A UK period product company has attracted fury over a leaflet that tells schoolgirls that men can have periods.
In information aimed at pre-pubescent youngsters, Hey Girls states that “not all women have periods” and that “some men have periods”.
The leaflet also states that when people are talking generally it is best to use the phrase “people who have periods”.
Two videos for schoolgirls released by the company do not use the words woman, women, girl or girls according to the MailOnline – although the word people is used 11 times in total.
Hey Girls is a major provider to the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales.
Lucy Marsh, of the Family Education Trust, told the MailOnline that only girls and women could get pregnant and that “to claim otherwise is not progressive, it’s deeply insulting [and] biologically incorrect”.
She added: “It also affirms the idea that girls can be ‘born in the wrong body’, which is incredibly harmful, especially for those girls who are already feeling distressed about how their body is developing.
“Telling children that people have periods is not only lying to them, it’s dehumanising and misogynistic.”
Responding to the MailOnline, Hey Girls co-founders Celia Hodson and Kate Smith said it was an “inclusive social enterprise” that was working to end period poverty in the UK – and said they stood by their “inclusive language and support everyone who has a period”.
They added: “The language we use in our materials has changed in response to feedback from our customers and is deep rooted in our belief that period education and the access to products should be inclusive for all who menstruate, no matter how they identify.
“Materials such as the booklet in question are designed to be inclusive for all, including those who are transgender, have gender dysphoria or are members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are rarely represented in period product education and marketing.”
