Life

Cosmo Hails Camp Gyno Actress As Proud Feminist

by Nathalie O'Neill

You might have seen the awesome Camp Gyno ad for HelloFlo.com; uploaded nearly a week ago, it's already gone viral. What makes it so popular is its sassy take on getting your period, and the exciting idea of getting a period care package from HelloFlo (or any provider, for that matter) at your doorstep. Now, we should all be extra excited according to Cosmo, as the magazine hails the Camp Gyno actress Macy McGrail as a young feminist.

The Camp Gyno ad shows a girl at camp who has no friends until she's the first to get her period — the "red badge of courage." She then becomes the unofficial gynecologist for all the other camp girls, and, basically, the queen bee of all things period-related. Her popularity only ends when all the other girls start ordering the period care packages made just for teenage girls. It's a strong message with a fun delivery — at some point the Camp Gyno throws tampons in slow motion to the other girls to the sound of the oh-so-fitting lyrics "I'm a queen."

Cosmo interviewed McGrail and got super pumped about the nine-year-old not being worried about getting her period. "I'm actually kind of excited because my mom said she'd subscribe me to HelloFlo and I'll get candy every month," McGrail explained. "She said she'll get me the starter kit and that will help me celebrate getting my first period and not dread it. That's really the way it should be." Or, um, maybe the way she should answer since she's the face of HelloFlo.

Whatever's motivating her, the girl is pretty spot-on proud. McGrail emphasizes that having your period can be cool. It's about "being able to brag to men about how you have to go through everything — how you have to get your period and you have to go through things that men don't have to," she explained to Cosmo. "Women are strong! And we get to brag to everybody about what it's like to be a woman."

Seems like the public feels the same way. YouTube comments complain — rightly so — about people calling periods "gross" and the embarrassment that too often comes with our monthly trips to the pharmacy's sanitary products aisle. Hopefully this ad has lasting impact, because aren't we all tired of those tampon ads that use blue fluid to show absorbency? What is that blue stuff anyway? Windex?

Image: Camp Emerson via Flickr