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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New Jersey Girl Lacey Caroline Tries To Break Into Country Music Scene
Lacey Caroline is a Nashville transplant, originally hailing from Sussex County, New Jersey. She says that she lived “a very country lifestyle” growing up, despite being from up North.
Sussex County hosts an annual Farm and Horse Show, and Lacey’s first job at the age of 14 was helping to take care of the horses on a nearby farm.
“I will say the biggest difference from New Jersey to Nashville is that I find Southerners have a greater restraint when it comes to ‘telling what you really feel,’” Caroline said. “I’m not sure if it’s a flaw or a gift, but Jerseyians are known for not holding back their feelings about situations. With that aside, I always try my hardest to be extra polite. Oh, and the food! Man, is the food good. The biscuits and gravy, fried chicken. The only one who isn’t a fan of the food down here is my bathroom scale.”
Caroline loves the country lifestyle, which is what brought her to Nashville.
“I knew the only way to get better at the art of songwriting and crafting those lyrics would be to live in the thick of it all. I wanted to be able to go out any night of the week and hear great songs, and have the opportunity to write and learn from the people in this town.”
She found a great support system in Nashville in a 24-hour space on Music Row called The Workshop.
Read More: Aaron Parker Is The Next Big Thing in Country Music
“I have the most amazing group of friends, and every day, they motivate me to not only work harder at music, but work harder at being a better person,” Caroline said. They’re all amazing songwriters, artists, and singers. They’ve taught me so much about music, writing, crafting songs and digging deeper.”
Despite being a country singer, she attributes much of her understanding of music to growing up listening to emo music.
She said that she grew up as a kind of loner in school, “because I was quiet didn’t mean I didn’t have feelings or emotions, and I felt like even though kids in my school picked on me, the emo songs I listened to made me feel like I was accepted, like I wasn’t alone. It gave me hope, and in that, happiness.”
She wants to evoke that same hope and happiness in other people who may be quiet but still feel strong emotions.
Lacey’s EP,“Songbird” was released in October 2013, and it helped her find some great opportunities, such as playing the famous Bluebird Café in Nashville.
“It was a great introduction to the country music community as an arist,” Caroline said. “And it also gave me a great starting point to grow from in terms of songwriting.”
“It’s better than a dream to me; in fact, sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming.”
Caroline said that she pulls inspiration and influences for her songs from musicians like Will Hoge, Brandi Carlisle, Eric Paslay, David Nail, and The Milk Carton Kids. She says that she always looks for “inspirational triggers in words, melodies, and structures,” and she also pulls inspirations from real life events.
Her song “Mason Jar,” which she thinks is one of her best, was written after a conversation at a bar.
“I was eating dinner at a bar by my house, coming up with song titles, when a very old Alabama man leaned over and asked what I was writing. The conversation turned into him telling me stories about his life, including a particular story about his wife and mason jars.“
WATCH: Caroline perform “Mason Jar”
“You have two minutes to tell a story,” says Lacey. “So every word has to count.If I don’t “feel” what I’m singing or writing, then I need to rewrite and rethink it; if the listeners don’t feel anything, then I need to do a better job at relating what I’m personally feeling.”
Her latest single, “Girl Like You” is based off of her personal experiences, and was a very quick write.
Read More: Could Abi Ann Be The Next Breakout Country Music Star?
“This girl was in love with my then boyfriend and doing everything to get him to dump me for her. I went to my mom asking what to do, and her advice to me was not to do anything,” Caroline said. “I was pretty dumbfounded, but she went on to explain that the issue wasn’t between me and her, it was between my boyfriend and her, and she said ‘If he’s not willing to stand up for you, and show respect for you and your relationship with him, then he’s not someone you should waste time on at all.’”
LISTEN: Lacey Caroline’s “Girl Like You”
Caroline said that she loves every part of the songwriting and recording process, but that her favorite part is performing live.
“I still get butterflies sometimes when I sing, but there is no feeling that compares to losing myself in a song, reliving the moment I’m singing about, and creating that moment for the audience,” Caroline said. “It’s better than a dream to me; in fact, sometimes I feel like I’m dreaming.”
You can check out Lacey Caroline’s music on her Youtube channel or on iTunes, or you can keep up with Lacey herself on Facebook and Twitter.
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Millennials Are So 2015: Meet The “Founders”
By Erika Hills
We have the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and now according to MTV, the Founders.
In a nationwide survey, MTV gave 1,000 teenagers born after 2000 the opportunity to choose what they believe to be a fitting name for their generation.
They are eager to face the world and the problems that lie within it, in their very own way.
With the abysmal job market and crushing national debt that stand before them, The Atlantic hails the Founders as pragmatists navigating a post-9/11 nation.
They [the Founders] continue to say that in front of them lie a mess from prior generations that they are tasked with cleaning up.
According to MTV, the teens surveyed also considered names such as “The Bridge Generation,” “The Builder Generation,” and “The Regenerator Generation,” before choosing “The Founders,” a fitting description for how today’s youth view themselves.
“We’re ‘the Founders’ because we’re the ones transitioning from before to what’s going to become after,” one participant explained in a video MTV released on Dec. 3rd.
Another said, “I’d like our generation to be marked kind of as the foundation that mostly set off what’s going to happen in the next 50 to 100 years.”
MTV is just as hopeful as the teens themselves, because despite the fact that Generation Y receives a bad rap, the Founders are “optimistic and forward-thinking” in terms of their endeavors and what they anticipate their futures to hold.
However, taking upon the thoughts and ideas of high schoolers to let them name their own generation has come under question.
The Atlantic points out that classifying any generation’s personality and goals is quite the challenge, but even more so when the people being interviewed have recently entered high school.
TIME also cited that entire generations don’t typically decide what their name will be.
That has been done only by individual personalities in history such as how “The Lost Generation,” was coined by Gertrude Stein to describe those who lived through World War I.
Others are bewildered at MTV’s attempts to gain credit in labelling a generation of rising teens who are unfamiliar with their music network roots and vastly prefer mobile devices.
In fact, this April the International Business Times revealed that MTV’s ratings have been declining for that very reason.
Don Kaplan of The New York Daily News deems it purely self-promotional on MTV’s part.
“It’s a ridiculously overstated attempt by MTV to define a generational boundary,” he noted in a column. “And it comes off more…like a bid to advance the network’s own self-promotional agenda.”
Is it still early yet to know the defining characteristics of this generation?
As the Atlantic claims, one crucial difference of this cohort is that they’ve never known a world without the Internet.
Griffin Picciani, 14, interviewed by TIME, only knows of a black president. The games he plays today carry a world of difference in comparison to those his 20-year-old cousins played when they were younger.
“I think our generation is the bridge to a new era — a new idea, a new world, where things that haven’t really been thought of, get thought of,” another young Founder told MTV.
Only time will truly tell if the Founders’ optimism to achieve greater things will remain long enough to define them.
Cover Photo Credit: Petra Benstead/Flickr (CC by 2.0)What Do You Think?
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1ne Bullet: The BLM Inspired Non-Profit Working To Prevent Others From Becoming A Hashtag
A Miami-based nonprofit foundation is working to raise awareness about police brutality and anti-black racism through affordable t-shirts.
“Truth is, we’re all one bullet away from being a #hashtag,” is a quote that’s been making its rounds on social media ever since 2014.
It can be seen written on cardboard signs at #BlackLivesMatter protests across the country.
It’s also the quote that inspired Marcus Spady and Paul “JoJo” Ghartey to call their foundation “1ne Bullet” when they established it in July of 2016.
The name is the perfect way to emphasis how quickly black lives seem to end.
If the name isn’t enough to generate interest, then the website certainly will be.The first thing you notice when you visit www.1nebullet.org is the black and white protest photos, most of which are pretty famous on social media.
You can click through and see photographs of a protester with a chain around his wrist.
Another photo shows a woman holding a sign reading, “Who do you call when cops murder?”The second thing you’ll notice is that Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” is on auto play, and starts blasting after a few seconds on the home page.
“We are at a time where we must unite in order to bring changes to a system that targets and systemically oppresses Black people in America,” the about us page reads. “America has never been a safe place for Black people and due to recent events, we are at a time of necessary action and a consciousness shift.”
The plan is to unite people through the #ItCouldveBeenMe (ICBM) shirts. The shirts are black and have a very simple design: the wearers’ name on the front with a hashtag next to it and the phrase “It could’ve been me” on the back.
Each shirt is customized to who purchases it: you have to specify a name when you place the order. They are available in sizes small-3XL.
The shirts are $15 flat.
Since 1ne Bullet is a non-profit, the price only covers the cost of manufacture and shipping. According to the 1ne bullet website, any proceeds that could be gained will be donated to charities and families of those who have been affected by police brutality.
Spady and Ghartey, the two men who are guiding the one-month-old foundation, are pretty young themselves.
They are both recent graduates of the University of Miami.
They are also both members of the black Greek organization Kappa Alpha Psi, also commonly referred as the Nupes.
They are two black men in their 20s—a demographic category that is often highlighted in discussions surrounding police brutality and its victims.
“Outraged with the tragedies surrounding the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of the police, we saw these tragedies as something that we could easily become a victim to, and we wanted a way to give the community a platform in order to reflect on what it means to be Black in America,” the site reads.
The two are common features of the University of Miami’s Kappa Instagram page, and have been photographed alongside members of the University of Miami administration, including university president Julio Frenk.
Spady even has a picture with Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin.
He met her at the Back to School Extravaganza hosted by the Trayvon Martin Foundation.
“Ms. Sybrina loves the idea!” the photo’s caption reads.Although 1ne Bullet’s social media accounts are still pretty new, it is the main way the word is getting out about the shirts.
The Instagram accounts features a photo of a young woman who had purchased the shirt and customized it with her full name, a sign that the 1ne Bullet team is taking the right steps forward.
There’s also word-of-mouth: another way for Spady and Ghartey to tell as many as possible about their mission.
And if their mission statement rings true, they will be telling the world about 1ne bullet.
“We cannot stand and let one of us become another #hashtag,” the last line reads. “The time is now.”
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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