Risa Kudo: Thinking About Support for Women Through "Seiri CAMP"

2022/03/16

At the end of August 2020, when the Olympics were supposed to be held, I planned and broadcast a program at 2:00 AM called "Seiri CAMP 2020," which dealt exclusively with menstruation.

A late-night 30-minute program where "menstruation," which has traditionally been discussed only in closed spaces like school sex education, is talked about casually in an open space like a camp. Despite the late hour, once the broadcast began, a phenomenon occurred where many people engaged in "period talk" on social media from midnight until morning, and "Seiri CAMP" actually trended on Twitter. From there, the project expanded rapidly beyond television: we held streaming events, received an offer for a book adaptation from a publisher at the end of the year, and last year published a book titled "Seiri CAMP: Listening, Knowing, and Talking Together," which collected the previously unheard voices of celebrities, athletes, people living abroad, LGBTQ+ individuals, medical professionals, and the general public.

Over the past year or two, I have started seeing the topic of menstruation on other stations, as well as news about "period poverty." Last year in particular, "Femtech" was nominated for the Buzzword Award. With news of GU and UNIQLO releasing "absorbent sanitary shorts," I have the impression that the topic has truly gained social acceptance.

The inspiration for planning "Seiri CAMP" might have come from my own "menarche." I had my first period in the third grade, the earliest in my class. I had no friends I could talk to about it, and for some reason, I was the only one sitting out during pool time; I felt a growing sense of loneliness for maturing faster than others. However, from a certain point, the number of "period peers" gradually increased, a mysterious sense of solidarity was born, and I learned that even if our positions differ, we can connect by discussing the concerns and curiosities surrounding menstruation.

Later, I joined TV Tokyo. The first project I got approved there, "Gokujo Jikara" (a late-night program for women), had a huge response to its special feature on menstruation. As time passed, the "#MeToo" movement spread globally, and I was struck when I saw the term "Femtech."

Femtech itself is a business category created in 2013 by a German female entrepreneur to seek investment for her business. Thanks to the wording sense of trying to solve women-specific issues with technology, it was accepted regardless of gender and spread worldwide. I was also moved by the movie "Pad Man," about a male entrepreneur who stood up to save Indian women who were struggling to obtain sanitary products due to unique cultural and economic conditions surrounding menstruation. I felt that now is the time I want to depict menstruation! Isn't there something that only television can do? With that, I began writing the proposal for a menstruation special.

Within the company, I faced criticism that "no one wants to watch things about menstruation on TV!" but I kept saying "I want to make a program about menstruation" and eventually seized the opportunity. Thus, "Seiri CAMP" spread through programs, streaming, and books.

That said, I thought my interest was limited and that most viewers would be restricted to those with high sensitivity toward menstruation. However, after the broadcast, I saw many comments like, "I saw a tampon for the first time in my life!" "It's okay to visit a gynecologist casually," and "I was encouraged by Dr. Kanako Inaba's words that it's okay to take painkillers." In reality, people with high sensitivity to menstruation information were the minority; rather, there were far more viewers who just happened to tune in casually. I realized that being able to reach such people is the strength of entertainment, especially television. At the same time, I realized how much I was inside a "filter bubble" where I only see the information I want to see.

Many social problems lie in the fact that the issues and worries themselves cannot be spoken aloud. While there are various opinions these days, television has a "massive voice." I don't know if it's a beautiful voice, but precisely because it is a loud voice, something might change if we use it for those who find it difficult to speak up. If people don't know, they won't even know a problem exists. Someone takes courage and speaks up, and by speaking up, knowledge spreads; because people know, mindsets change and discussion is born.

In addition to having a loud voice, mass media and entertainment have the "power to create a common language" through "knowing." What a single individual can experience in a lifetime is limited. While we cannot have the actual experience, we can "foster imagination" by seeing or hearing something.

An "atmosphere" that makes it easy to talk is born, and new values can become the norm. We might be able to make society just a little bit easier to live in for those who find it difficult now.

I am not a doctor, an inventor, or an entrepreneur. I cannot create major reforms or products that make worries disappear.

However, as someone in the field of mass media who can speak a little louder than others, I want to take courage, listen to the voices of those who find it hard to speak, and increase opportunities for knowledge. I aim for a day when talking about "menstruation" on TV becomes normal, when "Femtech" is no longer a buzzword, and when people of any sexuality can normally learn about, talk about, and work on solving the problems they face.