After only recently coming across the ‘Hey Girl’ moon cups and sanitary pads in my local Co-op, I have been hit with many questions as what to this brand was trying to represent. Their biodegradable packing chips and ‘Buy One Give One’ policy connotes a ‘woke’ brand for the Gen Z market, yet their name ‘Hey girls’ suggests anything but. Any Gen Z sanitary supply consumer can you tell you one thing about menstruating… it’s not just women that do it.
We are living in a world of transexual and non-binary uprising, where it is important to accept people in any way that they want to. So, imagine a young non-binary person’s heart sink when they enter the supermarket, looking for an instrument to curb their heavy flow, to be faced with a cardboard wall deeming their needs as feminine and girly.
Of course, Hey Girls mission is commendable, having donated over 13 million products to young people in need of sanitary protection, they are doing something that many of us who menstruate appreciate. Yet, by including girls and young women in period poverty, they are actively excluding a portion of their market.
Their ‘About us’ page clearly articulates their message, claiming that they “know that you girls and young women are all powerful individuals” and that “all the profits from our Buy One Give One products go directly to help girls and young women in need”.
Their message here couldn’t be any more obvious to me. They are here for the girls and the girls only. Screw the transgender men who still menstruate and screw those who don’t feel comfortable labelling themselves as a “girl” or “young woman”.
Their blatant exclusivity begs a few questions their customer base should consider. Would they refuse to help a poverty-stricken transgender man? Would they turn him away due to their mantra of helping “girls and young women”? Honestly, after scrolling through their website and hitting a jackpot for every mention of “girl” and “woman” I wouldn’t put it past them.
When asked why they are doing what they do, they said that they believe access to menstrual products is a right, not a privilege. So, I’m here asking them, why are you acting like it is?
SashaNugara.com 