‘Fair Play’ Period Sex: 10 Movies That Got Menstruation Right
Few things scream womanhood on film like a menstruation scene. A monthly occurrence for people with uteruses, periods have become a fixture in the coming-of-age genre, though doing this basic body process justice is rare.
We’ve come a long way from 1976’s Carrie and its infamous “Plug it up!” locker-room prologue, fully leaning into period-shaming for shock value. While some films are still guilty of sensationalizing menstruation or reducing it to the butt of the joke, other examples in the cinematic period canon have contributed to challenging the stigma associated with menstruating in public.
Whether it’s a first flow or a messy sex scene, it’s about bloody time to see a normal, if a tad inconvenient, part of everyday life handled with care and humor. Periods deserve to be depicted in all their graphic, empowering glory — even more so as bodily autonomy continues to be under attack.
From Netflix’s latest erotic thriller Fair Play back to 2000s werewolf horror Ginger Snaps, let’s take a look at some recent films that have dared to put periods on show, fostering much-needed discussions and involving cis men in the conversation.
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‘Fair Play’ (2023)
Chloe Domont’s relationship thriller opens with Emily (Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Oppenheimer’s Alden Ehrenreich) sneaking away for a quickie during a boring wedding reception. One look at Luke after he’s gone down on her is enough for Emily to realize she’s bleeding. Her cream slip dress inevitably soiled and blood smeared across his face, the couple shrugs the awkwardness off with a laugh, a kiss, and a chaotic marriage proposal in the bathroom, foreseeing much more ferocious developments.
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‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ (2023)
A charming adaptation of Judy Blume’s 1970 novel of the same name, Kelly Fremon Craig’s film romanticizes girlhood by way of many firsts: first bra, first crush, and, obviously, first period. Eleven-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) eagerly awaits hers throughout her first year in New Jersey, feeling left behind as her school friends have already got theirs. The film ends with the introspective protagonist getting her wish granted in a joyous, if bloodless, moment.
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‘Turning Red’ (2022)
Pixar’s delightful coming-of-age film follows belligerent teen Meilin “Mei” Lee (Rosalie Chiang) going through tumultuous body changes as she starts menstruating. The Oscar-nominated film from director Domee Shi picks up when Mei Lee wakes up in the guise of a giant red panda once she gets her first period. A fitting metaphor for hitting puberty, this riotous, tender scene sees Mei’s stern mother, Ming Lee (Sandra Oh), rush to help her with a disparate selection of sanitary products.
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‘The Souvenir Part II’ (2021)
Filmmaker Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) and actor Jim (Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton) share one of the hottest period sex scenes ever in Joanna Hogg’s sequel to 2019’s The Souvenir. Clad in white, silky pajamas, Julie warns Jim she’s on her period. “I don’t mind,” he says, heading for the bedroom where a set of immaculate bedsheets awaits being beautifully ruined. A grief-stricken Julie finds the release she’s been quietly seeking; Jim’s elated as he looks at his bloody reflection in the mirror. 10/10.
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‘Saint Frances’ (2019)
Blood is a constant throughout this empathetic, low-fi abortion dramedy directed by Alex Thompson. Written by and starring Kelly O’Sullivan as waitress-turned-nanny Bridget, the film kicks off with a one-night stand that makes way for a sweet morning-after exchange. Waking up to menstrual blood smudged on their faces, Bridget and Jace (Max Lipchitz) hesitantly build intimacy by changing the stained sheets, an apparently mundane gesture that brings them closer together.
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‘American Honey’ (2016)
Andrea Arnold’s picaresque drama features a tampon in the wild, doing more for normalizing menstruations than any sanitized commercial ever did. Sasha Lane is magnetic as Star, a young Oklahoma woman who joins a magazine sales crew on the road. Finally in charge of her own raw sexuality, she takes the reins of her attraction to team leader Jake (Shia LaBeouf). When having sex on the grass, she swiftly removes her tampon and throws it away before carrying on.
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‘The Love Witch’ (2016)
Speaking of tampons, Anna Biller’s delicious, campy horror film includes a hilarious scene that’s been doing the rounds on TikTok — and righteously so. Upon waking up to her lover’s corpse, love-hungry witch Elaine (Samantha Robinson) intends to give him a piece of herself for his travels to the afterworld. She concocts a filter by mixing her urine and pushing her bloodied, swollen tampon down the neck of the bottle. “Do you know that most men have never even seen a used tampon?” she quips, slight shock coloring her voice.
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‘20th Century Women’ (2016)
Before smashing box office records with Barbie, Greta Gerwig took it upon herself to smash the stigma surrounding periods in Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women. In one of the film’s most memorable moments, Gerwig’s red-haired Abbie informs an entire dinner party she’s resting at the table because she’s menstruating. Not just that, she makes sure every man present repeats the word “menstruation” aloud in a “gentle, happy, but casual” manner, gifting audiences a GIF-able period scene for the ages.
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‘The Runaways’ (2010)
Floria Sigismondi’s Runaways biopic spills singer Cherie Currie’s blood within the first few minutes. In the intro, the future “Cherry Bomb” vocalist (Dakota Fanning) gets her first period as she’s hanging out with her sister, Marie (Riley Keough), who offers up her clean underwear. Crimson, thick blood dribbling down her leg, Cherie resorts to a highly relatable punk trick: using toilet paper as a makeshift pad. It’s a perfect celebration of sisterhood until Marie’s slimy boyfriend sexualizes Cherie for being officially a woman. Gross.
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‘Ginger Snaps’ (2000)
Canadian lycanthrope cult film Ginger Snaps aptly encapsulates the magnitude of the mutations the body goes through when menarche hits. This horny, gory satire of angsty adolescence centers on outcast, codependent sisters Ginger (scream queen Katherine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Stephen King’s It star Emily Perkins). While on the hunt for a feral killer terrorizing their otherwise dead-quiet town, Ginger unexpectedly gets “the curse,” much to Brigitte’s horror. The metallic scent attracts the creature, who attacks Ginger and leaves her with a new appetite for boys’ blood.