Being on your period is the worst time of the month. Quite literally. You’re hungry, grouchy and just want to curl up in bed all day. Imagine all of this, but on top of this all the language, advertising and discussion relating to periods is framed around a gender to which you do not identify. Men don’t have periods, right? Wrong. Not all women menstruate, and not all people who menstruate are women.
Being on your period is the worst time of the month. Quite literally. You’re hungry, grouchy and just want to curl up in bed all day. Imagine all of this, but on top of this all the language, advertising and discussion relating to periods is framed around a gender to which you do not identify. Men don’t have periods, right? Wrong. Not all women menstruate, and not all people who menstruate are women.
We spoke to a trans student who knows just what this is like.
“At the end of the day, a lot of transmasculine and non-binary people, who are assigned female at birth, do menstruate.” As you transition, your periods don’t just disappear. Only 1 in 5 trans people medically transition (GIRES 2011), meaning that a large percentage of trans men will still have periods. But what does this mean for a student at university?
Imagine you are on your period, but you have no place to go to the toilet to change, as there are no sanitary bins. Your only option is to use the women’s toilets, or the disabled toilet. “These people shouldn't have to use toilets that are going to 'out' them, or use those that don't align with their gender. Personally, I've needed to change a pad during a lecture break before, and needed to use the women's toilets because there weren't bins in the men’s, and there were no gender-neutral toilets in that building. This is while everybody on my course knows me by a male name and pronouns.”
The issues surrounding trans and non-binary people and periods are not spoken about enough. The issue is much more than just asking someone to use the incorrect toilet, but impacts their whole identity. “Getting a period is something that makes me incredibly dysphoric. Experiencing all of the physical aches, and bleeding, is something that makes me more aware of the parts of my body that don't align with the gender I am.”
Menstruating is already difficult enough for trans or non-binary students, without the added stress of where they can go to change. In partnership with the University, we have successfully lobbied for sanitary bins to be placed in the male toilets across campus. “Having bins in the men’s toilets is something that won't affect cis men, but would make a real difference to those of us who experience "shark week", and are men.”
Remember, not all women menstruate, and not everyone who menstruates is a woman. Let’s talk about periods, and let’s make those discussions fully inclusive of all people who menstruate.