Meet the transgender man making history by fronting a campaign about periods
(Pink Parcels)
A transgender man will be the face of a groundbreaking campaign to challenge stereotypes around periods.
Kenny Jones, 23, is taking his place alongside female models to show that it’s not just women who experience menstruation.
Together, they have launched I’M ON, a campaign by period subscription service Pink Parcel including t-shirts with messages like “I’M ON THE UP,” “I’m on it,” “I’M ON AND I’M STRONG” and “I’M ON. PERIOD.”
(Pink Parcel)
When he was 14, Kenny dropped out of school, and by the age of 17, he had shaved his head and started taking hormone blockers as he came to terms with his gender identity.
He said that, like most people who menstruate, he had felt stigmatised because of a natural bodily function.
“During my transition, I did have to deal with experiencing periods each month and many of the negative stereotypes that can come along with it,” he said.
(Pink Parcel)
“Assuming periods are inhibiting to people tends to perpetuate period shame even more, and makes people even more reluctant to talk about them.
“I always found the fact that no-one seemed to openly talk about periods quite difficult,” he said, adding that it “made me want to hide mine even more.”
And it was this feeling of shame that made him passionate about participating in I’M ON.
(Pink Parcel)
“We need to encourage everyone to talk about periods, whether they experience them directly or not,” he said.
“Sparking conversation is the first step to normalising periods within society.”
A poll released by Pink Parcel earlier this year found that one in three British adults still view periods as a taboo subject.
Half of Brits have never broached the subject with their partner, while 44 percent avoid talking periods with friends.
(Pink Parcel)
One in four said they have experienced feelings of shame or embarrassment while menstruating.
The campaign was born from the survey result which revealed that more than one in three Brits choose the phrase “I’m on” over any sentence including the word “period”.
Bloody Good Period, a non-profit which helps asylum seekers, will receive £5 from every sale of a t-shirt or sweatshirt from the campaign.
Watch Kenny speaking about the campaign here:
THE I'M ON CAMPAIGN from Tin Man on Vimeo.
