Ireland took down a Tampax advert and people are fuming

People with vaginas, how many times have you wondered if you’ve inserted a tampon correctly? Have you ever sat down, felt that uncomfy feeling and then had that life-changing moment when you realised you simply weren’t using it correctly?

I can guarantee you that you’re not alone with any kind of technical-tampon issue because those things are quite tricky to get the hang of when you’re growing up and they still freak a few people out, which is exactly why educating people on how to use one correctly is crucial. Those things HURT when you’ve gone wrong somewhere.

An Irish Tampax advert, which showed a presenter asking the audience if they could ever feel their tampon, has been removed after getting 84 complaints. The presenter in the advert said: “You shouldn’t, it might mean your tampon isn’t in far enough. You’ve gotta get ’em up there, girls,” which is… correct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X0LpyXMnjg

Twitter quickly turned against the advert being removed and users are motivating people to complain to the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI).

I see some parents on twitter saying the Tampax ad was problematic because they couldn’t explain it to kids. They clearly live in houses with locked bathroom doors or have children with way more respect for privacy than mine because I’ve already had to explain tampons to my 3yo.

— Louise McSharry (@louisemcsharry) July 29, 2020

Some people said the advert was the start of normalising period talk.

I’m sorry but that @Tampax advert was my favourite thing in the world. The open normalization talk of periods was so refreshing to see. Shame on you if you were ‘offended’ by it. It made me so happy and you’re scum if you were one of those 84 complainers

— libby (@libbycdunne) July 29, 2020

Irish Times feminist Kitty Holland was understandably angry too and shared an email address for viewers to complain to too.

Most Read

Monster’s lead star explains why Aileen Wuornos was clumsily shoved into Lizzie Borden show

40 years later, one of the Unsolved Mysteries cold cases has just been solved

Gone but not forgotten: Honouring the 13 Glee cast members who have passed away

https://twitter.com/KittyHollandIT/status/1288791073712742413

Some people raised their issues with the lack of openness nowadays in Ireland.

Are we still so uncomfortable about talking about women’s bodies? – if we can’t talk plainly about even periods in 2020 we still have such a long way to go. It is absurd that the complaints were upheld by a statutory body. https://t.co/WDyZugVTRu

— Orla O'Connor (@OrlaNWCI) July 30, 2020

Others are talking about why adverts like these are important- to educate people.

Side note: I know sooo many people who have avoided using tampons etc because they don’t know how to use them or they’re scared to use them etc and have missed out on fun activities because of it. I really think ads of this nature could help eradicate such fears.

— Orla O'Connor (@OrlaOC_98) July 31, 2020

Both Tampax and the ASAI are yet to make a comment.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• It’s not perfect, but TikTok has become a place for LGBT+ people to thrive

• Body shaming slim celebs makes girls like me feel like we can never post bikini pictures

• I don’t care about trigger warnings: BBC presenters shouldn’t use the n-word, ever