After receiving feedback from their consumers, the company Thinx, which designed self absorbing “period panties” has now expanded their product line to appease all of their consumers, including trans men.
“A ton of people emailed us saying that women weren’t the only people with periods,” the company’s CEO Miki Agrawal said in an interview. “We were pretty struck by this, as it was something we hadn’t given a lot of thought to, which is not super surprising given that there’s such a lack of trans male visibility, even now.”
Menstruation can be a difficult time for trans men as it serves as a reminder that their body does not align with their gender identity. In a short film released by Thinx, spokesperson Sawyer Devyust speaks about the issues of having a period as a trans man. “It’s definitely a safety risk,” Devyst says. “If you’re in the men’s room and someone hears you rustling papers because you’re in the stall changing a tampon, that outs you.”
In order to remedy this, the company has released a line of boyshort underwear that caters to trans men. The new product line has been well received by Thinx consumers, and Agrawal and her team hope that their integration of this product will help combat some of the emotional distress many trans men experience during menstruation. “We thought, if our goal is to break this taboo and eliminate the shame associated with periods globally, we’ve got to do that for everyone.” Agrawal says of the company’s mission. “We’re going to make the progress of people accepting and understanding trans men as menstruating people happen 10 times quicker than it might otherwise just by being open and honest about it, and unafraid of people’s judgments.”
Cover image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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