HBO’s The Last of Us is breaking viewership records while telling a tale of survival in an apocalyptic landscape. The show has also received praise for discussing the topic of menstruation and showing how women deal with periods in an apocalyptic world. Now, menstrual cup companies are reporting an uptick in sales thanks to the mega-hit show discussing a topic that’s generally kept hush-hush.
Menstrual Cup Companies Praise The Last Of Us
Episode 6 of The Last of Us showed Bella Ramsey’s Ellie getting a menstrual cup and a guide on how to use it from Maria. Since she’s 14 years old, this is her first encounter with the product. She plays around with it a little before reading the guide and declaring it as “gross” while laughing. TMZ reports that this scene has caused various menstrual product-making companies to see a rise in sales. The site revealed that a rep for Cora Life, a menstrual cup producer, said that they saw an uptick in orders.
Also, as per the rep, they are thrilled to see the product mentioned on a prestigious HBO show that’s grabbing more and more eyeballs every week. So there must be viewers tuning in who don’t know what the product is, which makes the entire scene informative and powerful. A representative for The Flex Co revealed that the company has seen a 400% increase in the sale of menstrual cups in 2 days.
The spokesperson said that it depicted the power of media in destigmatizing periods. Another company, Lena Cup, also reported that they are getting more hits on their website as well. The show didn’t even depict any particular brand, but just showing the product made people search for the product.
Fans Praise The Last Of Us For Depiction Of Periods
Episode 6 wasn’t the first time the topic of menstruation was brought up in The Last of Us. In episode 3, the show depicted Bella Ramsey’s Ellie being happy because she found a pack of tampons. Both times, social media reactions towards these scenes were positive, and many praised the series for depicting how women are dealing with the issue of periods in a situation where society has collapsed.
Here are some reactions to those scenes:
Shoutout to The Last of Us for not only acknowledging periods in the first place, but highlighting the most apocalypse-proof menstrual product🩸
If the mushroom zombies ever come here, catch me flowing free with my infinitely reusable pixie cup— y’all can keep your tampons 🥴 pic.twitter.com/NNPdxtWTYo
— adrianna (@adriannalakatos) February 24, 2023
a menstrual cup finally the last of us showing how it works having a period in a post apocalyptic world #TheLastOfUs
— noelle (@noelle2k10) February 20, 2023
The menstrual cup on The Last of Us! Awesome to see a show like this acknowledge periods the way it has
— Corinna (@duckses) February 20, 2023
Props to the last of us for acknowledging women have periods even during the apocalypse something I’ve always wondered to myself when it came to women in apocalyptic scenarios, that period cup was great representation
— slipknot_balloon_knot_006 (@flapjackxo) February 21, 2023
Shout out to the menstrual moments in The Last of Us. I've never seen periods mentioned in an apocalypse story, let alone one that's a zombie varietal. It might seem like something irrelevant to the story but it means a lot, it lends humanity.
— Jacq-the-Jalapeno🌶 {she/they}🔜PaxEast (@jaqFrOoT) February 20, 2023
The show is also getting praised online for its LGBTQ representation. From Bill and Frank’s story to the recently released episode 7 exploring Ellie and Riley’s feelings for each other, the show has made strides in representation. It remains to be seen how the showrunners adapt The Last of Us-Part 2 game’s storyline that will involve the story of Ellie and Dina.
The Last of Us is streaming on HBO Max. Episode 8 will release on 6th March 2023.
Source: TMZ
