*(I really did type “cosmetetical”. Readers under the age of 40 and/or outside the U.S. can find the origin of the term here.)

Guest Post by David Linton, Marymount Manhattan College

Here’s where exploitation and menstrual activism crash into each other.  While activists have been diligently working to reduce the “Ewww” factor so that women are not treated with disgust when (and because!) they menstruate, commercial interests have been just as diligently striving to find new ways to cash in on the period.

One of the newest gambits is found at an online beauty products site called M.S. Apothecary promoting a service that been around for a few years, C’ELLE®.  C’ELLE® offers to cryogenically freeze the stem cells found in menstrual blood for future use.  Originally the pitch for C’ELLE® focused mostly on the potential of stem cells to yield material that can be used to treat diseases, once medical science discovers a way to use them.  Meanwhile, the material is judiciously stored away in one’s “portfolio.”  The initial cost is described as a “special introductory rate for new clients” of $499, although the price hasn’t changed in more than a year.  Following the first year there is a yearly storage charge of $99 that is subject to later increases.

The connection between a menstrual blood collection service and a beauty store comes in the way the service is described in the link that is posted on the M.S. Apothecary site:

Begin your beauty from the inside out. C’ELLE®, a revolutionary service that empowers women to take charge of their future health and beauty, allows for the collection and preservation of their precious stem cells. With C’ELLE’s® exclusive process and step-by-step instructions, any woman experiencing menstruation can easily and painlessly gather her own stem cells in the comfort of her own home. In the future, these cells may be the basis of medical treatments for threatening diseases, personalized cosmeceuticals and regenerative medical procedures, providing the potential for living a longer, healthier life.

It remains to be seen if menstruation will eventually come to be seen widely as a source of beauty “from the inside out,” but this is not the first time that menses and fashion have been linked.  In the early 1990’s the sketch comedy series In Living Color ran several skits featuring menstruation.  The fashion statement depicted in this one might be compatible with the pitch for menstrual blood collection.

*I really did type “cosmetetical”. Readers under the age of 40 and/or outside the U.S. can find the origin of the term here.