Even though comics are still fighting a public misconception that they are “just for boys,” that hasn’t stopped marketers from aiming their laser sights at girls using comics.
It’s certainly not a new trend—as evidenced by this 1974 ad for Pursettes Tampons. They might lean on the overdramatic side, but using a comic format isn’t a bad way to illustrate why a woman might need them.
If that wasn’t enough feminine protection for you, more Pursettes ads can be found on the web, including:
- A mountain biker worries about fitting her protection in her backpack
- This girl doesn’t want to be tied down on a weekend ski trip
- A group of girls trade tips at a slumber party
- She worries about hiding her secret while wearing a slinky dress to a party
In more recent years, the now-defunct CosmoGIRL magazine had The Adventures of CG! by Yishan Li and Svetlana Chmakova, and Alloy Media has a “comix” section on their gURL website (which we’ve mentioned before). What all of these have in common is that they mine a specific and stereotypical subset of the female gender: the girly-girl.
There’s nothing wrong with that, as these companies are trying to market to the largest audience of women possible, and most women do have their girly-girl moments. And gURL does do a lot of health comics, to which every girl can relate. They even have a series of “boy’s perspective” comics by Andrew Lin.
New comics have appeared since we last talked about the site, and new comics continue to be added, but to tie this post together and wrap it up I refer you to this story: “Grossest. Story. Ever.“ by Adriana Yugovich.
That’s not an exaggeration; if you don’t want to be squicked out at the end, don’t read it. I was trying to figure out if guys would find it less or more gross than a girl would, and ultimately decided it doesn’t matter. It’s just gross. But I liked reading it anyway, and so I’m linking it. You’ve been warned.