Periods are many things: messy, emotional, annoying, normal. And yet periods are at the center of a controversy revolving around Pixar's animated film "Turning Red," which depicts 13-year-old Meilin Lee who transforms into a huge red panda when experiencing heightened teenage emotions — a not terribly subtle metaphor for the bodily discomfort preteens experience during puberty.
And for some reason, people had a problem with it. Parents took to Twitter to complain that the movie's content was too mature for children to view. One critic argued that parents would have to answer one too many questions after their children viewed the film. And The Federalist griped that "if you aren't a progressive-leaning teenage girl or suffering from 2000s zombie nostalgia, then this film isn't likely for you." It seems odd to be vexed about a phenomenon as universal as adolescent puberty.
