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The maker of Always is removing the female symbol from its packaging to be more inclusive of trans men and nonbinary people.
Procter & Gamble, the maker of Always menstrual products, is removing a female symbol from the Always packaging to be more inclusive of transgender men and gender-nonbinary people.
Trans activists and allies had encouraged the company to take the symbol -- a circle with a cross attached, also known as the Venus symbol -- off the packaging, CNN reports.
\u201ctw// periods\n\nhi @Always i understand that you guys love girl positivity but please understand that there are trans men that get periods, and if you could please do something about the \u2640\ufe0fsymbol on your pad packaging, i\u2019d be happy. i\u2019d hate to have any trans males feel dysphoric.\u201d— vinnie check pinned (@vinnie check pinned) 1570983830
"For over 35 years Always has championed girls and women, and we will continue to do so," P&G said in a statement issued Tuesday. "We're also committed to diversity & inclusion and are on a continual journey to understand the needs of all of our consumers."
P&G officials did not say when the new packaging would be available, according to CNN, but the U.K.'s Daily Mail reports that Always marketing personnel had told British trans activist Ben Saunders it would be on store shelves by January. Saunders, a prominent young advocate for various progressive causes, had also pushed for the change.
But while trans and nonbinary people, and their supporters, are welcoming the move, anti-trans types see it as the end of the world, with some of them meaning that literally.
The Mail delivered a hostile take on the news, quoting women it described as "feminists" as being upset about the change. "We're now moving towards the total elimination of women's biology," Julie Bindel told the paper, who was identified by the paper as a "leading feminist campaigner." "The women's symbol has been used by feminists for decades. This is pure cowardice and virtue-signaling from these big corporate brands who are capitulating to the trans agenda." The paper featured quotes from many other anti-trans "feminists." But in reality, most feminists support trans people -- both trans men and trans women -- and welcome them as well as nonbinary people into the movement.
Anti-LGBTQ site LifeSite News also offered an anti-trans assessment. It drew heavily on the Mail's coverage, but the article's author, Doug Mainwaring, added the editorial comment that the company "has knuckled under pressure brought about by 'transgender' women who claim to be men." Mainwaring, to use his terminology, claims to be a celibate gay man. His other articles for the site have included the preposterous claim that the Fox News Channel is too LGBTQ-friendly.
And a site called Now the End Begins, which is predicting the imminent return of Jesus Christ and the end of the world as we know it (with, undoubtedly, eternal damnation for everyone but right-wing Christians), saw something even more sinister in the move. "There are only two genders -- male or female -- that's exactly how God created it and that's exactly how it will stay," the site's article reads. "So shame on you, Procter & Gamble, for giving into to this demonic lunacy, I hope millions of people stop buying your gender confused products."
The site also claims that the change came because "men who become transgender 'women' are insulted and offended at the symbol for woman" -- when, of course, consumers of Always pads are not trans women but trans men. It further calls for a boycott of the products, but most likely everyone who's used them will continue to, and trans men and nonbinary people will feel a bit more included.
