Many see red over new colour

The Pantone hue is inspired by menstrual blood, and aims to remove stigma around it

Pantone, the colour registry company, has released a shade of red inspired by the menstrual cycle.

The company, familiar to those in the printing industry, calls the colour ‘period’.

Pantone created the hue in collaboration with Intimina, a Swedish feminine products brand, as part of the Seen+Heard campaign, which aims to help remove the stigma around periods.

While the blue dye that represents period blood is slowly disappearing from our screens, many say that the red shade does not even remotely resemble menstrual blood.“Period blood is a lot darker. This is not even close to the real colour,” says Sara A, student.

However, others like Annu Itty, senior policy researcher, say critics are nitpicking. “In the comments section, someone mentioned that after she gave birth, the colour of her menstruation matched this shade. Fact is, the colour would vary from person to person,” she says.

Info stifled

Another major point of contention was the illustration which showed a menstrual cup placed within the uterus. In reality, the cup should sit below the cervix.

Dr Meenakshi Bharat, gynaecologist involved with the ‘Green is the New Red’ campaign to normalise conversations about menstruation, says it is important for visual representation to be correct. “Campaigns have to be explanatory,” she says.

Many believe that the inaccuracy is a direct result of lack of awareness and conversations around menstruation.

Benson Rajan, assistant professor at the OP Jindal School of Journalism and Communication, sees complex questions in the debate. “In an age of women’s empowerment, it remains to be seen how many women might use their periods as a reason for privilege or pampering. This is considered Victorian and weak, and it smacks of condescension,” he says. He cites the example of women in the Indian armed forces who react strongly to how menstruation is often cited as a reason by male military leaders for not promoting women.

“They resented the fact that according to male bosses, their periods and pregnancy were marks of femme fragility, thereby making men more suitable, even biologically sturdier,” he explains.

While ‘Pad Man’ handled the subject of menstruation considerably well, it did not probe cystic fibrosis, polyps, and other sufferings of this ever-endured but envied sign of fertility, he observes.

Start a conversation

Campaigns that don’t involve training people end up being futile. Donating cups and sustainable alternatives to women who need them is the real way to bring about change, says Dr Meenakshi.

The effort to start a conversation about periods is more important, say others. Smita Kulkarni, co-founder of Stonesoup.in, a menstrual cup company, says, “Why whisper when you can talk? Only when we can have conversations around menstruation will we be able to talk about the health and environmental impact of using disposable pads.”

Along with normalising periods, efforts need to be made to bring sustainable products into the mainstream. Such illustrations help break the taboo around inserting products to manage periods. Itty also points out that the language of inclusivity must be applauded. “There are people who menstruate, but are non-binary or trans. Since this is something most people don’t pay attention to, I think the effort is remarkable,” she says.

‘Criticise, don’t oppose’

Namrata Bangera, social media head of ‘Red Is The New Green’, says, “The cynical side of me acknowledges the free press and brownie points Pantone gets from this. The idealistic side acknowledges that this wouldn’t have happened 20-30 years ago, and sees it as a great sign of how our culture has changed.”

Benson says that the campaign may not have much relevance in India as only the printing and design fraternity is aware of Pantone.

“In the West, it may be safe to assume that the once-revered Pantone is now struggling for relevance; a threatened species that could be awaiting the same fate as Kodak due to the growth of non-print communication,” he says.

It comes across as attention-grabbing and even gimmicky, he adds. However, the success of the campaign can only be evaluated in retrospect as results are sometimes adjusted to fit the most flattering outcomes.