A decision to install a Dundee man as Tayside’s first ‘period dignity officer’ has sparked a furious backlash.
Tennis ace Martina Navratilova is among the high-profile figures who have hit out after Jason Grant’s new role was revealed by The Courier on Monday.
The team behind the move, which includes Dundee and Angus College, Perth College, Angus Council and Dundee City Council, say he was the best candidate for the job.
But critics have accused them of ‘mansplaining’ menstruation and insisted period dignity office is no job for a man.
So who’s right?
We asked Jennifer Hale, The Courier’s head of engagement, and regular columnist Alistair Heather to weigh in.
JENNIFER HALE
It’s 2022. A man being appointed period dignity officer shouldn’t be a big deal.
But it is.
And in an ideal world, Jason Grant’s gender wouldn’t matter.
Why should it?
According to the Period Dignity Working Group, he was the “strongest candidate” to help colleges across Dundee and Angus implement the new Period Product Act.
So it’s only right he was offered the job – after all, it’s law under the Equality Act.
But The Courier’s story about Mr Grant’s appointment has sparked outrage.
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has branded the move “ridiculous”, while the SNP’s Ian Blackford conceded these jobs “should be ideally taken up by women”.
The news proved especially controversial on Twitter, where opinions are always polarised.
There’s no grey area on social media.
Either it’s black or white, good or bad.
‘F***ing ridiculous’: Tennis legend Martina Navratilova blasts male Tayside period dignity officer… https://t.co/3fwt8as1Hk via @thecourieruk
— David Clegg (@davieclegg) August 15, 2022
And as much as I would like this to be clear-cut, I find myself in the grey when it comes down to what I really think.
Plenty our new period dignity officer will never have experienced
Nobody should face the indignity of period poverty.
And the creation of this role shows a commitment to ensuring everyone who needs sanitary products has access to them.
But the fact that Mr Grant has never had a period surely counts against him when it comes to a key part of the job: “engaging with staff, partners, communities and young people.”
The former personal trainer has never experienced the horror of realising your period has started but you don’t have any sanitary towels with you.
Or the indignity of when you’ve soaked through your pad but have forgotten to pack a spare.
So you have to continue your day as blood seeps through into your underwear, all while masking the fear of soaking through your clothes.
Never mind the challenges of going swimming.
The fear your period will come when you’re on holiday.
The dread of wearing light-coloured trousers…
I could go on.
I’d love to be able to say all young people are happy to discuss their periods openly with everyone, regardless of gender.
obviously there’s no reason why a man can’t be scotland’s first “period dignity officer”. but i couldn’t bear to spend five seconds in the company of the sort of man who’d apply for the job.
— euan mccolm (@euanmccolm) August 15, 2022
But the unfortunate reality is that many wouldn’t feel comfortable with it.
Optics an issue after women’s campaigning
It’s not just Mr Grant’s lack of personal ‘experience’ that has sparked backlash.
It’s also the optics of putting a man at the forefront of an issue that mostly affects women.
An issue that mostly women, such as Labour MSP Monica Lennon, have been campaigning about for years.
Then again, it was four women who decided he was best person for the job – and have subsequently defended him.
Mr Grant is absolutely correct in saying that “periods are an issue for everyone”.
And it’s not his fault that society isn’t quite as forward-thinking as we’d like it to be.
Time will tell if we’re ready for a man to be at the forefront of ending the stigma around menstruation.
But at least he’s sparked a conversation around periods… even if it was unwittingly by his controversial appointment.
ALISTAIR HEATHER
Many of us males are almost completely ignorant when it comes to female intimate health.
So news that a man is being employed to head up delivery of free period product provision in Tayside has raised a fair few eyebrows.
I can understand that.
The internet LOVES a rammy over gender, especially if our poor old pals in the trans community can be dragged in and rag-dolled for perceived transgressions.
But this is one specific man doing a very limited and specific role as part of a national movement.
The law has been passed under the leadership of a woman – Sturgeon – by a parliament of which 45% of MSPs are women.
Monica Lennon has been a key figure in bringing this forward.
This is a success for women, by women, and is being roundly acknowledged as such.
Men will naturally have to be involved in many aspects of the delivery of the policy.
Lots of men work emptying the sanitary bins.
Men will restock the products, order them in.
And aye, at times, the occasional man might even be involved in an educational role.
Challenging and addressing male ignorance and squeamishness around periods and menstrual experience feels like a good and helpful additional consequence of the new legislation.
Men ought to know this stuff too
I was 32 when I learned what endometriosis was.
For the other guys reading who also have no idea, it’s a thing where some of the womb lining grows on the outside of the womb, in ovaries or fallopian tubes.
Jason Scotland’s 1st period dignity officer is “absolutely buzzing” about his new job. It’s about making “anyone of any gender”aware of period products he says.
Jason, I have news for you, Only females menstruate. Any more questions? PMS? Endometriosis? https://t.co/Cw2D4NgDqa— Susan Dalgety (@DalgetySusan) August 15, 2022
Experiences differ, but it generally leads to at times very pronounced and debilitating pain during periods.
Discomfort during sex is also a commonly reported symptom.
I only learned this because – I think – I lied to Facebook.
I changed my gender on there to female and my age to 21, so its evil algorithm wouldn’t be able to track me so effortlessly across the internet.
An upshot of this was that I started receiving the targeted ads meant for young women in the Dundee and Angus area.
Loads of stuff on period products, nice summer dresses and, by chance a Scottish Government campaign on endometriosis began to populate my feeds.
I later had a partner who suffered from it, and we engaged in lots of enlightening chats.
I can now be a better friend, partner, manager, colleague for people who are suffering from this common condition.
Period dignity officer is just one tiny part of a much bigger cause
At high school boys were shooed from the room as the guidance teacher prepared to tell the girls in the class what was what in terms of ‘intimate hygiene’.
So we felt the entire period thing was a secret thing and it wasnae anything to do with us.
That ignorance isnae helpful.
Women have achieved this great legislation.
Great to speak to @TIME about Scotland’s world-leading legislation on free period products, as it came into force today.
Scotland just showed how easy it is to end ‘period poverty’ 🙌@eloise_barry https://t.co/Xx5cXU3dX0
— Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) August 15, 2022
It is a success for which I salute my sisters.
It’s a genuine and heartening salve upon a symptom of the sore of poverty.
Some men will be helpful auxiliaries in the enacting of the legislation.
The rest of us can be curious bystanders making an effort to improve our knowledge, while applauding the success.
That Dundee guy getting pelters is just one guy, a tiny missionary for a cause developed by women, for women.
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