“Period, period, hip hip hooray for period! / The body’s working as it should.”
A Swedish children’s TV show is taking an…interesting approach to teaching children about menstruation. The Barnkanalen children’s channel is set to air “The Period Song” on Friday, a short, public service-y video featuring dancing tampons, a handsome, guitar-strumming young man, and, yes, a rap breakdown.
"You should be able to talk about the most natural thing as half the world's population is involved," the channel’s programming head said in a statement.
Here are some sample lyrics, according to a Guardian translation:
It’s a thing that happens to girls sometimes
They don’t want to talk about it
Maybe they’re a bit ashamed
They don’t want us to know anything at all
But we know, that it, it’s something totally normal
We just need to be a little extra nice to them
Show a little patience
It’s just a little blood
Period, period, hip hip hooray for period!
The body’s working as it should
And that is really, really good—hooray!
If this seems a tad bizarre, keep in mind that the same Swedish children’s channel caused a stir earlier this year when it released a video featuring dancing cartoon genitals. The point there, the channel said, was to teach children about the human body.
Swedish broadcasters aren’t the only ones taking wildly inventive approaches to introducing kids to menstruation. A “Period Party” kit, released by the doll maker Lammily last month, teaches children about periods by equipping a realistic, Barbie-like doll with underwear, menstrual pads, and an educational pamphlet.
“I just don't think that something as core to a woman's life and health as menstruation should be seen as embarrassing in any way, shape, or form,“ Nickolay Lamm, the doll’s creator, told Upworthy. “If it weren't for menstruation, I wouldn't even be alive right now!”
Hipp hurra för mens!, indeed.
(Cover image via youtube screencapture)
Share on Facebook
