Strangers stop Jenna in the street to talk about periods: 'Every time I go to the supermarket'

When Jenna Hudson started posting on TikTok, she didn't think strangers would be stopping her in the street to talk about their periods a few years later.

"A lot of people in my videos actually come up to me like, 'Jenna, can you ask me about my period?' People are really excited to talk to me about their periods," she tells 9Honey.?

Better known as @jennawiththepink on TikTok, the 26-year-old is using her massive platform to break through period stigma and educate impressionable young Aussies.

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One in five Aussie women are experiencing period poverty right now and that number is expected to rise in the current cost of living crisis, with millions of young girls affected.

That's why Hudson is so dedicated to making lighthearted but educational period videos packaged for a younger audience on a platform they already use.

"About 25 per cent of young girls are in period poverty right now. That means they either don't have access to the products that they need like pads or tampons, or they're not getting educated about periods," she says.

"As with a lot of women's health issues, it gets left to the side and people don't think about it," she adds, and it's having a terrible impact on young girls.

Research conducted by Western Sydney University in 2022 found young Aussies aren't receiving adequate period education at school or in the home.

Only 40 per cent of participants were taught about menstrual health at school and most didn't find the information shared there helpful.?

Many also couldn't identify the symptoms of endometriosis and how they differ from 'regular' period pain, despite the debilitating condition affecting one in nine Aussies with uteruses.

Hudson is determined to change that by educating her 1.4 million TikTok followers and breaking down the ridiculous stigma around periods in Australia.

"When I started using Tiktok, I definitely just saw that there was a missing link between influencers actually being aware of the power that their platforms have," she says.

"The first time I had a few viral videos, I'd be getting messages from young girls asking me for advice and comments on my videos saying, 'You're my role model,' and it just hit me - I could just feel the weight of these young girls' expectations."

She started by making educational videos on her own, then hit the streets to start important conversations with everyday Aussies about menstruation.

In her first viral videos, Hudson would approach total strangers and ask when they got their first period, what period products they carry, and more.

Now she's become so popular that strangers come up to her in the street instead. It's a flip in the script she didn't expect, but also proves she's making an impact.

"Every time I go to the supermarket or walk down the mall people are like, 'Jenna, can I get a selfie? Can I tell you about my period?'" she says. "I have to pinch myself sometimes."

But she also receives heartbreaking messages from girls who are still battling stigma and period poverty on a daily basis.

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"I'll never forget one message I received from a girl from about a year ago. She woke up bleeding from 'down there' and she genuinely thought she had cancer," Hudson says.

"She was messaging me because she was so scared, because she was so young, and no one had ever told her what a period was. That's just traumatising."?

Messages like that fuel Hudson's drive to keep making period videos, even though it paints a massive target on her back.

Like so many outspoken women online, the 26-year-old deals with near-constant trolling and hate messages from people who believe periods are 'taboo' or 'dirty'.

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"People don't understand that talking about periods is not gross, it's not creepy, it's not strange to talk about. It's actually something that we need to help normalise," she says.

Hudson doesn't mind the hate because it just means her videos are reaching a wider audience and her message is spreading even further.

Though personal attacks can be upsetting, she's willing to cop it if it means she can keep educating and empowering girls around the country.

"I see so many young girls struggling."

In fact, she'd like to see more TikTok influencers do the same with their own platforms.

"I'm trying to break the stigma of what an influencer can be and show that this technology can be used in a really, really positive way to help educate young people," Hudson says.

"We have to embrace social media, we have to embrace these modern technologies because for young people - Gen Z, Gen Alpha below them - that is how they learn."

The Adelaide local feels a responsibility to be a good role model to her young audience, something not all Aussie influencers bother with.

Users aged 13 to 17 make up the third largest age group on TikTok in Australia and Hudson is careful to make her content appropriate for younger, more impressionable audiences.

It's why you'll never catch her vaping in a video or stumbling out of a nightclub at 4am.

"The users are so young and they're consuming a lot of adult content," she says.

"They need someone that they can be like, 'Jenna's got my back'. I genuinely just want to help people."

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Now she's being recognised for all her hard work; Hudson is nominated for the TikTok for Good Award for her body positivity and period advocacy at the 2023 TikTok Awards.

Though she knows plenty of people still find her content "strange", the nomination is yet another sign that she's making a change for the better.

"I see so many young girls struggling these days and I just want them to know how valued they are, how special they are and how you can achieve your dreams just by being yourself like I've done," she adds.

Vote for Jenna in the TikTok Awards here.?