Updated 5/9/2025
From coming-of-age celebrations to horrible hazing, periods have been a staple of pop culture for years. Good, bad, and ugly – we’ll take a look at some of Aunt Flow’s top mentions of modern-day references to menstruation in the media below and offer our take on how periods are portrayed in the media:
New Girl
Season 2 Episode 7: “Menzies”
This humorous approach to talking about menstrual cycle symptoms is a New Girl fan favorite. We love that New Girl normalized talking about your period around the people in your life, and Winston’s (portrayed by Lamorne Morris) full support—and participation—of Jess’s (Zooey Deschanel) period pain was stellar. We also love Nick (Jake Johnson) leaning in and being supportive despite knowing little to nothing about menstruation.
Turning Ted
“Did the Red Peony Bloom?”
Early on in the movie, Mei finds herself transformed into a giant red panda. Screaming as she rushes into the bathroom, Mei’s mom quickly springs into action, thinking her daughter just got her period for the first time. Mei’s mom is nothing short of prepared, providing her daughter with every type of pad out there and gently approaching the topic of her first period. So sweet!
Broad City – The Great Tampon Hunt
Season 3 Episode 10: “The Great Tampon Hunt”
While on a flight, Abbi starts her period with no available menstrual products. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and as Abbi asks around to see if there are any other passengers who have a tampon, Ilana does her best to piece a tampon together using random items like a hair tie and some pita bread. If there were ever a time for Aunt Flow to come in clutch, it would have been in this scene — Hey airlines, we’re talking to you!
Ted Lasso – Keeley Borrows a Tampon
Season 3 Epsiode 4: “Big Week”
Getting your period in public without a pad or tampon on hand? We’ve all been there. In this episode, Keeley goes to the bathroom before her first meeting with her investor, Jack. She realizes she got her period and borrows a tampon from the woman in the next stall, which turns out to be Jack!
Black-ish
Season 4 Episode 6: “Period Talk on Lock”
WE LOVE AN EMPOWERING PERIOD EXPERIENCE! In this super memorable clip, Diane (portrayed by Marsai Martin) gets her period for the first time. She’s surrounded by a ton of supportive women, which makes her period positivity soar to new heights.
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
Follow Stacey Friedman as she prepares for her Bat Mitzvah! Her plans unravel and threaten to ruin the event. Namely, Stacey is peer-pressured by her middle school crush to jump off the infamous cliff. To her (and everyone else’s) surprise, her bloody pad resurfaces as soon as she does.
Big Mouth
“Everybody Bleeds”
Big Mouth is one of the most unapologetically awkward and embarrassing shows about puberty to hit the airwaves. If you haven’t watched it yet, pop over to Netflix and check it out. In this episode, Jessi gets her first period while out on a school field trip… and while wearing white shorts (we’ve all had that stigma-fueled nightmare). But who wouldn’t want a giant tampon serenading them with “Everybody Bleeds?” Unfortunately, the giant tampon lost us when referring to red stains as “shameful” – periods are NORMAL and stains happen!
The Queen’s Gambit
“Checkmate”
We love how Beth Harmon (portrayed by Anna Taylor-Joy) challenges gender stereotypes in chess by lowering the boom on competitors left and right. What we DON’T love is The Queen’s Gambit portraying Beth’s first period as an embarrassing and shameful moment in the second episode of the series. This sort of depiction in pop culture reinforces the stigma that periods are a terrible, horrifying, taboo moment in life. The plus side was former competitor Anette Packer lending Beth a pad and becoming a source of support – we love to see it. People helping people. PERIOD.®
No Strings Attached
Let’s hear it for the Flow Bros out there. In this scene, Adam (Ashton Kutcher) provides emotional support, normalizes menstruation, and even calls it a “beautiful thing” to be a woman. He also created a mixtape with songs like “I’ve Got The World On A String” by Frank Sinatra and “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis. Hey Hollywood – more of this, please!
The Middle
Sue (portrayed by Eden Sher) gets her period while on a camping trip with her family, and the touching moment of excitement she shares with her mom is incredibly moving. We love a celebration of menstruation.
