Latest Period News You NEED To Know
Written by Cinestie Olson
Extra! Extra! Periods have been the talk of the month. From regressive bills to international wins, continue reading to learn more about the latest period-related news.
Florida House Bill 1069
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first…
In February 2022, lawmakers in Florida proposed the Florida HB 1069, also known as the “Don’t Say Period” bill. The bill has been passed through the House and Senate, and is bound to go into effect on July 1st, 2023.
The bill, though it doesn’t explicitly say “periods” or “menstruation,” prohibits the discussion and education of reproductive health for students up to 8th grade (AKA ages 13-14). Periods can start as early as 8 years old (ahem, some us at Sunny), so limiting these conversations can be extremely concerning and harmful to kids that deserve know about their biological processes.
This bill is also very anti-LGBTQ+ as it states that any school staff cannot acknowledge a student’s pronouns unless they are cisgender.
Bills like this will continue to censor education and resources for those who need it, as well as further encourage law changes that are just as harmful.
Breaking the Stigma in Florida
Time for some good news about Florida - it’s been a long time coming.
Rina Patel got her period when she was in 6th grade and was convinced she was dying (hmm… Maybe Florida HB 1069 ISN’T a great idea??!) Rina didn’t want her daughter, Aanya, to go through the same thing… so they’re changing the stigma surrounding periods together.
In 2020, Aanya started a GoFundMe page to collect donations for period products. Her own high school in Hillsborough had NO budget for period products, and she knew she needed to help make a change.
Three years later, Aanya has been able to raise over $4k and has distributed over 400,000 period products to schools and help out low-income students, refugee organizations, and homeless shelters.
DC
If you’re just as mad as us about the Florida bill, let this next piece of news ease your pain.
Christina Grant, the D.C. State Superintendent of Education, has made menstrual education required for all public and charter schools in D.C. Classes on menstrual health will start in 4th grade - regardless of gender - and go all the way through high school.
The classes will range from education on the menstrual cycle, physical and emotional changes during a period, how to maintain period health, irregularities in the menstrual cycle, different types of period products, safe ways to track periods, contraception, and discussing menstrual health with doctors. Shoutout to D.C. for this revolutionary change in comprehensive sex and menstrual education. Florida (and the rest of the US), take notes.
Beijing
An essay about first periods was a winner in the New York Times’ Student Editorial Contest! Cindy Chen is a 13-year-old from Beijing who wrote about their first experience with their period. Chen was 1 winner out of 11 total, and there were over 12,500 entries overall.
To read Chen’s essay, click here! We’re so happy to see young people talk about so openly about menstruation and bringing more #PowerToThePeriod <3
Sources
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