Are comics about periods mature content?

[sushy00]

Hi there,
I have a slice of life comic called "Sushy" and yesterday a reader suggested that some of my comics that are about periods are not safe for work. I am wondering, should these be marked as mature content?
To me they are not mature content because I think periods are a natural thing for girls starting from age 10 (I have heard some girls get their period then already, I was a bit later but that does not matter for this question right now). The comics do show period blood so maybe they are too graphic but you do not see any live bleeding or nudity or anything.
So I am wondering if I should flag these as mature. I actually only mark things as mature when there is shouting or sexual content in it.

The said comics are these:
https://tapastic.com/episode/243255
https://tapastic.com/episode/127449

So yeah I am curious about your opinion, if you want these comics marked as mature, I am totally willing to do so.

[AnnaLandin]

Hi, I'm Swedish, a bunch of Swedish comic artist women got together and made an entire anthology about periods. My perspective on this might be a bit different than other people's.

Periods are a natural thing and absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, and honestly there should probably be a lot more of it in pop culture just for the sake of normalising something that does happen to the majority of girls - but you have to keep in mind that NSFW means Not Safe For Work.

This isn't about what is okay or not okay to read in the comfort of your own home, or even what should or should not be included in a comic. The NSFW-filter is there for people who, say, like to read comics on their lunchbreak at work - who run the risk of having a colleague looking over their shoulder and spotting what's on screen. And if what they see is a pair of panties soaked in period-blood, well, that might upset them or weird them out, and might get whoever is reading your comic in trouble at work.

But it's entirely up to you - as you say, these examples are not particularly graphic, and you might be able to get away with not labelling them NSFW. But there is definitely a case to be made for putting them behind the filter.

[thomassayle]

i dont know but i can tell you that they are unoriginal and overused.

[foervraengd]

Yeah I agree, when it comes to this stuff, it's important that NSFW are not really just sexual content. Like anything that you might not wanna show to your mom or in a formal setting etc. Which of course can vary a lot depending on what kind of people you socialize with.

There are a lot of people who have severe phobias towards bodily fluids like puke, poop, period blood and other unsanitary content. I know a lot of friends who struggle with this daily and that includes ppl who have their periods as well.

But ppl associate NSFW mainly with pornographic content. Because ppl dont mark unsanitary content as NSFW but as "tw: unsanitary" or similar warnings.

[maripazvillar2004]

Absolutely not. Male readers might think it's disgusting... which it's disgusting to me. There are so many people who think women shouldn't talk about their reality and we should look pure; don't let them get away with that. That's the kinf of people who don't bat an eye seeing a porn scene in a comic but freaks out if you drop a tampon in class.

[Marton]

As long as your comic don't show bleeding vaginas you're fine.

[sushy00]

I see, well AnnaLandin's post actually already convinced me to mark them as mature. ^^;
Actually there should be another filter like, not safe for work, but suitable for under 18 XD
I agree these comics could be upsetting in the work place, I myself am easily triggered by blood, just not period blood.

I am afraid of giving the wrong message though by marking them as mature, periods are indeed a natural thing.

[foervraengd]

Yeah I know what you mean, there should be like a second option that is more like "sensitive content" focused. Or be able to at least assure it's not mature in a sexual sense.

[shazzbaa]

I'm with Anna, I think it's your call!

On the one hand, the amount of cartoony blood featured here wouldn't be considered NSFW in most other contexts. If that's a place you want to MAKE A STAND BECAUSE WE NEED TO NORMALISE IT then I think you could make that argument! -- you're just gonna make stuff a little tougher for your readers.

On the other hand, if I looked over the shoulder of my male co-worker and saw him reading a comic with a girl holding up her blood-stained panties, that'd be weird for me. I would probably not think "oh cool, he's got no hang-ups about this natural part of life!".... in fact I could easily see thinking "why is he reading a comic about girls' periods, is this some kind of....period fetish....." because I wouldn't have any context for what he was looking at. I might later realise that's a bad assumption to make, but not everyone would.

(Although if said male coworker sent the comic to me, that wouldn't be as weird; I would laugh at the comic and get a kick out of the fact that he's cool about this stuff. It's all about context.)

I think what you have is fine; the fact that it just says "contains blood" is enough to let me know that if I'm not weirded out by blood, that I can click this safely! And frankly, if you're concerned about sending the wrong message, you can always say in the description that "I know people have been dealing with periods since they were ten, but I can see it being awkward to read at work. xD"

[Vikiro_Hop]

They seems common place enough on tapastic so I wouldn't think so. I can't remember if any of the other big slice of life people marked them as nsfw, but I doubt it. Not really that much worse than other gross out humor or whatevs. Guess it depends on how you go about it, but the examples you provided seem fine.

[Doubtcent]

It's really all subjective.

For me, my comic is very "family friendly", or at least something I wouldn't be against showing my family... so anything that might cause them some unease I'll put under the NSFW category, simply because that's how my idea of what NSFW is.

Blood? Overly-scary images? Language? I'll mark it as NSFW. Better safe than sorry.

As for menstruation, yeah it's a normal fact of life. But so is a lot of other things that can be considered NSFW, so I say it's up to the individual reader and the creator to determine what is and what isn't.

[demthorshie]

While I don't think periods are a mature matter, we still live in a very messed up world that sees periods as "inappropriate" or "gross" to shed light on bitter expression <.<. But I would also like to note that since lots of blood is generally involved with a menses, that alone probably warrants a mature filter for pages containing the period subject!

[bakasama25]

It seems nobody here has read Fail by Error. That webcomic has many period jokes.

[serenitysquirrel]

a show to your mom or in a formal setting etc. Which of course can vary a lot depending on what kind of people you socialize with.

There are a lot of people who have severe phobias

I agree with the NSFW filter used on it, the same as I would expect it to be used on gore or someone on the toilet making poop face. It's not as much because it's offensive, it's because you don't want you're old boss coming up behind you on lunch break and further questioning your reading habits.

Not really question of being offensive, but on what line of being professional. I also don't loudly mention when I fart at work. You see?

The filter button isn't quite as much for the people reading the comic as the people reading over their shoulders.

So like, talking about a period might be fine. "Oh! My cramps are killing me! How are you Lisa?" vs someone smacking someone else in the face with a dirty tampon. Imagery is a language just like any other. Know when and when not to curse.

[angelfire]

There is another suggestion entirely... @noxfox does something which I find very unique and extremely helpful. He posts NSFW pages but even after opening them, it's stated in beginning what is shown. this way the reader can decide for themselves what they choose to do.
By adding the disclaimer, I think you can do away with the NSFW Filter entirely to be honest...

[sushy00]

Like stating it in the title I guess?
For now I just keep it censored to make it easier for people at work etc. That is also because most of this comic is very sfw and suitable for young ages. So something with blood is quite a surprise ^^;

[michaelson]

These are fine and do not need to be marked NSFW.