Free Flow

  Transgender Awareness week is celebrated between the 13 th   and 19 th   of November, culminating in the Transgender Day of Remembrance on the 20 th   of November. It is always a great time to shed light on the topic of period inclusivity, but it is especially so now. Period inclusivity is defined as ‘the recognition that while periods are a biological process, gender isn’t fixed and assigned at birth’. One of the issues that the transgender community faces is exclusionary language and attitudes when it comes to menstrual hygiene, even if this is unintentional.   It is important that we are able to separate gender identity from the strictly biological process of menstruation. Whatever gender an individual identifies as has no bearing on menstruation. The fact is that it is not only women who menstruate and not all women do menstruate. Transgender males, non-binary people, and ciswomen may also menstruate. Transgender women and nonbinary people may not menstruate. The current terminol