By Courtney Anderson
On Tuesday, September 6, 2016, the hashtag #IfMenHadPeriods started trending on Twitter.
The intent of the hashtag seems simple enough: it appears that it was designed to give people who have periods a space to ventilate and make jokes about how those who don’t have periods would react to them.
Here’s a typical example:
Pads, tampons and cramp meds would be tax free and half the price they are now #IfMenHadPeriods
They really would be.— $heridan (@SkirlCookie) September 6, 2016
After all, periods are no joke.
In addition to the 4-7 days of blood and the inevitable cramps, some people can experience extreme pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and feelings of depression and anxiety as a part of their menstruation.
Not to mention physical disorders such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome that make menstrual cycles even more hellish.
And it’s pretty well-known that periods are treated as dirty things that women do that make them irrational and overly emotional.
So it would be nice to have a hashtag that called out those attitudes and discussed issues involving menstruation and sexism.
But #IfMenHadPeriods, like so many things, is well-intentioned, but very flawed.
The hashtag #IfMenHadPeriods erases many of the men who do have periods.
Pre-transition female-to-male trans men, as well as many other masculine-presenting people who do not follow the gender binary, are people who identify as men and have menstrual cycles.
And because they are men, they are often left out of conversations that involve menstrual health, menstruation products, vaginal and uterine health and other issues associated with having a period.
Transgender writer Mitch Kellaway spoke to his experience as a trans man who menstruates in the Mic.com article, “Here’s What It’s Like to Have Your Period When You’re a Trans Man.”
“As a trans man, I am so used to not being considered in any conversation when it comes to menstruation, anything having to do with vaginal, cervical or uterine health,” he said. “It’s a symptom of a larger thing where I’ve become very used to people being unaware of the possibility of the fullness of my existence.”
Kellaway made this comment to Mic.com while explaining his response to a trans-inclusive advertisement for Thinx, a brand that specializes in creating underwear people can comfortably wear while they are on their period.
It was the first time he saw a menstruation product that was inclusive of men who menstruate.
The hashtag is unintentionally exclusive, and participates in the form of sexism: cissexism, wherein being cis gender is the “norm” and anything else is the deviant.
Read More: Everyone Should Read This Incredibly Powerful Poem A Man Wrote To His Transgender Sister
If the hashtag had been #IfCisMenHadPeriods, it would have avoided this erasure.
It is a point several Twitter users brought up while the hashtag was trending.
#IfMenHadPeriods except some of us do, get outta here with this cisnormativity and trans erasure
— IAN (@ianaIexander) September 6, 2016
re: #IfMenHadPeriods
• Lots of men do have periods
• Lots of women do not have periodsyr feminism means nothing if it erases trans people
— allison gallagher (@aewgallagher) September 6, 2016
Social media does not exist in a vacuum.
#IfMenHadPeriods is indicative of a larger problem many trans people have with certain forms of feminism.
Trans antagonism and the exclusion of trans people in the name of radical feminism is a problem that is still all too prevalent.
Whether accidental (like this hashtag) or intentional (as in the case of trans-exclusive radical feminists, a.k.a TERFS), feminism that does not include the liberation of trans people is incomplete at best and perpetuates the transphobia in patriarchal society at worst.
The everydayfeminism.com article “Why the Feminist Movement Must Be Trans-Inclusive,” provides a straight-forward reason.
“Transgender people face institutional discrimination, oppression, and violence as a result of transphobia as well as sexism – due to a structural obsession with the gender binary, with a cultural and political policing of gender roles, and an overall devaluation of feminine qualities,” the article’s author, Laura Kacere, writes.
The most effective form of feminism is one that analyzes an oppressive society through an intersectional lens and advocates for all marginalized people.
It will advocate for people of color, LGBTQ people, people with physical disabilities, mentally ill people and anyone else who is oppressed.
And the best feminist hashtags make sure to denote the difference between a cis gender man and every other man that’s out there.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Ted Eytan/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Asking People To Pay For Your Vacation On GoFundMe Is Actually Pretty Insulting
I can’t stand it when other people call my generation entitled.
The word entitled is such a filthy word to me, especially because I personally don’t find it applies to me.
My biggest pet peeve in life is to be grouped into a group of people based on similar traits, characteristics or because of my demographic.
The fundraising platform GoFundMe is a great way for individuals to bring awareness to their cause, often times to help those in need or even complete strangers with financing for medical hardships, unexpected deaths, etc.
Real, true causes for people who need it. Life happens and not everyone can be prepared for it financially.
My heart breaks every time I see a donations page for a family struck by tragedy, whether it be from the recent storms, the loss of a loved one from cancer or other medical injustice, or a bizarre or freak accident that took the life of someone unexpectedly.
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, one person can ruin a good thing for everybody, and is exactly what has happened with GoFundMe.
My peer group thinks it’s okay to use the fundraising platform to afford a lifestyle or trips that they can not afford, but have no problem asking friends, family and strangers for money for it, because they don’t know any better.
As the times continue to progress and more and more people take to the platform, the novelty of the website will become obsolete like most things, and those most in need may be second guessed.
It may be because I grew up in a home where my parents taught me the importance of work ethic, because I’ve had a job since I was 14, or because I know that it’s pitiful to ask people to pay for things that I shouldn’t have/do without working for it.
Let’s take for instance Rachel.
She wants to go to Bali because she enjoyed traveling while her parents were often deployed around the world.
She says she’s a poet, artist, etc. and wants people to fund her trip to Bali because she didn’t work hard enough to save up the money before her trip.
I take great insult to this idea because it insults the American Dream and the American work ethic.
I haven’t taken a TRUE vacation in close to two years, oftentimes because I had changed jobs but also because doing so would be detrimental to my savings account and my goals towards financial success.
Every last “luxury” I have wanted, I have worked for because that is what you are supposed to do, not beg for it on the Internet in hopes random strangers will donate to your cause.
I’m all for people following their dreams, but I also believe in having to compromise during other times in order to truly pursue your interests.
This generation has become so obsessed with finding themselves and “living their dreams” that they’ve forgotten about those who came before them who worked their entire lives to afford them the lifestyles they’ve grown accustomed to.
How about Jason? Instead of saving up the funds like a normal human being from his various odd jobs he has listed, he has taken to the Internet in hopes people will pity him and give him money because that is the new norm.
There is also Tom who asked his friends, family and the Internet community to fund his trip to Vietnam.
He didn’t even bother to mention whether he was working towards his goal to help get him to his destination on his “humanitarian” trip, instead hoping and spamming his friends and family begging them for money for his irresponsible decision to take a trip he could not afford.
I think it’s absolutely disgusting that people have the audacity to go online and ask people for money for things they cannot afford without thinking about how it may be perceived.
There are hard-working Americans out in the workforce who don’t have the luxury of picking up and going on a trip, who can’t afford their rent or to eat a decent meal because of their situation, but they don’t all take to GoFundMe asking people to fund their lives.
Since when did the citizens of this country become so dependent on others instead of creating and reinforcing their work ethic?
So please, next time you think about asking people for money, think twice about and the insensitivity that comes along with it.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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“Huckleberry Finn”: Philadelphia High School Strikes Classic Over N-Word Use
A suburban Philadelphia school is removing “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from its 11th grade curriculum because of the book’s prevalent use of the N-word. After a forum for students and faculty, the administration of Friends’ Central School decided to strike the 1885 Mark Twain classic from its American literature class for juniors, The Philadelphia Inquirer… Read More
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When Hate Hits Home: This High School Student Says She Was Targeted For Being Jewish
Hana Epstein, a high school student living in Katonah, NY recently received something in her mailbox that wasn’t mail- but instead a painful reminder that hate is still alive in the world.
In the early morning hours of January 25, Hana’s father went out to get the mail out of the family’s mailbox. He realized their mezuzahs had fallen off near the front door.
Hana’s dad continued to the mailbox where he discovered a white object that he thought was some kind of food lid.
After further inspection, he suddenly realized what it really was; a white square covered in swastikas. The name “Hannah” is also written across the square, with the last h underlined twice with a blue pen. The connection suddenly became evident.
“I was basically numb, I couldn’t really let it sink it just yet,” Hana Epstein said. “I’ve always heard of hate crimes being committed against Jews, but never in a million years did I think this would happen to me particularly.”
Hana lives in a neighborhood that is predominantly Jewish, so it was very unusual for something like this to happen.
“I had a wide array of emotions,” Hana’s mom Mara Gross Epstein said in a phone interview with RISE NEWS. “I was upset and angry and concerned for my daughter’s well-being. I was also amazed that this happened in Katonah, of all places.”
It took time for Hana to realize that there are hateful people in the world.
The entire episode created a sense of unease in the young student. She wasn’t able to sleep in her own house that night.
She looked around her room, looking at her Israeli flags and other tokens that reminded her of who she was. She said she could never understand why someone would do this to her just because she was part of a different religion.
Hana was so upset she went to her cousin’s house and missed the next day of school.
Eventually Hana said that she realized there is a lesson to be taken away from this.
“I always have been as proud to be Jewish as I am,” Hana said. “I don’t hide the fact that I’m Jewish, Judaism means the world to me. Now, more than ever, it’s essential that I stand up for who I am.”
Hana wants to spread awareness about the terrible crimes committed by anti-semitic people all around the world.
She posted a picture on social media of her wearing a Tallit (a holy garment) on top of Masada in Israel; the caption was “I’ll always be proud to be Jewish.”
Hana Epstein wearing a tall it on top of Masada in Israel. Photo Credit: Submitted.
Starting in September, Hana will be spending a year abroad in Israel where she hopes to share her experience.
The family said that they have reported the incident to local police.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. Anyone can write for us as long as you are fiercely interested in making the world a better place.
Cover Photo Credit: Submitted.
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