Tampon Run is definitely a counter narrative. I almost wanted to choose a different game after I finished my first round (and did horribly!), but then I thought more about the game and this assignment and I realized there was no need. I think the reason I wanted to switch was because the game itself was so easy, but the message was so much more than the game. I have been researching menstrual taboos for a couple of classes which is probably why I chose this game in the first place. To begin, I love that this game was designed by two young girls who are sick of the stigma about periods. To summarize the game, the only playable character is a little girl who is being attacked by boys on the ground and flying. You must hit them with tampons before they reach you while also collecting boxes of tampons to use against your enemies. The intended audiences is not limited to girls but certainly engages them with the title “Tampon run”. Because of the stigma, i'm sure this title will discourage many boys from playing and therefore receiving the message. This is represented in the game itself, I don’t believe it was accidental that the enemy is boys at all. In a way I see the tampon as a metaphor for normalizing menstruation around those of the opposite sex. It is accessible to the masses because it is free, it isn’t limited to people with expensive gaming consoles, and is simple enough to where anyone can play. The only drawbacks that i can see is that, you can’t change the way you look as the playable character and we are assuming all boys are an enemy. Which of course we know it not the case, women have been known to shame other women, in fact it is usually our mothers who teach us how to hide our periods and to stress how secretive it must be, thus perpetuating the stigma.

-Dawn