Amber Glenn's New Partnership Challenges ‘Period Taboo’ In Athletics

U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn is making headlines following her performance at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, and not just for what happened on the ice. The Team USA athlete finished fifth at the Games after a difficult free skate, but the emotional moment quickly sparked a much larger conversation online. Fans began discussing the realities female athletes face while competing, including something rarely talked about in sports: performing during a menstrual cycle. Now, Amber Glenn is helping push that conversation even further by encouraging openness around periods in sports and partnering with a major brand to break what many call a longstanding taboo.

Several days later, Glenn reshared an Instagram post from @itsclickclack that addressed how menstrual cycles can affect athletic performance. The post explained the physical and mental challenges athletes may face depending on the phase of their cycle.

"Menstrual cycles can influence women’s performance in nuanced ways, affecting energy levels, concentration, mood, and physical comfort at different phases of the cycle," the post read. "Symptoms like cramps, fatigue, headaches, or hormonal shifts may temporarily reduce focus or endurance, while other phases can support strength and mental clarity."

It added, "Importantly, the impact varies widely between individuals and even month to month, and many women perform at a high level throughout their cycle," which quickly resonated with many fans and athletes who praised Glenn for helping bring attention to an often-overlooked part of women’s sports.

Rather than shying away from the conversation, Glenn has leaned into it, helping push a broader cultural shift around discussing periods in athletics. The Olympic skater is now collaborating with Kotex in an effort to normalize the reality of competing while on a menstrual cycle.

"After my last individual event, there was a lot of conversation about my skating, about my reactions, and about the fact that I was competing on my period," she said in the video. "Most female athletes have done the same. We've trained through it, competed through it, grown through it. It's normal, even at the highest level of sports. We just haven't been encouraged to talk about it."

And that is why she is partnering with Kotex," because they believe your periods shouldn't hold you back."

Glenn isn’t the first elite athlete to address the realities of competing during a menstrual cycle. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman has also been vocal about the challenges female athletes face while performing on their periods. Reflecting on her own experience competing at the highest level, Raisman once described the difficult balance between physical discomfort and the pressure to perform.

“When you’re really nervous, you have butterflies in your stomach, and you have your period, it’s just not a good combination. You just kind of have to keep going," she told Cosmopolitan in 2017. "You can’t tell the judges you want to compete tomorrow or wait a few days. It’s OK to feel uncomfortable, but you can’t let your period get in the way.”

Glenn's advocacy comes as more athletes and public figures have begun speaking openly about the challenges of performing during their periods. The movement gained additional attention after model Brooks Naderexperienced a widely discussed period mishap during Wimbledon and later partnered with Kotex to raise awareness.

"The last time I wore all white, I had a mishap and it made headlines," she wrote in her caption, referring to the stain on her outfit. "This time, I’m not taking any chances and brought backup. Thanks for the assist."

The conversation around menstruation isn’t limited to elite athletes. Actress and writer Mindy Kaling has also spoken openly about her own early experiences with periods, sharing a story that many people found surprisingly relatable.

Reflecting on her teenage years, Kaling admitted she felt pressure to keep up with her peers when it came to hitting puberty. “I started menstruating in ninth grade," she told Rookie: Yearbook Two in 2014. "I spent all of eighth-grade faking that I had my period, down to sticking Kotex in my underwear in case anyone needed proof.”

As more women speak openly about their experiences, the hope is that conversations around periods in sports (and beyond) will continue to lose their stigma.