Biden’s Dept of Labor urges employers to help ‘menstruators thrive at work’

The Biden administration's Department of Labor (DOL) urged employers to help "menstruaters" at work on Wednesday in a post. The DOL, under the leadership of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, said that "#Menstruation affects half the U.S. workforce but talking about it at work can be taboo. For #MenstrualHygieneDay, here are 5 easy actions employers can take to help menstruators thrive at work." Menstruators, uterus-havers, cervix-owners, birthers, and other reproductive function or body part terms have been replacing the words "woman" or "mother" in documentation and rhetoric across the Biden administation to appease those who believe males and females can change their biological sex through sheer belief, medication, and surgery. 

Critique of this rhetoric comes from many women who know for sure that this is not possible, yet language continues to be used to obliterate the concept of women and replace it with these other, biology-specific words and concepts. 

The article from the DOL, "5 Ways Employers Can Make Workplaces More Menstruation-Friendly," reads "To commemorate this Menstrual Hygiene Day, the Women’s Bureau is breaking down the stereotypes and stigmas that have made menstruation a taboo topic in the workplace," but from there, the language turns away from women and toward their function.

The article lists five ways to make the workplace more "menstruation-friendly" to "support menstruators, including that tampons and other "varied period products" should be in bathrooms and easily accessible, that uniforms should be dark "to ensure menstruators do not need to worry that an unexpected period or heavier flow will lead to noticeable stains," that flexible schedules and remote work should be provided, to provide guaranteed sick leave with the explicit mention of taking time off for periods, as well as to train employees and managers on the symptoms of menstruation. 

The blog post from the DOL added that implementing these policies will “reduce the stigma surrounding menstruation and improve menstruators’ quality of life at work.” Many on social media said that the use of this kind of language was an effort to erase women.

"Wtf is a 'menstruator' I’m not a menstruator. I’m a WOMAN. Adult human female. Why is this so difficult for them," Chaya Raichik said.

Christina Hoff Sommers, the author of “War Against Boys” and “Who Stole Feminism” said “If you really want to help women thrive at work, don’t call them ‘menstruators.’ Also, WTAF.” 

Founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics Jennifer Sey also commented, “We aren’t menstruators. We are women. It’s not hard. Stop being so pathetic and cowardly.” 

The post was shared by the Department of Labor's Women's Bureau, which did not make note of the irony of them apparently knowing what a woman is while their parent agency did not.