Feminists draw transgender ire for ‘If Men Had Periods’ hashtag

The tension between feminism and transgenderism was once again on display over the Labor Day weekend, when women’s rights advocates started an “If Men Had Periods” hashtag on Twitter to draw attention to institutional sexism.

One of the trend’s instigators was Jennifer Gunter, who says she’s an OB/GYN.

“If men had periods pads would be free,” Ms. Gunter tweeted on Monday night.

Other social media users quickly caught on.

“#IfMenHadPeriods there would be 3 paid sick leave days, per month, for every employee,” Heather Leigh said in a post.

“IfMenHadPeriods, tampons would be sold in the impulse-buy checkout aisle, right next to the beef jerky,” Sara Kubik said in a tweet.

But the conversation in the Twitterverse quickly turned, as transgenderism advocates began taking exception to the notion that men are not capable of having periods.

“#IfMenHadPeriods: many of them do, but you refuse to listen to their experiences, so what’s the point of this hashtag,” Tyler Ford, a writer and speaker who identifies as “they\them,” said in a tweet.

“Yay, I love transphobia,” said writer Charles Clymer in response to the hashtag. “Always heartwarming and not at all awful.”

Even the Twitter account for Planned Parenthood of the Black Community tried to settle the dispute.

“Menstruation shouldn’t be a barrier to education, work or life,” the account said in a tweet. “But we have to remember that some men have periods.”

Conservative schadenfreude was palpable in response to the liberal infighting.

“#IfMenHadPeriods is trending, but I thought men CAN have periods because gender isn’t binary,” quipped conservative commentator Matt Walsh. “So confused.”