Positive Periods campaign fronted by TIF

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/period-campaign-transgender-male-model-kenny-jones-face-pink-parcel-im-on-stigma-a8257131.html

Why just why? Why is a campaign to destigmatise periods using a person who hated womanly stuff so much that they chose to medically alter their body to do away with things like periods. How the fuck is this supposed in inspire young women to be more positive about themselves / their periods?

Research by the brand has found that just eight per cent of period related online content depicts the experience of the trans community, with 92 per cent viewing periods from a binary perspective only

Uh huh. And what %age of the population is trans?

OK. .. so long as we all know transmen have periods and that's obviously fine.

We don't have to pretend that men have periods now do we?

Periods explained by a man.
That's why they use blue water to signify flow

Agree. What is the point of featuring a trans model saying they were born in the wrong body in a campaign about periods?

(and it seems that the easiest route to 'modelling' is transitioning?!)

You have a womb that bleeds once a month, just buy some tampons FFS I don't care if you ID as a zebra!

What is the point of featuring a trans model saying they were born in the wrong body in a campaign about periods?

Surely it is actively going against the campaign which is all about destigmatise get periods, not being so ashamed of them that you alter your body to stop them...

Research by the brand has found that just eight per cent of period related online content depicts the experience of the trans community, with 92 per cent viewing periods from a binary perspective only

And????

Tbf I never realised periods WERE stigmatized. At least not in the west. Been watching tampon and pad ads since my childhood.

To me, this all looks like a pointless dog and pony show to prove a point about trans people.

I am not convinced a campaign to destigmatise periods is needed. Sanitary products are advertised openly and are on open display for sale in every supermarket, corner shop and garage forecourt in the land.

Why create a campaign saying there is a stigma when there really isn't. I haven't looked at the link but I assume this is a UK campaign?

Maybe things are different now, but when I was at school I remember the shame of trying to unwrap in the toilets without making a noise, or hiding bloodstained underwear so my parents didn't see, and the ever present fear of leakage, and that girl who was talked about in hushed tones because she had noticeable leaked onto a chair, and the boys saying they could smell you were on your period etc etc

If things are better now I am grateful, but I still don't think someone that hated their female body is the right from for the campaign, needed or not.

Looks like it is still an issue:

metro.co.uk/2018/02/13/womens-stories-period-shame-show-need-end-stigma-7307463/

m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tanya-barron/the-stigma-around-periods_b_18228798.html

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/19/british-girls-period-poverty-menstruation-sanitary-products

Ffs more madness. Trans people are listened to and women ignored.

Yay transmen represent women and transwomen represent women. Neither start representing men. I cannot imagine why.

I might have a different take on this (I know this sounds vague, sorry). My initial reaction was similar to yours, but I now re-read the article and checked out the brand itself. Now it's possible you all know this person/brand from other articles and I may be wrong about this, but I'm just judging on this particular one in the campaign.

This FTM person seems to be a homosexual transsexual (ie the early onset type aka transkids). Although Kenny describes severe gender dysphoria and transitioned socially at 14, what is described here is a conservative treatment regimen (blockers at 17, presumably testosterone later unless the journalists have mixed up the two). There's no sense of claiming to actually be a man but rather an acknowledgment of female biology (which is typical, or used to be typical for transsexuals in general and HSTS in particular).

I've got no problem recognising the distress such a severe form of body dysmorphic disorder must cause. Having periods can't have helped. And remember being a teenage girl worried about having an embarrassing incident when you have your period? Well, that'd be just as bad, if not worse for an FTM trying to present male. And if Kenny is willing to stick his neck out explicitly acknowledging his female biology, is this not exactly what we want from the AGPs dominating the debate? They deny their biology. Kenny doesn't.

As for the brand. There's not a whiff of "menstruators" about the place. The content seems to be written for women and centering women. The only thing I find objectionable in the whole article for me is the bit about only 8% of online content centering the experience of the trans community.

This is a completely flawed argument. FTMs occur at a rate of 1 in 38K people. 99.99% of FTMs are HSTS (ie transkids). What they all have in common is that they try to transition asap with the aim to pass completely (which seems to be much easier for FTM HSTS than MTF AGPs). Which means that most FTMs no longer have periods and most who do, have them like Kenny - only until they start taking testosterone. So the number of FTMs who menstruate is probable closer to 1 in 50K or 100K ppl. The number of non-binary/gender fluid people we can only estimate but it's no more than the entire trans community which GIRES puts at 1 in 100 at the most. That's also a female population split of 99% to 1%.

So whoever you look at, HSTS or non-binary/gender fluid ppl, the trans community already is overrepresented in online content.

Kenny stopped having periods 7 years ago......

So whoever you look at, HSTS or non-binary/gender fluid ppl, the trans community already is overrepresented in online content
This is a really important point.... consider the representation
Changes to the Equalities Act
Discussing gender roles etc in schools
Trans women in prisons
'Year of the Women' in CBB etc etc etc

Can I just make clear that this wasn't meant to come across as an "anti-trans" thread, or an erasure of women thread I was just questioning if a TIF who by their very nature despises their female body is the right person to encourage young girls to love their bodies and what their bodies do. I would have felt the same way about anyone with some sort of extreme body dysphoria fronting up the campaign.

So they've lived more years post period than years they were having periods?!

ItsAllGoingToBeFine I honestly didn't read it as an anti-trans thread but more of another female erasure kind of thing - like you said this is a person who was mentally so distressed by their body and bodily function that they had to mutilate a healthy body to cope. And how is that going to send a positive message on what's still a taboo subject.

I'm just wondering if it isn't useful to be able to point to transsexuals who acknowledge their biological reality? Coz the trans activist ideology does the opposite and claims we're transphobic for talking of biology.

Why is there a stigma around periods? This is 2018, not the Victorian age. Has no child in this country heard of the internet. Is no parent aware that if they have a daughter she will have periods, you hope?

I always have sanitary products in the bathroom for my daughters and younger friends of mine who visit.

No way would I wear that awful t shirt to work.

The transman clearly uses steroids to bulk up their muscles and would not be having periods anyway.

Why is there a stigma around periods? This is 2018, not the Victorian age. Has no child in this country heard of the internet. Is no parent aware that if they have a daughter she will have periods, you hope?

I always have sanitary products in the bathroom for my daughters and younger friends of mine who visit

No way would I wear that awful t shirt to work

I agree. That is what I meant about saying there is an awful stigma about periods - it read to me as talking up a problem out of all magnitude and then virtue signalling about how they are going to solve it.

Oh and I not in the least bit impressed by that Metro and Huff article conflating period poverty and "shame"

Poverty is a real thing and being too poor to buy tampons is terrible and should be dealt with.

So far as being embarrassed by the rustling noise of a tampon wrapper or putting underwear into the wash- sorry but get over it and deal with it. This is normal life. I think these sort of articles going on and on about shame and stigma do no good whatsoever.

Great post, Charlie

I think this is a good thing - seeing people such as Kenny be open about their female biology can only be a good thing for young gender non-conforming women and girls, who, if they are supported and encouraged to accept their biology rather than fed lies that their bodies are wrong and need fixing to match how their personalities line up with gender stereotypes, just might be less vulnerable to being convinced that the answer lies in drugs and surgery rather than self-acceptance and challenging stereotypes.

So far as being embarrassed by the rustling noise of a tampon wrapper or putting underwear into the wash- sorry but get over it and deal with it

Bit harsh, Lass. People don’t invent shame themselves, they feel it because ‘society’ tells them its shameful, periods are dirty or disgusting, not to be talked about, jokes about women being hormonal/unreasonable/unreliable due to their menstrual cycles. Goodness in some parts of the world girls are unable to access education due to their periods, in some religions/cultures women are considered ‘unclean’, can’t come into contact with men or enter sacred spaces until they have been purified after their period. A British teenager feeling shame at managing their period in the school toilets because they fear being teased about being on, is the thin end of that wedge. Period stigma is a Thing, and I guess those of us that don’t feel it are priveliged not to.

Having said that, I dislike those tshirts, I’m not quite sure why, but I dont like the personal “I’m on” message. I wouldn’t mind a “Women menstruate. Period.” message. The campaign is donating to Bloody Good Period who are a fab organisation providing menstrual supplies to asylum seekers/homeless and other vulnerable women. I don’t have many good things to say about Pink Parcel who is running the campaign, I think their whole premise of flogging special expensive crap at women and subscribing to the women=pink trope is unhelpful at best. But fair play to them trying, I guess.