Angel Reese, Flau’jae Johnson Keep It Real About Periods And Basketball For Tampax
Louisiana State University stars Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson have gotten candid about what it’s like being on the court during that “time of the month.”
The LSU guard and forward dished over Zoom about teaming up with Tampax for their “A Better Way To Period” campaign — which aims to educate women about menstruation and using tampons.
The campaign, which also includes Marsai Martin and is backed by Dr. Nicole Sparks OB/GYN, invites women everywhere to discover the protection, comfort, and freedom of trying tampons. The feminine hygiene brand is committed to bringing more visibility and education about womanhood through icons in the making like Reese and Johnson.
According to studies conducted by Tampax, 68% of Gen Z women and girls say they have received little or no period education before their period began, and more than half are uncomfortable discussing their period with close friends. Additionally, 83% of Gen Z women and girls say they’ve received little or no education about tampons before their period began.
“By sharing our personal experiences, we hope to inspire women to embrace the possibilities that come with using tampons, so they don’t feel like their period is holding them back,” stated Marsai Martin.
Reese and Johnson spoke with VIBE about their own journeys through period protection as athletes — which sometimes comes with cramps, leaks, and more.
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VIBE: What about this campaign attracted you both?
Angel Reese: Of course, I had a period when I was younger and of course, you never know what to do. Trying to find the best way to deal with my period … Tampax was perfect for me. It was the best way for me to feel comfortable as I played basketball. When I was younger, having that uncomfortable conversation with my mom was hard, but finding a way that I can play sports and still have fun was perfect.
Flau’jae Johnson: It was cool for me because it’s something that all girls have, but it’s not really that talked about. It’s kind of an uncomfortable situation to talk about. But I’m pretty much an open book. When the opportunity came I was like, ‘yeah, this is good,’ because when I was going through it and when I had got my period later in my life, I didn’t really know anything or have the resources. We didn’t learn about it in school. This is something that I would want my younger sister and my younger cousins to know.
Where do you both recall first learning about the proper way to take care of yourself as you entered womanhood?
Reese: My mom helped me with a lot of that. Growing up, it was just me, my brother, and my mom in the house, so my mom was always the one I could talk to about that stuff, but also commercials. When you’re younger you’re curious about what that is and understanding what it is.
Flau’jae: Yeah, my mom always told me, ‘Nobody should know you’re on your period.’ She always told me that, just from a hygiene standpoint. She taught me how to be clean. I was wearing pads, but when I started wearing tampons, my mom taught me about it over the phone. It was kind of weird. I was like, ‘Mom, we wearing white, I need help.’ She had to do it over the phone. So it was very different.
What’s something that you wish more young girls knew about when it comes to menstruation?
Reese: I want women to be more comfortable having those kinds of conversations and making it acceptable. It’s kind of nerve-wracking having these kinds of conversations because you never know what somebody else might think about you. But having these uncomfortable conversations is what’s important.
Coming to college was big for me because I never had sisters growing up. Knowing about everybody’s cycle going on in the locker room and just being able to have a culture made it acceptable. ‘Yeah, I’m on my period today. Today I might be a little moody today. This is what I’m going through.’ I think that kind of helps. ‘Like girl, I’m on my period, I need a tampon.’ Having those kinds of conversations.
Flau’jae: I think just more education. Being a Black woman in America; just having that knowledge. I learned a lot even doing this partnership that I didn’t know before. So they really informed me. Knowledge makes you confident when you’re talking about these type of things.
Most girls are normally getting their period around 11 or 12 years old. Is there one thing that you quickly learned about yourself upon entering womanhood?
Reese: I learned to be confident within myself and understand that we are all women and go through a lot of the same things, even if we all don’t look the same. We are Black women and we stand together no matter how tall, small, or big you are. At the end of the day, we need to uplift each other as much as we can.
I know there’s times when you both have to play basketball, while on your period. How difficult can that be?
Flau’jae: You got to play … practice, it don’t matter. I ain’t gonna lie, it’s hard some days for me. I’ll be like ‘Barbie,’ our athletic trainer, ‘give me them cramp pills.’ So there’s really no excuse. But man, it be painful. That’s how you know women are superheroes because we have to work through stuff like that. Especially being an athlete, you got to play with aches and pains. You got to play through it. We just got to push through.
Reese: Same thing. Our trainer is really good about that. It may be too much information, but I have to use ultra tampons because we practice for four hours and I have to go through two to three [tampons] sometimes. That’s just what I got to use.’ And having those kinds of conversations are hard.
I mean, I’ve had an accident before where in the middle of a game I’m sprinting to the locker room. They’re like, ‘Go change your shorts, Angel.’ Sometimes in the middle of a game, I can’t just stop and just go take my tampon out. But when I get a timeout real quick, my sisters; my teammates — they’re really good about checking and make sure we’re good.
You two are really shifting conversations about women’s basketball. Angel, how do you feel you’ve contributed to the new-age culture of women’s basketball?
Reese: Yeah. I feel like for me, it’s just changing the stereotype that you can be girly on and off the court. I’m a girly girl. I’m going to have my nails, lashes, mascara … just all of that done. That’s just my thing, that’s what I do. But on the court, I’m a dog. You can ask Flaujae, I’m super competitive. And even in games my lashes will come off and at halftime, I’ll go figure that out. But just understanding you can be both. You don’t have to look a certain kind of way.
And also normalizing trash-talking. Me and my brother are 11 months apart and we always have trash-talked. I’m from Baltimore and that’s just kind of what we do. And it’s nothing personal. I’ve always grew up where it’s just not personal and we’re just kind of having a good time and having fun. But I think that also has kind of changed a lot of things. I think what got a lot of hype towards the national championship game was me trash-talking and being confident in who I am and standing on who I am. I think that I’ve influenced so many people, and not just people in general, but Black women who feel like they don’t have voices.
Flau’jae: For me, I want to be a basketball player and a rapper. The first [woman] to ever do it. It’s never been done before. I want to be a pro player and I want to be on the charts. Having a Grammy. Performing at award shows, [and] going on tour at the same time in the off-season. I’m just very talented in music. Every day I got to put my pain into basketball, but with music, it’s more so just having the right team around me. With basketball, I got the right team around me. I got 10 dogs on the court. I got a good coaching staff. With music, it’s just finding that right record label, and those 10 dogs that’s going to help push me and get my music out there.
If not basketball, what else for you both?
Reese: Being a model or an entrepreneur. And I like doing lashes. That’s kind of my thing.
Flau’jae: I want to own a lot of businesses. I’m actually studying business right now so that when I graduate, I will be able to open my businesses and run them properly.
To learn more about Angel Reese and Flau’jae’s partake in Tampax’s “A Better Way To Period” campaign, visit here.
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