Getting one’s period for the first time is an embarrassing moment. We are taught menstruation is shameful instead of fully accepting it as a natural biological occurrence we cannot control. 

Menstrual shaming is bullshit. So in this crazy ass year, Pantone Color Institute infuses this belief into its new color: period red 

Created to support Intimina’s Seen+Heard campaign, Pantone aims to empower everyone, regardless of gender, to normalize menstruation in the 21st century. In Intimina’s words, this new color is an “original shade of red that represents a steady flow.”

With this venture, Pantone and Intimina both target to remove our period stigmas and educate others about the phenomenon. It’s only a natural bodily function. It’s 2020 and it’s time to see periods as simply just that.

“An active and adventurous red hue, courageous Period emboldens people who menstruate to feel proud of who they are,” describes Pantone on its website. “To own their period with self-assurance; to stand up and passionately celebrate the exciting and powerful life force they are born with.”

Pantone’s color of the year pick reflects the mood of the times. Although Classic Blue is 2020’s color, Period Red says a lot about this year as well. No more unnecessary conflict, it’s time to empower one another in any way we can.

Read more:
Let’s talk about the workplace’s role in menstrual health
The sad truths about getting diagnosed with PCOS
I believed in sex myths and now I am dealing with endometriosis