Always, a brand of menstrual products, has been forced to scrub the “woman” symbol off their packaging in response to a coordinated effort by transgender activists to punish the brand for “discrimination” against trangender individuals.
The Daily Mail reports that the Procter & Gamble-owned brand caved to a boycott campaign that began when transgender activists noticed that Always placed the “Venus” symbol — a circle with a plus sign or cross beneath it, universally recognized as the sign for the female gender — on the wrappers of some of its sanitary products.
“A trans activist using the pseudonym ‘Melly Boom’ had tweeted in July asking Always why it was ‘imperative’ to have the sign on their sanitary products,” according to the Daily Mail. “The tweet said: ‘There are non-binary and trans folks who still need to use your products too you know!’”
Ostensibly, ‘Melly Boom’ is referring to female to male transgender individuals who may identify as a different gender but who do not undergo surgical or medical transition, which would make them theoretically “male” but with a female reproductive system and monthly periods. Some social media users also claim that trangender females can have “period-like” symptoms once a month.
A high profile transgender activist named Ben Saunders also pestered Always in June after the release of a documentary about Saunders’ transtion from female to male. The Always team replied directly to Saunders after making their decision, telling Saunders that, “We are glad to inform you that as of December we will use a wrapper design without the feminine symbol.”
The brand’s public relations team added that the change will come in late 2019 and that gender-neutral period products would hit stores in January of 2020.
The announcement comes on the heels of “National Period Day,” a nationwide push for “menstrual equity.” The non-profit organization, PERIOD, which organized 60 national rallies around the subject, wants Congress and state legistlatures to start providing menstrual hygiene products like pads and tampons free of charge through Medicaid to state and Federal employees, residents of womens’ shelters, public school students, and prison inmates.
Contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination got in on the menstrual frenzy, tweeting their support for expanded access to menstrual hygiene products, and many were careful to display their wokeness by suggesting that “people” and not just “women” get periods.
Too many people don't have access to basic health needs like menstrual products. Whether due to lack of income, incarceration or gender identity, it's outrageous. Join @periodmovement for #NationalPeriodDay on 10/19 & support the fight for menstrual equity https://t.co/M532VyvIf7
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) October 18, 2019
The occasion also became a flashpoint for the same trangender activism that drove Always to drop the female symbol from their packaging. A number of “intersectional feminists” and transgender activists took to social media to remind period protesters that it’s discriminatory to assume only women menstruate.
🗣 ANY GENDER CAN GET THEIR PERIOD.
ANY GENDER CAN GET THEIR PERIOD.
ANY GENDER CAN GET THEIR PERIOD.
ANY GENDER CAN GET THEIR PERIOD.
ANY GENDER CAN GET THEIR PERIOD.
ANY GENDER CAN GET THEIR PERIOD.
ANY GENDER CAN GET THEIR PERIOD.
#NationalPeriodDay— Ericka Hart (She/ They) (@iHartEricka) October 19, 2019
Nearly 1 in 2 low-income people who menstruate have had to choose between being able to afford a meal or menstrual hygiene products. Having a period with dignity shouldn't be a luxury. https://t.co/f1KRTI5QzU #NationalPeriodDay #MEforAll
— NARAL (@NARAL) October 19, 2019
Not all women menstruate and not all who menstruate are women. Period equality is simply about equality. Period.#NationalPeriodDay https://t.co/U1XUo7C2vJ
— Deepa Shivaram (@deepa_shivaram) October 19, 2019
But not everyone is happy with “intersectional” menstrual activism. Feminists also took to social media, in the wake of Always’s announcement to suggest that removing female symbolism from packaging is the first step to erasing the female gender and ending the women’s rights movement.
“Removing the female symbol from sanitary towel packaging is basically denying the existence of women,” one prominent feminist told the Daily Mail. “We’re now moving towards the total elimination of women’s biology. The women’s symbol has been used by feminists for decades. This is pure cowardice and virtue signalling from these big corporate brands who are capitulating to the trans agenda.”