"Men’s tampons" to reduce distress

The well-known Finnish company Vuokkoset, which produces hygiene products, has released a new product: tampons for men. The products are designed to “relieve discomfort and reduce distress.”

Features of tampons

The manufacturer’s advertisement on the official website states that the product “aims to reduce gender dysphoria in the transgender community.” The attractive dark blue packaging has a clean, understated design, in contrast to the design of products intended for women’s menstruation. Vuokkoset says:

“With tampons designed for men, Vuokkoset aims to change the perception of menstruation and reduce the distress caused to transgender men.”

In the UK National Health Service explain:

“Gender dysphoria is a term that describes the feeling of discomfort that a person may experience due to “a discrepancy between their biological sex and gender identity.”

Gender identity

Gender identity refers to our sense of who we are and how we see and describe ourselves. Most people identify as “men” or “women”. These are sometimes called “binary” identities. But some people feel that their gender identity is different from their biological sex.

For example, some people may have male genitalia and facial hair, but do not identify as men or feel masculine. Some may have female genitalia and breasts, but do not identify as women or feel feminine. Some people do not consider themselves to have a “binary” identity. For them, the concept of gender has no bearing on their identity. They may use different terms such as gender, gender diversity, gender nonconformity to describe their identity. However, as a group they are often referred to as “non-binary”.

People with gender dysphoria may change their appearance, behavior, or interests. They may also show signs of discomfort or distress, including:

• low self-esteem;
• withdrawal or social isolation;
• depression or anxiety;
• unnecessary risk;
• self-neglect.

Vuokkoset solves men’s problems

Specialists companies Vuokkoset felt sympathy for the men for whom they released their new product. The company notes that not everyone who menstruates is a woman—transgender men and non-binary people can also menstruate. To break this outdated belief, Vuokkoset is launching “Tampon for Men” as part of Transgender Awareness Week:

“For transgender men, period pain is more than just physical pain. It is a monthly reminder that the gender they were assigned at birth does not reflect who they are. Not everyone who menstruates is a woman. Transgender men and non-binary people can also menstruate.”

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