"We bought our stamps in secret": hygienic protections and their taboos seen by 3 generations

Les comportements se déconstruisent-ils réellement au fil du temps concernant les tabous qui entourent les protections hygiéniques ? Pour en avoir le cœur net, j’ai interrogé Eva 22 ans, Stéphanie, 36 ans, et Helena, 55 ans.

In partnership with Nana (our manifesto)

Even if the behaviors are in the deconstruction phase, there is still a long way to make in most people, women and men combined.To verify this theory, I therefore decided to interview three women of three different generations to find out what is their relation to the rules, to hygienic protections and which they use.

Because it is good to note that on this side, the offer is diversifying, including in brands present for a long time on the market.This is the case of Nana, who has just released her first menstrual panties this year.They are already available on its e-commerce site and in certain large retailers at a very reasonable price.

Girlfriends and big sisters remain the first source of information to all eras

In the case of my three interviewees, the discussions they had been able to have on the subject with their friends or big sisters helped them to apprehend the phenomenon of the first rules and to know when it happens.This is the case of Eva, 22, and alternating in communication:

For Stéphanie, 36, and executive assistant, things happened differently.She was not close to her mother at the time, but she tried to give her hygienic protections.It was his younger sister who took this educational role:

Another era, another case, for Héléna, 55 years old.His mother categorically refused to talk about it:

A first blatant evolution is observed through these first responses, in the 1980s, Helenaa had no choice but to turn to her sisters and friends to learn more about the rules and understand the good reflexes toprotect.

On the other hand in the 1990s, Stéphanie had the opportunity to talk about it with her mother but did not wish to do it out of modesty.As for Eva, who was in college in the 2010s, we can speak of the "King's choice".She was able to have the feedback from a friend who saw her rules disembark two years ago, as well as her mother's more precise decline on the issue.

The first face-to-face with hygienic protections

Beyond the first rules, there are the first hygienic protections.What I have noticed through my interviews is that the first proposed protections are the towels and that they are rarely adopted over time.It was for Héléna that the transition was made the fastest:

Stéphanie has taken the time to know herself before really making the choice to change protection, but still ended up returning to the hygienic towels:

For Eva the transition was longer:

How do they get hygienic protections?

Rules are a natural phenomenon, and this is information that you all have.However in many cases it remains the best kept secret in the universe.This also concerns everything that can be linked to it, namely pain, mood jumps, medical wanderings as well as hygienic protections ...

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The act of purchase of its own menstrual protections remains an additional step to take.It was for Stéphanie that this phase was the longest, a process of deconstruction was necessary:

For Eva this process was done more easily and gradually:

For Héléna the Tampon was a goal, a synonym of freedom.No question of missing out, even if it means undergoing looks:

But very quickly Héléna had to fend for herself to manage this kind of thing:

Hygienic protections in the face of men

Talking about the rules was not a problem for Héléna's husband, however he did not want to be more involved:

Hygienic protections are often the responsibility of women today.While it is a phenomenon which is used for procreation no more and no less, and therefore which concerns both men and women ...

Even today Stéphanie claims me that he never happens to her boyfriend to take her when he shops when she is not there.However, they have been together for some time and have lived together for several years ...

Fortunately Eva comes to qualify these claims, by giving me faith to the new generations of men:

"If I could start again, I think I would have talked about it to my mother without taboos"

Today, Eva has had its rules for 12 years, Stéphanie has been menstruated for 24 years, as for Héléna, she is menopausal.When I ask each of them what she would change in their menstrual journey with hindsight, for Eva and Stéphanie the arguments are closer, they would have liked to be less complexed on the subject.For Eva it mainly concerned the men of her family:

Stéphanie feels guilty by thinking about her mother:

For Héléna, it is the lack of information on the risks linked to the hygienic protections that her missed:

What conclusion to draw ?

What is common to its three generations of women is the ease with which the subject was approached with their friends.As an inevitable rapprochement between beings who live the same experience at the same time.Besides, each of them had no trouble claiming hygienic protections if necessary in progress, or later in the workplace.

What is also observed is the accessibility and transmission of simpler information to the young generations.Héléna had no help from her mother, and did not want to subjected her daughter the same fate.As for Eva, as soon as she entered the second, she bought her protections alone.

On the other hand, the school environment in which we spend the majority of the time at the age when the first rules arise is absolutely of any help ... It is explained how baby is doing, how to put a condom on a banana,But not that the rules are painful and how to put a stamp ... Worse, it happens that it creates trauma like in Eva:

In short, we are still far from an ideal of acceptance, but little by little the idea makes its way.Like certain brands that were confined to disposable protections, which include the necessities of creating reusable protections for all, like Nana which released two models of menstrual panties a few months ago.

All the fabrics and materials that compose it have been chosen for their technicality in order to make it an ultra -comfort object.This panties are available everywhere on the brand's online store but also in supermarkets.You just have to get it to make your own opinion.

Read also: we tested a ton of menstrual panties to help you choose