For close to a decade, periods — yes, menstrual periods — had been one of those rare issues that could win legislative support in blue states and red ones. Starting in about 2016, legislators from California to Alabama had been passing bills mandating that tampons and pads be readily available in public spaces — especially schools — after researchers found that students who don’t have access to these products miss days as a result. These students are facing what advocates call “period poverty,” meaning that they or their families can’t afford to buy menstrual supplies, which can cost upwards of $20 per cycle .
It’s also an issue that particularly affects Black and Latinx people. For years, school nurses had been one of the only resources for students in need, many of them paying out-of-pocket for the products themselves. Legislators then successfully argued that schools should be providing those items.
For a time, it was a winning strategy — an easy, bipartisan piece of legislation. Then something shifted. As anti-transgender rhetoric has picked up momentum in state chambers, period poverty bills have been caught in the crosshairs.
Numerous states have passed legislation that bans trans and nonbinary students from using restrooms or playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. The Republicans who support the anti-trans legislation say it’s needed to protect women and girls from “predators” who may pose as transgender women in restro.