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The original was posted on /r/twoxchromosomes by /u/arvore45 on 2023-09-10 16:44:52.

I just saw this tiktok of a woman talking about the “If Men Could Menstruate” piece written by Gloria Steinem. Essentially the text is just talking about how if men could menstruate then it’d be glorified, periods wouldn’t be stigmatised and men wouldn’t be shunned for having them.

The comments were full of people saying things such as “men do menstruate” or “transmen have periods” which is obviously true. However I find such comments to be obtuse, they purposefully ignore and derail the conversation which the creator was initially trying to have.

I never see such comments being made around issues pertaining specifically to men. If there’s a video about the importance of prostate exams for men, the comments aren’t full of “not all men have prostates” or “transwomen need to get prostate exams too”. However anything pertaining to pregnancy, breastfeeding or periods will be full of comments about how “men can be pregnant”, “not all women have periods” it’s like okay and? that’s not the point of the current conversation.

It would be just as distasteful, if a trans woman were to make a video about sexual assault rates amongst trans women. Only for the comments to be full of “cis women are sexually assaulted too” there’s simply no need to insert yourself into every conversation.

I do understand the need for inclusive language, however I think it’s much more appropriate to simply create a separate video highlighting that specific issue.

This isn’t solely about people using trans issues to overshadow women’s issue. I’ve simply used that as the main example due to the video I watched, men will often overshadow women’s conversations in a similar way too.