The One Where Courtney Cox Made 1985 History

Did you know that prior to 1972 advertisements for products relating to women’s menstrual cycles were banned from television and radio? The natural cycle of women has been considered indecent since Biblical times. The network executives were no different. It was considered indecent and in poor taste.

Businesses that made feminine products (tampons and pads) lobbied hard against the unfairness of it all and wore down the networks. So long as period ads focused on the fact that people should be discreet about their flow like it’s something to be ashamed of, it could be discussed and advertised in television. And the word period? We do not use that word. At least not until December 3rd of 1985.

39 years ago this week, Courtney Cox of Friends and Family Ties fame said the word period for the first time on national television.

What was this stigma breaking moment that  broke period taboos and helped remove shame around menstruation? Was it in a script for a television show or hit Emmy award winning mini series? No. It was a commercial for Tampax tampons and pads.

Courtney was having a rough year in her acting career and needed the ad to pay bills, she did not realize she was making history as she sat in a locker room in her very 80’s workout attire talking about how the product would make you feel different about your periods. Periods. She said the forbidden word. But we need to talk about periods more.

The Reason We Need to Talk About it Without Making the Natural Weird

According the National Library of Medicine Around 1.8 billion people menstruate every month worldwide, meaning at any given point each day, 800 million people are menstruating. That is 26% of the global population having periods.

According to Unicef, millions of these girls, women, transgender men and non-binary persons are unable to manage their menstrual cycle in a dignified and healthy way. What does this mean for these millions of people?

It means increased urinary tract infections, bacterial vaginosis, toxic shock syndrome, skin irritation, vaginal itching, white or green discharge, infertility, and spread of disease like Hepatitis B. Mental health? Elevated anxiety, depression, and distress are common in people who do not have proper access to menstrual care products. Even education is affected. The discomfort and distraction of managing a period in a stigmatized environment can lead to absenteeism and even dropping out of school.

But this is a third world problem, right?

Well, according to Harvard Medicine, in the US 1 in 4 teens who menstruate do not have proper access to important products. It gets a little better in college. 14.2% of college menstruating people lack access. Adulthood? Well, two-thirds of low-income women in the US could not afford menstrual products in the past year. Half of these women had to choose between menstrual products and food. 

And what about the 210,000 homeless people out there having periods? Everyone high fives themselves for donating that old blanket that smells a little like cat pee and feet online. Is that what she is supposed to use?

What is Indecent?

In 2019 CBS banned a commercial because it dared to show a tampon string. It was too graphic, downright indecent! What is more indecent? The fact that women, trans men, and non binary people have periods and have for all of human kind’s history or the fact that 500 million people suffer from period poverty due to lack of affordability and accessibility to menstrual products compounded with cultural stigma and other societal factors like we can’t even talk about it on television without offended the sensibilities of a guy in a suit?

I am a cis man. A woman or my child’s periods have never bothered me and getting pads or tampons for someone? I have never had an issue running to the store and getting them. My penis has not once fallen off buying tampons for someone I care about and if the guy buying beer behind me is uncomfortable about this, I hope he can console himself later by hugging his snapback hat close in his pickup truck. I am not the one with deep rooted insecurities.

It is indecent to think that the most basic feminine products for the most normal monthly affair for women can barely be spoken of in advertisements in a capitalist society. It is indecent to think that the most basic need a woman or other person who has a period is so inaccessible to so many that we are in a worldwide epidemic level crisis.

What is not indecent is for a woman to have a period, use a tampon or pad, and talk about it. If a guy can’t handle that shit, he needs to stay in incel land and away from the voting booth, the keyboard, and any position of power over women.

What Can You Do This Holiday Season?

What can you do to help these untold millions of woman, trans men, and non binary people suffering from period poverty?

Got a neighbor who is struggling financially? Know that LINK (food stamps) does not cover tampons. This is also not a common item available in most church run food banks. Get your neighbor some pads or tampons. Make sure to get their favorite brand.

While you drop off some blankets for the homeless drive or give those old clothes to the thrift store, get some tampons and pads on the way. It will mean far more than the funky old blanket and stained dress shirt you wanna offload for a tax break.

Go to and share the Alliance for Period Supplies website to get the facts or at least make a donation. This will make more of a difference than a swiftly forgotten meme. Maybe this feels like a weird stocking stuffer, but we need it to be less weird and someone needs your gift right now.

Be the difference!

Stay totally awesome!

Stay true to you!

Also. Period! Period! Period!

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