A Finnish company called Vuokkoset has released a tampon for trans men and enbies. This tampon is available only in Finland for a limited time, but will be available worldwide by early 2024. The tampons come in a navy blue box that says that they are “for menstruation.”
People who menstruate are an often-ignored demographic. When it comes to menstruation, it is often a very rough time of the month for those of us who experience dysphoria. Vuokkoset has acknowledged this demographic in a rather respectful way, with an article on their website called Periods Are Not A Gender Issue.
The article reads: “Periods should be dealt with more widely, and it should be understood that periods, or a lack thereof, do not determine who is a woman and who isn’t; women who have gone through the menopause do not have periods, and hormonal contraception can also stop periods. Some women have had a hysterectomy due to illness, and trans women have never had a womb at all.” Not all women menstruate, and some men and nonbinary individuals do. Boiling human beings down to their physical abilities for reproduction is dehumanizing.
Vuokkoset’s foray into acknowledging the ignored demographic of non-woman menstruators has not been without critiscism, most notably from alt-right and conservative voices on X. One commenter wrote “What’s next? Condoms for women?” It is hard to see such ignorance when resources for education are right there. Condoms for people with vaginas do exist, and trans women with penises also need condoms in many cases.The fact that people would rather complain and regurgitate idiotic rhetoric instead of celebrating that marginalized people are finally being seen is, frankly, very distressing.
Vuokkoset stated it best when they say, “Society changes along with attitudes.” The ignorance displayed on X is nothing new, but outside of the internet, perhaps these tampons will have a much better reception.
