Happy April Fool's, Semaine Fam!!!
Most of you probably guessed, but no we have not launched Guydol: The supplement for guys and their sympathy pains. :D
But the reason we thought this spoof was worth doing (apart from a much needed chuckle) was because we had someone ask us why we hadn't considered something for men when their partners were PMSing.
To be honest we have no idea what exactly they were asking for.
(If it were birth control for men—that is something we can get behind!)
But somehow, we realized it wasn’t crazy to think a product like that could be launched and take off.
It felt so absurd … and disappointingly plausible.
This spoof tries to capture the feeling that even when we’re in pain, we might be treated as spectators or supporting cast members. So much of the advertising around periods and period pain makes it clear that the discomfort we feel is secondary to societal expectations that we’re supposed to be happy and beautiful and frolicking in the sun.
Flipping this script makes it clear how silly and absurd this is.
We started Semaine Health because we’d personally experienced the gender inequities in health care. Our pain, like so many of us who aren’t white guys ;) wasn’t taken seriously, and that’s one big reason it took us 15 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis. When we heard there had been a preliminary study that showed reduced endometriosis pain for women who took viagra, but the board didn't follow-up because it wasn't of interest, that was the straw that broke the camels back.
We've also lost count the number of times we've been told by people that "it's great we're really focused on this niche market."
NICHE?! 80%+ menstruators experience period pain and 50%+ of the world's population will experience menopause.
That just tells us true representation doesn't exist where it needs to. At least not yet.
We know it's changing. And we are so grateful to be part of this shift to more equity for women, women of color and LGBTQIA+ populations. But the change is slow and as we see in the news daily, we are not treated equally as humans just trying to human.
At Semaine Health, we promise to always support progress toward equity and staunchly shift the paradigm in healthcare and wellness for all of these "niche" populations. And your support helps us do just that.
In the meantime, please enjoy these ludicrous ads for Guydol: the supplement no one needs. We've also made a commercial on tiktok for Guydol (@semaine_health) for your viewing pleasure.
Image below: Image credit: Total Shape
It's Your Turn
If this made you laugh, share the pictures on social media because even something as flippant as an April Fools joke can make change by helping people see the absurd in society.
Tag us with #guydol if you make your own spoofs! We'd love to see them! You can save the image below to create your own spoofy social posts:
