A London-based company that a sane person might assume caters to women has instead come up with a disgusting and dehumanizing new word to describe its client base.
Yoppie sets out its mission as “Menstrual cycle care, made easier” on its website. “Empowering you to take control of your menstrual health through a personalised plan, delivered straight to your letterbox. Periods, PMS or hormonal skin? We’ve got you covered.” The company invites customers to take its online assessments and then delivers its recommended feminine products via a subscription box service. For a certain type of well-heeled, overly introspective female, it’s probably not the worst business model.
The trouble started on Tuesday, when the menses-focused company made an appalling Instagram post:
The text in the posted image read, “‘Most bleeders know how they are impacted by their period, but unfortunately aren’t in touch with their feelings & symptoms in the other phases of their cycle. We’re here to change that.’ — Yoppie Founder & CEO, Daniella Peri.” Along with the image was the post:
Our founder & CEO @daniellaperi wants to quit talking about that period and shine a light on the full menstrual cycle ✨🥚👿🩸
Yoppie is here to empower women to take control of their menstrual journey through products and education to ‘Ride Your Cycle’!
Needless to say, actual women were not amused. Perhaps someone like Peri, who has made a livelihood of obsessing over an unpleasant biological function, is comfortable reducing half of all human beings to the function itself, but most people aren’t in her camp. The comment section was full of bracing rebukes. My favorite was, “Stop erasing women” — the exact thought that came to my mind when I first saw the ad.
Also for Our VIPs: A Rant About That ‘Trans Man’ Trying to Get Us Worked Up About Her Hot Flashes on International Women’s Day
Peri promptly issued a statement, in which she attempted to placate both women and “gender identity” disciples. (I wish her luck threading that needle.) I reproduce the entire thing below, in all its tortured, delusional glory:
I recently referred to women as ‘bleeders’, but also in the same post used ‘women’. I used the word ‘bleeders’ for our new campaign ‘Ride your cycle’ as I feel it best describes the point we are trying to make; that ‘menstrual health’ is so much more than the days you bleed.
(Oh, sure — calling women “bleeders” is a brilliant way to elevate “menstrual health” to something more than the days they bleed. Wut?)
Yoppie is focused on being a brand welcoming all those who have a menstrual cycle – it’s what we do. But, being at the forefront of menstrual health, how we describe it and talk to our customers is fraught with challenges, mistakes and learnings. After all that’s part of being a genuine brand.
We recognise the menstrual cycle is a biological function. We should be proud of this cycle, of bleeding from our uterus, it’s what makes us different. So we want to have this conversation, to bust the social stigma of talking about it publicly.
We strongly believe all women, girls and people with a menstrual cycle should feel welcome at Yoppie. We also understand there are many women who don’t have periods and some people who menstruate who are not women. We’re proud to host a safe space for anyone wishing to take charge of their menstrual health.
If this conversation increases discussion within families and friendship groups to the level that people now talk about mental health – surely this is a great thing? We must remove any stigma of the menstrual cycle and periods and open up the conversation.
The big question is how can brands like Yoppie talk directly to their customers, simply and eloquently, without causing offence to many. Can we, is that even possible?
I myself am a woman. But I understand many of our customers are not. I also understand it is neither my place nor that of Yoppie to tell anyone how they should identify.
We’re an open, straight-talking and transparent brand that is trying to navigate the right language. We will continue to promote that discrimination prevents all people from having equal opportunities – and we make no apology for that stance. This is the hard conversation everyone needs to have and we’re here to have it. Join the conversation.
Yoppie will undoubtedly retain the patronage of a certain type of woman who has nothing more compelling in her life than obsessing over brave, new pronouns as well as her own menstrual cycle. The rest of us will take a pass.
