option for a lot of people helps to sponsor the misinformation that it is usually associated with. 24-year-old Ghanaian writer, Betty Adwoa says, “I didn’t start to use tampons until I was 21 years old. Growing up, it was either wads of cotton wool or cheap pads. I remember when my friends from church found out that I use tampons and were horrified. It was something we saw white people do in movies, something that signalled that they were definitely sexually active”.


With all these misconceptions floating about, health experts are working at educating the public on products like menstrual cups and tampons that offer menstrual protection. However, a lot of parents are still averse to these products and they pass down their fears to their children. For example, a teenage girl came on social media to state that her mum has a rule that disallows her from using tampons because she is scared that she may die from Toxic Shock Syndrome. Other people have related experiences that portray the different inaccuracies that they hold as regards the use of tampons. “One of the questions about menstruation that I get a lot is whether or not tampons can “break” the hymen.  A lot of times when I suggest tampons to young girls who have just begun menstruating, their parents get really offended, like I’m introducing something really improper to their children,” Nigerian Gynaecologist, Deborah Chike, tells Kenga. On the issue of Toxic Shock Syndrome, Dr. Felice Gersh M.D., an OB-GYN, remarks, “TSS can also be linked to burns, skin infections (even with something as small as an infected insect bite), and surgical incisions. To get TSS, a person has to have Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes; these bacteria have to grow and release toxic products; and those toxins have to get into the blood. That process does not require menstruation or tampons to be involved.”


Apart from the fact that the whole concept of virginity is a misogynistic, social construct, tampons do not tear or break the hymen, causing you to “lose your virginity”. The vagina already has an existing opening through which all the blood and blood clots come out. Tampons are small, and can usually be inserted through the existing opening of the hymen. According to Center for Young Women’s Health, “Tampons can be inserted through the opening of the hymen without changing the hymen as well. Sexual intercourse may stretch the hymen to make a larger opening or may cause a tiny tear or change in the shape of the hymen – sometimes this is called “breaking” the hymen, but it doesn’t really break, it just stretches.” Whether you’re a “virgin” or not, tampons work the same for everyone and are just as efficient.

MELONY AKPOGHENE

Melony is a staff writer at Kenga. She believes Beyoncé is her fairy godmother and longs for the day when they will both be reunited. When she's not eating vanilla cakes, she's listening to music or reading Americanah for the umpteenth time.

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