Lil-Lets launches new campaign: Be You. Period.

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The new campaign builds on insights gained from thousands of questions and interactions received through its Lil-Lets Talk crowd-based platform which was launched earlier this year.

Keryn Brien, marketing manager of Lil-Lets says, ‘Our bodies and periods are unique, but the narrow representation of these experiences has left too many menstruators underrepresented and wondering if they’re normal.’

The majority of questions asked on Lil-Lets Talk include phrases like ‘is it normal to’ or ‘am I normal if’ – underscoring the need for more accessible education in this space.

Brien explains: ‘Be You. Period. is a celebration of individuality and the empowerment that comes from better understanding your body. We want to ensure all girls, women, and people with periods have access to the products and information they need to be able to choose what works for them – without shame or stigma.’

As part of the campaign, Lil-Lets has launched a new interactive quiz to help menstruators better understand their unique periods and get personalised recommendations based on their actual flow and preferences.

Your period is unique. And there’s no such thing as one ‘right’ way to handle it. There’s only what works for you and your body. So just be you. Period.

Take the #BeYouPeriod quiz to get your unique period profile: https://t.co/kesDxxpS41

Words by @Punopolis_ pic.twitter.com/p1KNT4KbID

— Lil-Lets SA (@LilLets_SA) October 19, 2021

Behind the campaign

Be You. Period was penned for Lil-Lets by local poet, Puno Selesho, who is featured in the video along with inspiring menstrual health rights activists including Nokuzola Ndwandwe (Team Free Sanitary Pads), Pontsho Pilane (author of Flow, founder of the Free to Bleed campaign), Farah Fortune (founder of The Pad Run), Lucy Khofi (founder of #RealTalkWithLucyKhofi), and Megan Ross (author of Milk Fever and lead responder on Lil-Lets Talk). The campaign also includes human rights activist, Regina Mary Ndlovu, and trans rights activist, Nino Ayanda Maphosa.

‘It was really important to us to work with and celebrate the people who are already making an impact in this space, and we’re so proud that many of them are either actively involved in or beneficiaries of our Lil-Lets Talk platform,’ explains Brien.

Lil-Lets matches every question asked and every answer posted on the Lil-Lets Talk platform, with quarterly donations of pads to approved beneficiaries nominated by the community.

Continuing the conversation

Radio and reality TV star, Dineo Ranaka continues her relationship with Lil-Lets, featuring in the campaign and co-producing new episodes of the Lil-Lets Talk series. The new episodes focus on the lesser-talked about topics of cervical cancer and painful periods – delving into everything from pap smears and HPV, to endometriosis and PCOS.

Ranaka says, ‘We’re all tired of rigid representations of how we should cope with and manage our periods. We’ve had enough of the constant downplaying of period pain. We need to have these conversations openly and honestly.’

Brien concludes, ‘People don’t want toxic positivity when it comes to their periods. They want authentic support and education, and that’s what we want to consistently provide.’

Key stats since the launch of Lil-Lets Talk:

• 6.7 million South Africans reached
  
• Over 90,000 clicks to the site
  
• Over 15,000 interactions
  
• Over 3,700 active Lil-Lets Talk members
  
• 1.19 million views of Lil-Lets Talk episode content
  
• Over 42,000 packs of Lil-Lets Pads donated to beneficiaries