Feminine Hygiene Grant Revoked Over Mention of Trans Men

metroweekly.com:

A grant helping to fund a study on the potential health risks posed by synthetic menstrual hygiene products was revoked after being flagged for including transgender men.The $600,000 grant, “Farm to Feminine Hygiene: Enhancing the Textiles Lab for Research, Extension, and Scientific Instrumentation for Teaching at Southern University,” was awarded by the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture in 2024.It sought to “address the growing concerns and issues surrounding menstruation, including the potential health risks posed to users of synthetic feminine hygiene products,” according to the project’s documentation, which was publicly filed on the USDA website.

The study’s goals were to develop sustainable female hygiene products using regenerative cotton, wool, and industrial hemp while also educating women and girls about menstrual health and reusable products.The grant would also have funded a fiber processing center for locally grown fibers in Louisiana, which would financially help Louisiana farmers who grow or cultivate fiber crops to be used in producing hygiene products.Dr.

Samii Kennedy Benson, who oversaw the program at Southern University, told Baton Rouge-based CBS affiliate WAFB that she was inspired to conduct the research project after a 2022 study found that most hygiene products contain toxic heavy metals, like lead and arsenic — raising concerns about whether prolonged exposure to such materials would be detrimental to people’s health or increase their risk of cancer.The grant’s non-technical summary also included a single sentence acknowledging that “transgender men and people with masculine gender identities, intersex and non-binary persons may also menstruate.”That one.