Yes, some men bleed: Why JK Rowling is wrong that only women get periods

Harry Potter author J K Rowling recently took issue with an article using the term “people who menstruate”, tweeting: ‘I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out.

Wumben

? Wimpund? Woomud?”
But the idea that menstruation and womanhood are intrinsically linked is untrue — trans men and non-binary people get periods too, and trans women don’t get them but can experience PMS-like symptoms. Sanitary product companies across the world are embracing this fact — period subscription service Pink Parcel ran a campaign featuring a transgender male model, while Thinx also features trans men in its ads.

“This kind of ignorant and transphobic statement coming from Rowling is very surprising,” says

transgender rights activist

and artist Kalki Subramanium. “I know I am a woman and I’m so sure about it, a thousand
J K Rowlings couldn’t change my mind.”

The denial or invisibilisation of men who bleed is the main reason why most trans men experience dysphoria, or discomfort with one’s assigned biological sex, says Delhi-based

Jamal Siddiqui

who runs the Transmen Collective, which offers a safe space and information to trans men. “The societal way of thinking that only

cis women

bleed is something that used to make me more dysphoric,” he says.

Mohul Sharma

, 22, a trans man, says menstruation would leave him mentally and physically disturbed. “When I was younger, I’d lock myself in a room and not go to school. I’d wonder, ‘I am a boy but why am I bleeding?’” says Sharma, a food and beverage associate at the LaLiT Hotel in Delhi. Though he hasn’t been menstruating for the last three years after transitioning, it does happen when his hormones are out of balance.

Sharma and Siddiqui still feel fear around menstruation. “Even now, when I start bleeding, I am anxious
and depressed,” says Sharma, who had a hysterectomy scheduled in March, which got postponed due to the lockdown.

K K, who says he is still in an early stage in his journey as a trans man, describes his relationship with menstruation as “rocky”. “At times when I’m most confident in my masculinity, it doesn’t bother me other than physically, but when dysphoria hits, it’s one of the worst experiences ever.”

For trans men, even buying sanitary products from the chemist is riddled with societal judgement. “Being a post-transition trans man who passes well, I used to feel ashamed of buying these menstruation products as chemists or shopkeepers wrap it in the newspaper then put it in black polythene like we are smuggling something,” says Siddiqui. “However, I have made my peace with it. So I try to be prepared by keeping a sanitary pad with me, as after transition there is no fixed timing. You can bleed randomly in small quantities.”

Artist, educator, activist and India's first performing drag king Durga Gawde, who is a non-binary person, recently wrote about how the stress from their dysphoria manifested in the form of serious issues with their period since the age of 11. “Until the age of 21, I bled for 40 days every two months,” says Gawde. “After changing the way that I accept myself and exist in the world, my periods have started to regularise.” Gawde found Rowling’s statement hurtful because “someone in her position of power is giving power to people who hurt the trans community at large. We don’t need that. There is enough pain and suffering that trans people already go through all over the world."

Inclusive language like “people who menstruate” is helpful, as is destigmatising and normalising menstruation for all, says Vai, a 23-year-old non-binary person. “It’s true that it’s not just women who menstruate, but it’s kind of hard to consciously tell myself that while menstruating,” they add.

Your organs don’t define how much of a woman you are, says Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, a medical student and trans woman. “There are roughly as many intersex people in the world as there are redheads,” she points out. “My mother had a hysterectomy and we actually have very similar anatomy now. Her womanhood isn’t dictated
by the fact that she doesn’t have a uterus anymore.”

Avantika Gurung, a trans woman from Delhi, says that she’s often asked about menstruation from friends and acquaintances. “I’ve had women asking me for a pad and for me that’s a source of pride and now I keep some with me to help,” says Gurung, a marketing and PR assistant at the LaLiT Hotel, Delhi.

In India, any attempt to make the conversation around menstruation more inclusive is challenging because of the stigma surrounding menstruation itself. Companies can use gender-neutral language such as “menstruators” rather than “women”, suggests K K, and “work on making their packaging and products less gender-stereotyped. This is not only for trans inclusion, but also to stop promoting toxic gender roles in society.”