In mainstream media, it’s especially important to be inclusive and talk about things that are considered taboo in our society. It helps break down some of the ideas and shame that people have about things like menstruation. The new HBO show “The Last of Us,” which came out on January 15, has done a lot of things right. It is based on a 2013 video game made by Naughty Dog that takes place in 2023, twenty years after a worldwide outbreak of fungus. A source says that the plot of the dark, end-of-the-world thriller has always been used to break down social barriers, and episode six was no different.
https://youtu.be/T5zmdUVaWDw
A few episodes after the heartbreaking love story between two LGBTQ+ people, the show has now shown how hard it can be to get your first period. In the sixth episode, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) reach the peaceful town where Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) lives with his new wife Maria (Rutina Wesley) in a communal setting. The couple is welcomed with open arms, and Ellie is given new clothes. She finds a menstrual cup while going through her clothes. At first, she is confused, but then she becomes interested as she presses the cup with her fingers and reads the instructions for how to use it.
She smiles and says,
Gross!
It’s a short scene, but many people liked how it showed how it feels to get your first period. It’s confusing and messy, and it happens every month, even if you try to stay away from the infected. Fans praised the moment on social media for making it easier for people to talk about menstruation. A Twitter user named @aikohwrites said,
I am so obsessed with #TheLastOfUs finally showing us how people deal with menstruation in the apocalypse.
We appreciate a good #period representation and especially one that showcases a menstrual cup! 🩸 Way to go, @HBO ! #lastofus ❤️ pic.twitter.com/vAPhvp0hsq
— INTIMINA (@Intimina) February 21, 2023
@jobraincells commented,
The menstrual cup thing in the last of us was a really sweet touch. A lotta zombie/apocalypse media just ignore the whole thing, was nice to see it acknowledged openly.
Another person @duckses said,
The menstrual cup on The Last of Us! Awesome to see a show like this acknowledge periods the way it has.
The showrunner of “The Last of Us,” Craig Mazin, said that he started thinking about tampons early on in the pandemic when he was walking through Target and had the sudden thought that he should probably store some for his wife and daughter. He said,
These are basic items that we’d need or would want. In a post-apocalypse, it’s annoying to have to deal with that and have a shortage of options. Why wouldn’t we show it? Especially because our co-lead is a 14-year-old girl. This is part of her life!
Shout out to everyone who learned what a menstrual cup was while watching yesterday’s ep of The Last of Us.
— Hanna Brooks Olsen (@mshannabrooks) February 20, 2023
In Episode 6, Ellie uses a menstruation cup for the second time in the wild after the end of the world. In the first scene of episode 3, Ellie goes against Joel’s order to stay put and checks out the basement of a convenience store. She goes through the wreckage, putting herself in danger of running into an infected person. When she finds a dusty box of Tampax Pearls on a shelf, she says,
F*ck yeah!
Mazin says that it’s important for Ellie not to think about putting them in her bag so Joel won’t see them.
Tampons are a fun way to start, but the menstrual cup is where this theme really shines. It takes the resource-gathering idea from the tampon moment and adds a new layer of game structure: As you move through the game, you level up and get better gear. The cup, according to Mazin,
is a great solution in the ongoing apocalypse. It’s a reusable solution that doesn’t require you finding boxes of tampons in Infected-ridden cellars.
