#trans women periods

[bi-kisses]

No, trans women cannot and do not get periods. Of any kind.

This is a post to dispel misinformation regarding the commonly spread idea that some trans women will, once a month, get cramps and mood swings just like when us cis women have our periods.

This is categorically untrue and a potentially harmful message to be telling trans women.

To start, let's explore period cramps themselves and how they work. Period cramps are caused by the uterus contracting in order to expel its thick lining. The hormone actually responsible for telling your body to do these muscle crampings are called prostaglandins, and some women produce too much of it, worsening their cramps. (Source)

Now, both males and females have prostaglandins. But the way they're employed is very different if you do not have a uterus. As the body uses prostaglandins for a variety of things, it isn't something regulated by our endocrine systems. It's (generally) produced where it's needed, when it's needed, and there are different kinds with different functions. In females, the uterus itself produces the prostaglandins in order to get rid of its lining. So a male body has no reason, ever, to create prostaglandins for the sake of an organ it does not possess during a cycle it is not experiencing. (Source)

This should probably explain why, under no circumstances, even when on hormone therapy, trans women would be experiencing these forms of cramps.

And yet, some trans women do cramp. And some cis women without periods - or uteruses altogether! - do as well. What's up with that?

Well, in women with IUDs who no longer get periods, the IUD itself can be an irritant. I've had three IUDs myself (two different varieties) and I can tell you that first year was hellish. I was constantly cramping and bleeding. Though I'm not one of the lucky ones to have my periods stop entirely.

Here's the thing, though; IUDs don't stop you from producing hormones and experiencing that influx which normally accompanies a period. So yeah, you'll be moody, your gut may hurt, but it isn't uterine cramps causing that. Further explanation below.

In women who have had hysterectomies, the fact that trauma to the body causes prostaglandins to release can explain why, for a while after, the area may be cramping. Prostaglandins can also irritate the bowels, causing the intestines to cramp, which are notably in a similar area to the uterus.

There's also evidence that having an organ removed causes the mind to create phantom sensations, which could make someone think they're feeling period cramps. These are, however, hallucinations and should subside as time goes on. (Source)

To read more about the many reasons for cramps without a period, this page written by and for women with hysterectomies is very informative. A lot of those reasons apply to men and trans women as well.

Now onto trans women specifically. Why would a trans women experience cramping in regular intervals if it isn't the body mimicking a period?

Well, lots of reasons, as explained in the link above.

But here's probably the most common one.

Have you heard of period poops? Well, I definitely can vouch for the fact that, on my period, my shits are very different. This is actually because both estrogen and progesterone (as well as prostaglandins) affect your intestines. More specifically, large influxes of either hormone irritate your bowels, potentially leading to painful cramps and constipation. If you're a trans women getting regular injections, you don't have a "cycle" per se, but you do have a period of time where a large amount of estrogen/progesterone is suddenly circulating through your body. That's going to rock the boat a little. So yeah, HRT can give you PMS-like symptoms as well as bowel cramps. (Source)

This isn't really comparable to a period, but if you want to call it that, I can't stop you.

TL;DR trans women have no uterus, which means no uterus cramps. Trans women on HRT may find that estrogen and/or progesterone irritate their bowels and give them gastrointestinal cramping.

The big takeaway is this, though: if you're a trans woman, or a cis woman without a period for whatever reason, you SHOULD NOT under normal circumstances be getting bad lower abdomen cramps on a regular basis. DO NOT accept it as a fact of life or a phantom period, because that's not what it is. You don't want to overlook any kind of severe pain. Please see your doctor.

[catgirl-kaiju]

TERFS LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE CHALLENGE

[redditreceipts]

"we like young women because biologically, that means they're fertile"

then why do you find periods disgusting? those are the single most indicative sign of fertility. by that logic, you must be incredibly attracted to a women who speaks openly about her period, right?

[butch-reidentified]

nobody has ever been forced to stay in a menstrual hut because they had a cramp and got moody. because that's not a period. die.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

i wanna know more about svsss menopause

They synced their periods together too well. Now they are synced through their perimenopause years.

[starlightdreamboy]

The Normalization Of Female Suffering

I have tried time and time again to explain the idea of afab pain in the medical industry to my amab friends. Time and time again, they don't seem to really understand. From my understanding, most men are raised with the idea that if you are in pain, see a doctor. Either that or the toxic masculinity of 'boys don't cry'. But for the sake of this post I'll be referencing the prior. See a doctor, be listened to and receive treatment. Most of my friends who weren't raised and socialized as female don't understand why that would be the case for me. So when I am in pain, I am told to go and see a doctor, as if it would do anything at all.

A lot of women are raised with the idea that it's normal to be in a certain amount of pain. Whether it's growing pain, or period pains, it's normal. It almost expected that women are in pain and they should not complain or do anything about it. But it isn't normal and having that idea reinforced so often is so so harmful. Because I was raised that way I don't see doctors now, I am used to not being listened to when I tell them how I am feeling because they assume that I am being overdramatic when in reality, because of my autism, it's quite the opposite. Even though realistically I know it's not okay for me to be in pain most of the time, I will leave it until the very last minute to do anything about it because It feels pointless paying to see someone with no idea how to treat the female body.

Women weren't included in clinical trials very often until 1993. It was under the idea that our bodies are too abnormal or complex because of fluctuating emotions and hormonal cycles. So they pretty much didn't study us at all until just over 30 years ago. Because of this they don't actually know enough about our bodies to really do anything half the time. That's what it feels like at least.

Period cramps are normal yes. But the severity of it for some people shouldn't be considered normal or okay. Some women have such bad period pain that they can't get out of bed, or stand up, or do anything at all. That isn't normal. The fact it has been considered normal for so long shows how underplayed womens emotions and feelings are and that is so fucked up. We need to be looked into outside of just hormonal, emotional beings and treated like everyone else.

[darkpastelpurple]

Period Havers should be able to parry their period.

If they get the timing right they should be able to inflict it on some other adventurer

[dkettchen]

have more lesbian sanami brainrot

[bi-kisses]

Honestly, I admire your ability to answer these people with not only respect and kindness but facts very clearly intended to be helpful.

You're a bigger person than me because seeing anyone who lists it/its pronouns (neopronouns in general too tbh) in their bio sends me into a bit of a rage.

Point is I think you've been very respectful and sensitive with the subject matter.

Thanks, I try my best in these situations where people do just mean well and don't get what it is they're saying. But it gets so frustrating when all these weird assumptions about female biology are made when we have cis females who fulfill criteria such as lacking a uterus but do not get these same cramping symptoms. Like the proof is already out there that this just isn't how bodies work but people don't want to believe that and I understand why.

[cackled0g]

The thing about transandrophobia is that I think it's true that transmasculine people face unique forms of transphobia, and that transphobia is often compounded by misogyny. I don't really take issue with the concept of trans people coining a term that roughly means "intersection of transphobia and misogyny experienced primarily by transmasculine people". I know there's some discourse around the coiner of the term, but honestly I dont care about kink discourse because it's weird and creepy to lambast people for their private sex lives. The problem is that every single blog who regularly posts about this sort of thing is run by some 19 year old who has never unpacked their own misogyny, and takes that out on other trans people. I literally just saw a post that was like "the term theyfab is transphobic and has it's roots in transphobic cis communities" and was like hmm, yes, I agree. And a solid half of the comments were like "Yeah! And I bet that the nasty cis men who coined the term transistioned and became evil trans women who hate all trans men!"

Like bros. Can you hear yourselves. Hello??

I don't know, I just feel like we can simultaneously say "trans women are often the victims of very public harrassment campaigns that center around the idea that they are creepy evil men infiltrating women's spaces" and "transmisogyny is a bigotry that has seeped into all aspects of our culture and everyone should be doing their best to unpack their internal biases" and also say "trans men are often belitted and rid of agency, treated like weak little girls when its convenient and evil dangerous men when it isn't" and "misogyny is the primary driving force behind almost all sex-based oppression" without any of those things contradicting each other?

And I'm literally begging people to argue with me here, like tell me why you think this is wrong and stupid or whatever, because I genuinely want to learn. I just don't know why the trans community can't keep from imploding into us vs them every ten seconds.

[wis-art]

Women, so pretty, so shaped, i am so lesbian,,,

[redditreceipts]

https://reddit.com/r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns2/s/rBbwpXGJtm

"you can say you've had to use menstrual products in your life (gender euphoria) :)"

What would that "gender euphoria" look like in Tanzania? (source)

Why don't you miss out on crucial parts of your education because of "gender euphoria"? (source)

(source)

(source)

(source)

Why don't you spend 18,000 pounds on overtaxed sanitary products for your "gender euphoria"?

or why don't you give yourself an infection every once in a while for your "gender euphoria"? Why don't you stop eating for a couple of days to afford your overpriced period products? (source)

Ah, yeah, I know why. Because womanhood for you is just picking and choosing the things you like and not doing the things you dislike. Good for you, but a lot of us don't have that privilege.

[mean-gills]

I have heard so many times this concept of men misinformed about a woman's body, I have been on the subreddit r/badwomensanatomy and I agree that medical misinformation about women's body is a very common issue especially in places like America, but I don't think people talk enough about how this misinformation effects women.

I went to a Catholic school and I remember talking to a girl about how I wore tampons and she made a face at me. She said that her parents told her tampons are only nessessary after you have had sex and that puting in a tampon could turn you on. This was the first time I had ever heard someone say stuff that I objectively knew was false. I explained to her not only the differences of menstrual products but also my experiences with them.

Ultimately she still felt uncomfortable with the idea of wearing tampons which is fine, but it sorta made me realize that there are people spreading around these ideas about women that just false. There are young girls and grown woman who don't know about their own bodies due to society's stigma against women.

It shouldn't be the job of a classmate to explain the pros and cons of various menstrual products. She was like 2 years older than me and she had so many misconceptions about her body. Yes I believe men should educate themselves about women's anatomy, but that stems more from a belief that education like this should be more freely available for everyone.

[pathologictwo]

i fully believe that some gay men view their gayness through their hatred of and dehumanization of women rather than their attraction to other men. you put your hands on your female friends without consent, you dance up on them and grope them when you go out, you make disgusting sexual comments about them, and then you degrade them to their faces and talk about how disgusting vaginas and breasts and periods are. why is a core facet of your sexuality how much you don’t like women instead of how much you like men

[ratsex2008]

[catboybiologist]

Do you get periods? Do you menstruate blood or not?

🙄 just ask me what my genitals are and be up front about it