INTERVIEW – For two years, Mélanie Doerflinger has campaigned for transparency with stamp manufacturers. Progress remains timid.
Hide this blood that I will not be able to see. Rules are still a sensitive subject in France. But the taboo is gradually being lifted. For proof: the release of the book This is my blood, written by Elise Thiébaut (1). The feminist journalist is organizing a signing session on January 12. The news is dense in the sector of the menstruation since the manufacturer Tampax organizes, the same day, a round table.
Less exposed in the media, a student campaigns for more transparency on feminine hygiene products. Slowly, but surely, Mélanie Doerflinger managed to move the lines. Meet this 21-year-old student.
What has your petition enabled in two years?
Mélanie Doerflinger: The government launched investigations in the summer of 2016. I was waiting for information from it, but I haven’t heard from it for a few months. That’s why I launched an open letter on Change.org who challenges them. We must ask for explanations.
Since April 2016, Tampax has included some indications on the components of tampons in the package leaflet. But the petition calls for them to be displayed on the packaging. It is not done anywhere and the other brands have not budged. There is still work to be done, but the petition has overturned received ideas.
Do you think exactly that it has changed mentalities?
Mélanie Doerflinger: At the level of society, the situation has changed. At first it was tough. Some said it was like talking about toilet paper. By now people have understood that there is no shame in talking about periods. Feminine hygiene products are important for women. it is no longer a taboo subject, and the petition is now taken seriously.
But I realized that, ultimately, there is no scientific curiosity about these products. There is an opacity on the subject: there is no research on the consequences of tampons and pads on the privacy and the body of women.
Tampax is organizing a round table. What do you think ?
Mélanie Doerflinger: Its theme relates to the good uses of the tampon. I think this is corporate communication, not a round table intended to advance research. The only scientific representatives are a toxicologist and a gynecologist. She may be motivated by the research of Professor Gérard Lina, who is interested in toxic shock syndrome. I think Tampax is trying to protect itself.
How do you welcome the book? This is my blood by Elise Thiébaut?
Mélanie Doerflinger: I started to read it, it is a beautiful book. The author has linked her experience as a woman and what we know at the scientific and historical level about menstruation. The mixture is brilliant and allows to revive different subjects. It’s not just feminine hygiene products, menstrual pathologies exist and we don’t talk about them enough. Maybe that will help free the floor.
What are your expectations for the coming year?
Mélanie Doerflinger: They are many. The lack of regulation is problematic. At the time of the debates on the buffer tax, it was noted that women always pay more for personal hygiene products. We need to produce regulations that recognize them as essential products. It would reduce the prices.
Women also consider these protections as health products, many buy them in pharmacies. But legally, these products are not in line with the consideration given to them. That must change. Monitoring is also necessary: the DGCCRF explained to me that the checks were not carried out. It is necessary to check, to know the conditions of manufacture, the standards of hygiene. With this legal basis, the rest will come naturally.
(1) This is my blood (A little history of the rules, of those who have them and those who make them), written by Elise Thiébaut (Editions de la Découverte)
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