Lately there has been a lot of attention for the subject of menstruation + taboo. Period! brings you the best awareness actions. This week: sing your menstrual worries away. A top three of protest songs. Sing along girls!
1 Drop It ‘Cause It’s Rot by Mia Lethbridge
Tampon tax? Drop it ‘Cause It’s rot! In this great parody on Snoop Doggs’s Drop It Like It’s Hot, Australian women rap against the 10% GST on tampons and menstrual pads. In Australia, sanitary items are still deemed ‘non-essential products’ and thus charged extra. Mia Lethbridge and her posse aren’t happy about this: ‘I BLEED just coz I was born as me’ and ‘The Vagina, half the people got them. Yet there’s a tax if you’re born with one of ‘em.’
‘Australia has a pretty outdated attitude around periods,’ says Lethbridge. ‘I feel like the tax is reflective of this attitude.’ Not only does she have a point, she’s also made a great black-and-white video clip completely in the style of Snoop Dogg. It even features massive golden chains with tampon-pendants, a woman in a tampon suit and the sister of Australian ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Worth a watch! Watch & listen on YouTube.
2 Bad Blood (End The Tampon Tax) by Cariad Lloyd and Jenny Bede
It has become the theme song of the UK campaign to stop the 5% luxury VAT on sanitary products: Cariad Lloyd and Jenny Bede’s parody of Taylor Swift’s hit Bad Blood. The two comedians star in the clip against tampon tax as Heavy Flow and Applic Hater. ‘Initially we were just being silly, but when I started looking into what doesn’t have VAT I just got really angry,’ said Lloyd.
In the song they offer ridiculous tampon alternatives such as potatoes and woollen socks. ‘It’s so sad to think you make us pay until we die. So ladies now for your bad blood, why not try using a dishcloth?’ Just like in Swift’s original video clip, other female kick ass characters make an appearance as well. Only here they’ve got names like Krampma, Ivy Profene and Toksvig Shock. Watch & listen on YouTube.
3 Let it Flow (3x)
Crazy of the popular Frozen hit Let It Go? Listen to these parodies, all called Let It Flow.
Let It Flow by Jessica Calvello: good luck trying to get this song out of your head. But: sing along at the top of your lungs (’everything bothers me anyway’) and you’re good again for the next five days. Watch & listen on YouTube.
Let It Flow on JP GP’s You Tube channel (photo): a girl sings about her menstrual horrors while stuffing her face with chocolate and crisps and pushing away red balloons. Includes sudden outbursts of crying. ‘Can’t keep this tampon in, so let it flow’. Watch & listen on YouTube.
Let It Flow by menstrual activist Karin Chandler: a real menstrual pride anthem which encourages girls to celebrate their periods instead of hiding them. ‘Scarlet splashes can be seen. I feel proud and happy. They say it’s not clean.’ Watch & listen on YouTube.
Read also:
Menstruation + taboo (1) film festivals, (3) sport, (4) social media actions
