For many menstruators the cost of bleeding forces them to choose which essential need will be met that month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was that struggle of do I eat that day or do I buy sanitary products, what is my priority right now?\u201d explained Vincent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like others who experience period poverty, socks and wadded up toilet paper became regular alternatives to menstrual products that Vincent could not afford. At one point, he was living in his car, utilizing a gym membership to shower, and showering as often as he could when he was short on products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only was Vincent houseless and dealing with the stigma of identifying as a transgender man, but he was a transgender Latino man who menstruates, experiencing several layers of marginalization in addition to the shame associated with bleeding. And according to a study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison\u2019s Institute for Research on Poverty<\/a>, LGBT-identifying people, who are also people of color \u201chave a much higher chance of living in poverty compared to both white counterparts and cis straight members of their own ethnic or racial group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery month that it happened, I felt worse and worse about myself just because I associated it with being a woman,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Period poverty is an under-discussed public health crisis<\/a>. It is widely considered a women\u2019s issue, excluding many people who menstruate and assuming that all women do. This leaves transgender and non-binary people excluded from accessing products and resources that they may need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryann Kaplan is a 23-year-old in East Lansing, MI who identifies as non-binary. Although they have not experienced period poverty themself, they promote menstrual equity, creating gender inclusive dialogue and education through their work at Helping Women Period<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that education and products are the two big pieces for including other gender identities,\u201d said Kaplan. \u201cSo for us, that has been offering menstrual underwear for people who are non-binary or trans. Oftentimes insertion is something that\u2019s wanted to be avoided, so pads, period underwear, those kinds of things can be used in placement of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From inserting products into body parts you don\u2019t feel connected to, to purchasing period products in hyper feminized packaging, both Kaplan and Vincent said that many aspects of menstruation can be triggering and dysphoric. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the beginning of my journey, I felt really weird having a mustache and buying tampons,\u201d said Vincent. \u201cEven though I know in my mind that it\u2019s normal for me because it\u2019s my life, in my heart I feel like I\u2019ve learned so many things that it makes me feel like I\u2019m wrong and it kind of gives an imposter syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For some, this results in avoiding buying products or ignoring potential health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom my personal experience, from the experience of my friends and those who I talk to, you are less connected to that cycle, you\u2019re less willing to invest your time and energy into self care around the cycle and I don\u2019t just mean taking a bubble bath, but things like tracking your cycle so you know when things are abnormal and when you find something abnormal you could go get medical care,\u201d said Kaplan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vincent says that in his experience, among the transmasculine community, periods are extremely taboo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would say the conversation is essentially non-existent,\u201d he said. \u201cEspecially people who go on T, it stops being an issue and maybe in that way it aids the ignorance because you don\u2019t have to deal with it anymore, so it\u2019s not your issue anymore. But there are different parts of the transgender community who still do and I think it\u2019s not fair to shut it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vincent, now 30, currently takes testosterone or \u201cT\u201d, as a gender affirming masculinizing hormone therapy<\/a>. Transgender men and non-binary or other gender nonconforming individuals can utilize this therapy to increase male hormones in the body, suppressing female characteristics and causing physical changes<\/a> similar to what one experiences during puberty \u2013 facial hair growth, change in voice, increase in muscle mass, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While being on T has stopped Vincent\u2019s period, this isn\u2019t a simple solution. Not every transmasculine individual chooses to pursue hormone therapy and even if they do the change isn\u2019t permanent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I stop taking testosterone now, it\u2019ll just come back,\u201d said Vincent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though there is more push for gender inclusivity in ending period poverty in recent years, Kaplan says that non-binary people are underrepresented in this type of advocacy work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have yet to meet another person who is gender nonconforming really working in this space. I think that that is a part of the stigma too, like not feeling comfortable in it,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kaplan says that many menstruation-related organizations are led by middle-aged white women, but there is a shift towards younger people taking the reins, and with that shift the potential for more inclusive measures to fight period poverty.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve spoken with a lot of high schoolers all over the country and they are considering these things more so than I think older populations are,\u201d they said. \u201cThey\u2019re thinking about \u2018should we take the products out of the bathrooms and put them somewhere else\u2019 so that regardless of what bathroom you\u2019re going in [you have products]. They\u2019re asking these questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One in three transgender adults in the U.S. experience homelessness<\/a>, making the threat of period poverty a dire issue for the community and the need for visible trans and non-binary voices<\/a> in this space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople think it\u2019s taking away from women or taking away from women\u2019s rights or what have you but I think it would be stronger to have a collective of people who all experience the same thing in different ways and have different journeys,\u201d said Vincent. ________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n Publisher\u2019s Note<\/em>: \u201cPeriod Poverty Transcending Gender\u201d is part of a series of stories on period poverty in Illinois<\/a> supported by the USC-Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. ILLN Editor, Reporter Annabel Rocha was selected as a 2022 National Fellow<\/a> to explore challenges impacting child, youth and family health and well-being in the U.S. For many menstruators the cost of bleeding forces them to choose which essential need will be met that month. \u201cIt 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many menstruators the cost of bleeding forces them to choose which essential need will be met that month. \u201cIt […]","authors":[{"term_id":242,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"annabel","display_name":"Annabel 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\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like the J.K. Rowling argument<\/a> we\u2019ve seen a lot of like, where by using that term [menstruators] you\u2019re discrediting women,\u201d Kaplan told IL Latino News. \u201cI think there\u2019s always so much room for representation of any queer, gender diverse identity in professional spaces anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please consider participating in the Addressing Period Poverty<\/a> or Abordando La Pobreza Menstrual<\/a> surveys. We want to know your experiences dealing with menstruation and\/or period poverty. In collecting this information, we hope to gain insight on how this issue affects those in our communities.
For more information please contact annabel@latinonewsnetwork.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"