This is How Courteney Cox Became the First Person to Say “Period” on TV

The existence of human egg-producing reproductive systems has historically been a delicate topic in mainstream media, as controversial as violence and/or PewDiePie. Comedy scholars know all about Lucille Ball’s fight to even appear on camera in a state of successful reproduction, and she couldn’t even be referred to as “pregnant.” It gave us Desi Arnaz’s delightful pronunciation of “expecting,” but it was still pretty dumb.

If it was such a struggle to get America on board with the visible signs of reproductive health, you can imagine what it was like to get them to accept the ones no one talked about. Companies that made menstrual hygiene products weren’t even allowed to advertise on TV until 1972, and we all remember the mysterious blue liquid they all used to represent what we pretended not to know was blood. It took another 13 years before anyone was brave enough to say the word “period” on TV, and Tampax knew the best person for that message was… Courteney Cox?

Keep in mind, this was a good decade before her star turn on Friends, though she was already an MTV icon for pioneering the Carlton in Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” music video the year before. In the commercial, Cox appears in full ‘80s glory in a locker room wearing a muscle tank, leg warmers, pantyhose for some reason, and a Harry Styles haircut, boldly asking the camera, “Does your life change once a month because of your period?” and insisting to maxi pad users that “Tampax can change the way you feel about your period.” She goes on to claim that “more women use Tampax than any other tampon or pad,” making it unclear why they need to know that “Tampax tampons protect internally, so you feel cleaner.” Further confusing matters, there are two women in the background performing some kind of ballet Tai Chi in this locker room, but presumably, 1985 audiences were too distracted by Cox’s filthy mouth to notice.

Even today, some people might be embarrassed about hitching their legacy to such an, um, personal milestone, but Cox is out and proud, flowing and glowing. Well, not so much these days. In 2022, she filmed a parody of her famous commercial for Instagram, advertising the agonies of menopause. “Menopause will change the way you feel about getting older,” she declared. “Menopause will eat you alive. It's horrible.” It’s good to see she’s still out there reppin’ vag.