Ladies Talk About The Other "First Time"

Do you remember your first time? No, not that first time — the first time you got your period. Well, underwear company Dear Kate wants to hear all about your first period for their latest campaign. One of the brands to kickstart the high-tech period panty trend, Dear Kate has become known for far more than its "revolutionary underthings." The brand's campaigns are also beloved for being progressive, embracing visible diversity, starting conversations about women in tech, firing back at the sexualization of women, and being overall body positive.

Their version of the now-infamous Victoria's Secret "The Perfect Body" ad that included a lineup of women who proved that your perfect body is the one you have right now, made me fall so hard for the line that was founded and created by badass women. Their latest attempt to break social taboos is a little extra relevant to what they do: Asking people with periods to talk about the first time they got theirs.

The campaign kicked of today with a video compiled of a few people's versions of their first time, with a gallery of user-contributed videos below. Other people are encouraged to tell their stories by uploading their own videos to add to the conversation. The hope is that the videos and the conversation will "reframe the moment of getting your period so it's just as talked about and has just as much cachet as the time you first had sex, if not more," as noted in the company's press release for the video.

The stories that I've seen so far are touching, honest, funny, and relatable. Bleeding out of your vagina is always a pretty awkward thing, and none of us are actually prepared for how to deal logistically or emotionally with what getting our period means. When I got my first period, I didn't talk about it until it was over — I didn't want my mom to make a big deal about it or for my friends to know, since I beat them all to it by several months. I run in pretty great circles of people who can speak honestly and openly about pretty much everything, but there are still certain people who cringe or feel uncomfortable talking about menstruation or even internal reproductive organs. For the teenage me who felt awkward to the current me who feels like, "Why isn't this normal already," this conversation is definitely still needed. These videos are the perfect "101" primer for getting comfortable to talk about periods.

Dear Kate holds fast to its diverse and inclusive ethos in the videos (a.k.a. how all things should just be) — although I would really love to see more trans or non-binary people talking about their periods and what it meant to them and means to them now. I'd love to see more women without the financial means to purchase sanitary products talking about getting their first period or how necessary menstrual products are expensive. These are conversations that we need to be encouraging and bringing about, not depending on companies to do so for us. But this campaign is amazing for getting a very necessary conversation started and I can't wait to see it evolve to include even more perspectives on menstruating.

Images and Video: Courtesy Dear Kate; YouTube/Dear Kate