“I don’t swim as well as I would like to, and I want to apologize to my teammates,” explained Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui, who just finished the 4x100 meter relay test. He did not hesitate to explain the cause of the fall in his performance: “My period was down yesterday and I felt more tired than ever.”

Yuanhu’s natural talk on the subject has made China dusty. According to the BBC, the swimmer’s attitude has been praised on the social network Weiboo: “It’s a normal thing, why can’t it be mentioned? Fu Yuanhui is great,” says a network user.

Menstruation in the country is taboo, as CNN journalist Viviam Kam explains: “In general, we don’t talk about menstruation and health products.” For this reason, he believes that Yuanhu’s statements can “open the door to public debate.” And maybe it can be an example outside of China.

The importance of cultural factors

Journalist Dong Serena of the same chain explains that searching for tampons in Chinese pharmacies is not easy. He puts his case as an example; he never saw a tampon before he went to the United States, nor did his friends: “When I came back from the United States, they asked my friends about it and asked me if it hurts.” According to Cotton Inc., only 2% use tampons in China, compared to 42% in the United States.

Lien Duang, a 70-year-old retiree, mentions cultural factors: “Now maybe not, but 30 years ago most Chinese women didn’t look favorably on tampons, thinking they lost their virginity.” He points out that this belief has been influenced by the need to maintain virginity to marry the kings of China in the past.