Feminine products company calls women 'bleeders' in criticized social media post
WASHINGTON (TND) — A feminine products company has come under fire for apparently referring to women as “bleeders” in a social media post.
The post was made by an Instagram account belonging to Yoppie, a company selling menstrual cycle products. It included a picture of, and quote from, the company's CEO and founder Daniella Peri.
Most bleeders know how they are impacted by their period, but unfortunately aren’t in touch with their feelings & symptoms in the other phases of their cycle. We are here to change that,” reads the quote from Peri.
The post quickly garnered criticism online not long after it went up.
“Replacing words like ‘women’ and ‘girls’ with terms like ‘bleeders’ and ‘pregnant people’ risks dehumanising women and harms decades of work to improve the visibility of women in society’s,” one social media user said in response to Yoppie's post.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has endured a barrage of criticism for years from transgender activists for standing against their attempts to allegedly erase the notion of men and women.
When asked by one of her roughly 14 million followers on Twitter if this was the hill she wanted to die on, Rowling responded, “Yes, sweetheart.”
“I'm staying right here on this hill, defending the right of women and girls to talk about themselves, their bodies and their lives in any way they damn well please,” she said.
On Sunday, a group of teaching hospitals in northern England also made a social media post that drew similar ire for appearing to refer to women as people with a cervix.
“Imagine, calling women ‘women’ is sooo offensive that this is what y'all are doing? Bleeders?? Wtf is ‘yoppie’?? Oh, I know its something I'll never support,” posted another critic of Yoppie's post.
Following the barrage of criticism stemming from her post, Peri released a statement on Yoppie's website. She pointed to her use of the word "women" in her post's caption and said she used the word "bleeders" for the company's new "Ride your cycle" campaign.
Peri said in her statement that she felt her use of the word "bleeders" best described the point Yoppie is trying to make in its campaign: "That ‘menstrual health’ is so much more than the days you bleed."
"We recognise the menstrual cycle is a biological function," her statement continued. "We should be proud of this cycle, of bleeding from our uterus, it’s what makes us different. So we want to have this conversation, to bust the social stigma of talking about it publicly. We strongly believe all women, girls and people with a menstrual cycle should feel welcome at Yoppie. We also understand there are many women who don’t have periods and some people who menstruate who are not women. We’re proud to host a safe space for anyone wishing to take charge of their menstrual health."
