Last Updated on November 8, 2019
A four-year-old boy holding a controversial sign which read “Some men have periods, too… If I can get it, so can you” was reposted by the Instagram account of Parents Magazine.
The post was inspired by Venus’ decision to drop the female symbol from their tampon packaging over fears it ceased to be inclusive enough to menstruaters of all genders.
On the post, the boy’s mother, Milly Bhaskara, writes:
Eli has been told about periods since he saw blood on my pants a couple of years ago (I no longer have them now and tbh it is shit when it’s seen as like the ultimate feminine superpower because I’m still a woman so 🖕🏻). I didn’t use the language of women have periods because it’s not entirely inclusive.
I told him that SOME women, SOME non binary people and SOME men have periods. It was easy for him to accept as he hadn’t had to unlearn the engrained societal norm but if a 4 year old can grasp it I’m sure most of us can have a crack at unlearning transphobic/misinformed norms and open our minds… ya think? 🙄
Trans men may have ‘female’ sex organs and still experience periods and some non binary people have periods too therefore removing a female logo off the front of sanitary products helps include us all 😊 isn’t that wholesome and a nice gesture?
Why in the name of Lizzo should that affect ANY of us… it’s not insulting to women, it’s not discrediting women, it’s opening up the community to make it a safe space for those who don’t identify as women but still have periods.
Stop being a asshat. Grasp it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4fgAjGF_EF/?utm_source=ig_embed
Milly has amassed a large following for her Instagram activity, with 174K followers.
Many pictures on her page showcase a non-traditional side to displaying the female form.
Aside from Parents Magazine’s repost, many IG users and top comments to the post, took issue with Milly’s use of her young son to shoehorn politically-loaded messages.
One user by the name, sarahgking14, said:
“Omg … LEAVE KIDS OUT OF IT!!! LET THEM BE KIDS….. they don’t even teach about menstrual cycles to the 5th grade. This is a sad and pathetic attempt on the mother’s part to exploit her child and get a pat on the back. This kid is way too young to grasp the reality of what’s being talked about here. Let him be a kid. This is disgusting to exploit this child. It’s a mom wants to hold up a sign and post it on social media, then so be it.”
Another commenter said:
Not trying to be ignorant here but how do men have periods? And why can’t there be a difference between what you physically are and what you identify as. I feel like these gender roles are taking away from actual science. Everyone should just love one another equally regardless of your preferences but still don’t ignore the fact that you were born with female organs. There’s nothing wrong with being a “female” (i.e. having female organs) and wanting to engage in male activities or dress or act like a male but at the end of the day you are a female and there should be no shame in that. Also I agree on not bringing kids into it until they are old enough to understand. I have plenty of gay and trans friends but I think this is getting too carried away.
Most of the top comments indicated vehement disagreement with both the message and the use of her son for clout.
Some enraged commenters expressed their intention to unfollow the publication and original poster, Milly.
