In 2018, We Shouldn't Need PadMan's Sanitary Pad Challenge. But We Do

As a young boy going grocery shopping with his elder sister, it was an unsaid, understood rule that the contents of the black poly-bag were something that shall not be spoken of. Through the ages, said contents of black poly-bag silently managed to make generations of men avert their eyes and go red-faced.

Years later, as an adult, I happened to overhear a conversation between some co-workers (male and female) about a female colleague who "shamelessly" carried a sanitary pad in her hand on her way to the loo, leaving me to wonder that even now (it was 2017), when there is so much chatter and talk about taboos, had anything changed at all?

By the time this story goes up, half the country would know about the soon-to-trend #PadManChallenge started by A Muruganatham on Twitter. For the not-so-woke, A Muruganatham is the man who found a way to make affordable sanitary pads accessible to rural India. The upcoming movie PadMan is based on his story. Already, Bollywood stars like Twinkle Khanna - who is the producer of the film - and Aamir Khan have posted pictures holding a sanitary pad, captioning it "Yes, that's a Pad in my hand and there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period #StandByHer."
 

Thank you @mrsfunnybones
Yes, that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period. #PadManChallenge. Copy, Paste this & Challenge your friends to take a photo with a Pad. Here I am Challenging @SrBachchan , @iamsrk & @BeingSalmanKhan pic.twitter.com/lY7DEevDmD

— Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) February 2, 2018

#PadManChallenge

Yes that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period. #StandByHer

Copy, Paste this & Challenge your friends to take a photo with a Pad!

Here I am Challenging @akshaykumar @mrsfunnybones @sonamakapoor @radhika_apte pic.twitter.com/ULJuJmSeZN

— A Muruganantham (@murugaofficial) February 2, 2018

Thank you for tagging me @murugaofficial
Yes, that's a Pad in my hand & there's nothing to be ashamed about. It's natural! Period. #PadManChallenge

Copy, Paste this & Challenge your friends to take a photo with a Pad!

Here I am Challenging @aamir_khan @AzmiShabana @hvgoenka pic.twitter.com/QXYBwVfYV0

— Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) February 2, 2018

And as one may expect, the trolls have spoken, and they have nothing good to say: "disgusting", "what is the need for this?", the likes.

But that's the thing isn't it? The challenge, these posts, all the educating might not reach the grass root level. But one just has to look around to realize that it is also the "educated" who might need the education after all.

Everyone saying that conversations around "uncomfortable" subjects make them uneasy are the reason that these conversations need to be had, and everyone pointing out how it is not them but the "other sections" of the society who need to be made aware of "such things" need to be given a very harsh reality check. And a sermon on classism. If you are just plain unaware, then you are in for a surprise when I tell you there are a number of us educated sorts who go around parading their age-old ideologies like prized possessions under the garb of propriety, culture, and traditions. Perhaps some of them are people you know, your friends and family.

Talk about any previous viral trends tailor-made to spread social awareness and you will not have to look far to find the many in the urban class who scoffed at the mere idea, questioning its intent and validity. ALS Ice Bucket challenge, #MyChoice, #SameLove, or #MeToo, had many screaming "Hell yeah!"...and, sadly, as many raising eyebrows.

So, the next time we wonder why a certain topic is trending and whether it is even needed, we should pose the question facing a mirror and we will probably know better. If not, scrolling through the comments section of every viral post ever will be a good place to start.