And frame it as a “women’s issue”

Woman who calls herself “transmasculine” gets all shaky-like when menstrual products say “for women” on the label. (If they do – I have my doubts that anyone who needs menstrual products also needs to be told at the point of sale that they’re for women.) Narcissism forevaaaaaaaaa!

My period has never triggered feelings of gender dysphoria as a trans masculine person, but the way people talk about menstruation and frame it as a “women’s issue” makes me experience feelings of dread and discomfort.

Really? It makes her do that? Or she does it because she’s conditioned herself to think she’s supposed to, by being exposed to 50 million stupid articles and tweets and videos like this. They’re all conditioning each other, aren’t they, by exaggerating the anguish and bitter injustice of being reminded that only women and girls menstruate. They work each other up, like a slumber party watching a horror movie. This isn’t political, it’s emo-spiral.

Many things can trigger dysphoria for trans people, and the way we’re excluded from conversations around basic bodily functions is one of them.

They’re not excluded though, they just decide to exclude themselves by demanding to be treated as Special Magical Unicorns who don’t have the same boring kind of gender you dreary old slobby boomer slags have.

As a sex and relationships reporter, I get hundreds of pitches a week from companies to review their period products. From period panties to tampons to menstrual cups, my inbox is filled with emails about products marketed as “for her” or “feminine care.” 

Job one: immediately stop referring to women’s clothes via diminutives. Adults don’t wear “panties,” we wear underpants. Women aren’t children.

I feel like I want to scream and curl up into a ball, in part due to my own dysphoria, but also because I know gendering periods makes it even harder for trans people to access adequate menstrual care. 

No it doesn’t. Men can buy tampons and pads, as can women who claim to be men or “transmasculine.”

While I don’t have dysphoria about my period itself, it’s hard not to feel triggered when I get my period and have to rely on gendered pink products or information. It’s an added stress that makes it even harder for me to take care of myself.

Listen, chum, lots of us generic women without the “transmasculine” trimmings hate the pinkification of everything marketed to us too, not because We’re Not That Gender but because it’s so fucking insulting. The infantilization of all women is more important than anyone’s “transmasculinity.”

Before I found my current trans-inclusive clinic in New York City, I had experiences with gynecologists who would misgender me, deadname me, and use extremely gendered language around menstruation, making it feel unsafe to bring up any actual concerns. 

“Making it feel unsafe” in your head maybe, but then you’ve been trained to feel that, or say you feel it, haven’t you. With any luck you’ll be embarrassed by all this in a few years.

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