By Serena Solomon of RNZ Tampons are dead – long live period underwear. That was the consensus from a focus group of six New Zealand teenagers held by RNZ. The teenagers, aged 13-19, chatted about their hesitancy to try menstrual cups and their desire to speak openly about their periods despite continued societal period shame .
There has arguably been a revolution in period products in the past decade, with washable period underwear and menstrual cups hitting the market. The teens who joined our group have far more choices, especially reusable options, than their parents’ generation. Tampons have been a staple period product since the 1960s and a cultural icon (think King Charles , Queen Camilla and Tampongate).
But those days might be coming to an end, according to the teenagers and sales data from major New Zealand retailers..
