Trans women do not have periods.

[zaazaazoo]

According to period pants maker Modibodi, transwomen can have 'periods'. Periods which are just as valid apparently.

Whilst I'm not going to suggest I know what hormone treatment tied to a trans woman, I can confidently say that no, they don't have periods. Periods involve blood. Trans women don't bleed.

Modibodi seem to acknowledge that there is no bleeding involved I transwomen's 'periods' but bizarrely under a section on how to manage their periods, trans women should wear period pants. For the life of all God's WHY???! Wtf would wear period pants if they didn't have to?

I wonder about this.

I've been lucky enough not to experience much in the way of menstrual symptoms in my life. I was on hormonal contraception which completely suppressed my menstrual cycle from my teens to the age of 30. Then I got a copper coil and started to experience a natural menstrual cycle again, including strong cramping from time to time which I suspect was exacerbated by the copper coil.

I think I'm pretty clued up about this sort of thing but I have to admit that until I was in my 30s and starting to think about trying to get pregnant, I didn't give my uterus much consideration at all. Perhaps for a lot of women, having a uterus and a menstrual cycle seems rather abstract until you have actually tried to use your uterus for its intended purpose. And if you are on the kind of pill where you stop every three weeks to have a withdrawal bleed, perhaps in your mind you don't really appreciate the link between ovulation and menstruation, in which case I can see why you might not automatically reject the idea of someone without ovaries or a uterus having periods.

It's really only after the last few years of having a menstrual cycle, multiple miscarriages and two babies that I have really gained an appreciation of what is going on in there, and the fact that cramping is your uterus contracting to make your cervix dilate and let something out, which could be endometrial tissue, an 8 week embryo or a full term baby.

So yes, I read this shit and I think WHAT THE FUCK IS CRAMPING too, but I can understand why a lot of younger women might not have the same reaction.

The delusion of buying and wearing period pants when you don't have a period is kind of understandable at an individual level given the context of the wider delusion it occurs in but a company intentionally marketing quite expensive stuff to people that don't need it is capitalism at it's worst.

Surely you market stuff for women, at women and then those that are women and those that believe they're women are included by default. Selling women's underwear that's for blokes seems to kind of pull the rug out from under it a bit

If you watch some of the videos on popular video sharing sites of these people, a lot of them even have a huge grin on their faces while writhing around on a bed with about water bottle clamped to their imaginary uterus. And no I'm not joking, go and have a look and then come back and tell me this isn't a colossal appropriation of womanhood.

Exactly. It's really distasteful.

It is a great source of 'trans joy' apparently. Though I've reached my own conclusions around what that actually means.

I think that is just standard in Australia. It’s not about being inclusive - you could argue that it glosses over too much.

I didn't say it was wrong but I did point it out as an example of the extent of how inclusive they are or want to be seen. I don't know - is this required in law in Australia? Or is it showing how woke or aware they are in acknowledging their history? We don't have British companies making statements about the ancient Brits and their customs. I know in the USA there may be similar statements so maybe it is a feature of "new countries"

Ah ok it is standard in Australia?

How is it healthy or kind to tell a man who is having symptoms due to the hormones they're taking that it's their period? Normalising symptoms that if I was taking a substance that my body is not meant to have in those quantities I'd be quite concerned about.
It may be that the kinder thing is to be able to recognise these are side effects and know that their body is being clobbered into doing something it's not meant to do.. and maybe it's detrimental to their body and mind to be giving it opposite sex hormones.

Unless they are actually donating money to these causes then it's just performative virtue signalling, isn't it?

If I saw a statement such as, "we are proudly Australian and $X of every sale we make will be donated to Y charity which supports aboriginal communities" or "we are committed to ending period poverty and have set up a programme to donate period underwear to girls living in poverty" or "we believe in ending period shame and donate money to X charity which aims to end the harmful practice of menstrual confinement and ensure safe toilet access for all women and girls in Y country", that would be great and I would be more likely to buy from them.

But it feels like most of these companies are just going for the low hanging fruit when it comes to inclusiveness and don't actually put their money where their mouth is.

My friend works for a woketastic employer in the UK. Pronoun central, you know the type I mean. She recently told me that one of her colleagues who has a disability had asked for more support and training for her team members because she was being left out of meetings and they said no. My friend said that it was a bit iffy for an employer which bangs on about inclusiveness and being all kind and fluffy, and I was just like, yes, "Well it's not real, is it? They're not actually nice or kind or inclusive." She knows my gender critical views and disagrees with me so I didn't say much other than that there is a big difference between talking about being inclusive and actually being inclusive and it is clear which category her employer is in.

It sounds like slightly is getting ovulation symptoms too. Would that be it? I used to get mid cycle symptoms that involved cramps and discomfit and others in my family get the same. It is still all part of the menstrual cycle though.

It’s more about disputing rights to land and addressing consequences of policies in Australia’s recent past than inclusivity/diversity.

If it were required by law then it would be even more meaningless!

Are we allowed to use the word delusion again? Wow! Each week it seems that I no longer have to pretzel my words to get the message across without being deleted!

But yes OneTC, this is a pure capitalist move by this company. We have a weird situation where I think many people believe brand positioning to such a degree that they forget that the brand is generally part of a business and there to make money.

However, spreading misinformation is unethical in my eyes. Spreading misinformation such as telling males that they also have a 'period' is wrong in that it is incredibly harmful for them to believe that they have periods when they do not, it is just as harmful to actively dismiss the female experience of having periods in this way too.

I recommend that anyone who feels this is wrong, should write them an email. They do respond. I have written before and complained that their language usage where they avoided using woman and girl made me choose not to buy from them. They responded. If you write, they can never then say they never received feedback that did not support their decisions.

It's the same then as any country eg the USA and Native American rights etc. I would say that is inclusivity and diversity. I don't want to labour this but to me it gives me an impression of what kind of image they are trying to portray.

Edited to add: I see this link now which explains it.

https://www.indigenous.gov.au/contact-us/welcome_acknowledgement-country#:~:text=The%20words%20are%3A,Strait%20Islander%20peoples%20here%20today.

Well…

it looks like badge wearing.. like someone who updates their Facebook profile with ‘solidarity with the Ukraine’ but doesn’t actually do anything else about it. I don’t see a link to their campaigns to make a difference to these peoples.. just a very clear virtue signal on their website taking prime marketing space to let us all know that they acknowledge that.

What does ‘acknowledging it’ actually mean and what do they actually do about that? That certainly isn’t front and centre.

They’re painstaking creating a brand for people to buy into that acknowledges these more radical causes and sets themselves apart as edgy and different, when in fact they are part of a massive corporation who’s primary aim is to make as much money as possible (whilst ‘acknowledging’ the poor downtrodden). It smacks as cynical brand marketing to me. All fur coat and no knickers

Yes, all of this.

I agree that it is an easy thing to copy and paste.

I also think that the article about anyone have a period is the opposite of the acknowledgement of country.

The spirit of the period article is more about steam rollering over women’s rights at best and endorsing abuse and disinformation at worst.

They absolutely are doing it just for sales. Just because those sales are coming from young women who are being convinced to deny biological differences between male and female bodies rather than transwomen themselves doesn't mean they aren't doing it for sales.

I think this is aimed at woman who have transitioned to be men and still have periods not the other way around.

Oh dear god read the thread!

oh good lord

I assumed that too, but click OP posts:see all to see what is being discussed.

Read the thread. It is not.

@LittleMG

Read the thread! here is just one link

Do trans women have periods?
Many trans women have periods. Some trans women don’t have uteruses, so they won’t bleed as part of a monthly menstrual cycle. But the hormonal experience of menstruation can still be very real.
Some trans women undergo gender-affirming treatment in the form of feminising hormones. These hormones can result in a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including:
• Anxiety
• Appetite changes
• Bloating due to water retention
• Cramping
• Tiredness and fatigue
• Listlessness
• Mood swings
These symptoms may occur at the same time each month, just like premenstrual syndrome (PMS). For many trans women, this is their period.
Having a period feels totally normal and fine for many trans women. Some even find it deeply cathartic and validating. But if your period symptoms are upsetting you, chat with your doctor about adjusting your hormonal regime so that it doesn’t trigger a noticeable cycle.
Your ovarian cycle and menstrual cycle phases explained
Curious to learn more about your menstrual cycle and ovarian cycle? Find out what happens in your body during the four menstrual phases.
https://www.modibodi.co.uk/blogs/wo
Period fatigue:what it is and how sleep hygiene can help
Do you get tired before your period? Period fatigue might be to blame. Discover 9 science-backed strategies for nipping pre-flow drowsiness in the bud.
https://www.modibodi.co.uk/blogs/womens/period-fatigue