It’s an easy slip-up to make, but one that we could all do with working on: talking about periods as though they’re just something that happen to women.

That’s not the case.

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Many people who don’t identify as women have periods – trans people and non-binary people, for example – and many people who do identify as women don’t have periods.

Periods do not make someone a woman, and it’s not only women who have periods.


Artist Cass Clemmer, the artist and activist behind Toni the Tampon – an Instagram account about a travelling tampon, plus a colouring book based on the adventures of menstrual products – wants to help spread this message, and explain to people why periods aren’t just a women’s issue.



As a trans and nonbinary person, Cass doesn’t identify as a woman, preferring they/them pronouns. Cass also menstruates.

Cass shared a photo of their period on Instagram to hammer home the message that periods happen to trans and nonbinary people, too, alongside a poem explaining what it’s like to be #BleedingWhileTrans.

Cass' poem: ‘Y’all know I’m trans and queer, And what that means for me all around, Is something that’s neither there nor here, It’s a happy, scary middle ground. So when I talk gender inclusion, And I wrote these rhymes to help you see, I’m not tryna bring up something shallow, Periods are honestly pretty traumatic for me. See my life is very clearly marked, Like a red border cut up a nation, A time before and a time beyond, The mark of my first menstruation. So let me take you back, To the details that I can still recall, Of the day I gained my first period, And the day that I lost it all. I was 15 and still happy, Running around, all chest bared and buck, Climbing trees, digging holes, And no one gave a single f***. I mean I think my ma was worried, So I went and grew out my locks, A sign I was normal, still a girl, A painted neon sign for my gender box. So, the day I got my period, My god, a day so proud, This little andro f***ed up kid, Had been bestowed the straight, cis shroud. The relief got all meshed up in my pain, In that moment, I sat down and cried, Just thanking god I was normal, While mourning the freedom that had died. Everyone told me my hips would grow, I looked at them and couldn’t stop crying, “What’s wrong with you? You’ll be a woman!” They kept celebrating a child dying. See my body had betrayed me, That red dot, the wax seal, On a contract left there broken, A gender identity that wasn’t real. Most people deal with blood and tissue, And yet my body forces me to surrender, Cause every time I get my cycle, Is another day I shed my gender. My boobs betray me first, I feel them stretching out my binder, I send up questions, “am I cursed?” And wish to god that she was kinder. The five days it flows, I try to breathe, I dissociate, While my body rips outs parts of me, Leaving nothing but a shell of hate. The blood drips from an open wound, Of a war waging deep inside my corpse, The battle between mind and body, Immovable object; unstoppable force.

‘As an activist in the menstrual health space, I have been working for the past few years to help push the movement towards more gender inclusivity,’ Cass told metro.co.uk.

‘But though we have been making internal strides in the language we use when we talk about people that menstruate, there is still not a lot of discussion about trans menstruators in the general public.

‘Getting your period while not identifying as a woman can feel like a monthly battle both with your own body and with a world that continuously tells you that your identity isn’t real.

‘I also specifically wanted to share the #bleedingwhiletrans photo to help people start thinking about the very real access and safety issues we face when we menstruate, including bathroom use, access to period products, fear of being outed due to leaks, and the lack of disposable bins in men’s restrooms for our used products.’

Cass explains that for the past four years, they’ve been actively creating art around gender identity, body positivity, and sexual health – making it clear that periods aren’t just for women is just part of their work.

‘I was raised as a Baptist missionary kid in the Democratic Republic of Congo and had essentially no exposure to any form of positive sex ed experiences, so I sought out to change that for future generations through my art,’ says Cass.

‘I hope Toni the Tampon will serve as a fun and humorous jumping off point to help us talk about periods free of stigma and taboo, while also recognizing the diversity within the community of those who menstruate.

‘I dream of a day when we are able to talk about our periods without being worried about who is overhearing us or feel like we’re discussing something dirty.

‘Periods aren’t always the greatest experience, and for a lot of people they can be traumatic and painful, but as a biological function, menstruation is pretty magical.

‘I hope that my work can help normalize periods, not just for women but for all people that menstruate.’



For Cass, and other nonbinary and trans people like them, referring to periods as something that only happen to women is painful.

So is it really that much of a bother for us all to check ourselves a little when we’re talking about periods, and make sure we’re being inclusive?

‘Every time people say periods are just for women, they negate my identity and essentially render me and my experiences invisible,’ Cass explains.

‘I’m not a woman and yet, I still get my period – but all too often there aren’t enough spaces or conversations where I am able to discuss both at once.

‘Getting my period every month is a really traumatic time for me that involves a lot of gender dysphoria, fear of being outed, and stress about bathroom safety and use.

‘Those of us who menstruate while trans or nonbinary already have enough to deal with while on our periods without having to face people who refuse to respect our gender identity.’

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