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Tampons in boys’ restrooms? Nope.

This is so stupid I can hardly bring myself to write about it, but just for the record:

No, Tim Walz did not sign a law that requires schools to stock free tampons in boys' restrooms. The law leaves implementation up to individual school districts, and they're free to do as they want. Most districts supply menstrual products only in girls' and gender-neutral restrooms (and the nurse's office).

Now, can we please put this idiocy to rest?

71 thoughts on “Tampons in boys’ restrooms? Nope.

  1. cld

    These are the people who recently decided Kyle Rittenhouse was trans after he briefly disendorsed, then undisendorsed, Trump.

    1. Josef

      That's funny. Intimidation to keep everyone sufficiently pro Trump. It's a cult. No one is allowed to disparage Dear Leader. Not even a stooge like Rittenhouse.

  2. bebopman

    “ can we please put this idiocy to rest?”
    How dare you advocate banning the entire Republican Party. Commie!

    Mr. Drum , you should know better. To quote the philosopher Al Jolson: You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet

  3. D_Ohrk_E1

    They should keep talking about stuff like this, IMO. Works like a charm on the people who are on the fence, concerned about the economy, jobs, security, climate change, and...[looks down list of ranked priorities in polls]...well I know this is really important to Americans. So definitely, the GOP should keep talking about this. In fact, they should make the whole campaign around this pressing issue.

    1. KawSunflower

      Aw, you're just envious - dogs are sweet, loyal, & help you get some exercise, but cats rule the meme universe!

  4. bbleh

    Well but what about the CAT-LITTER BOXES in CLASSROOMS huh?!?! How do you explain THAT, groomer?

    About all you can do for people who believe and repeat things like this is point and laugh.

  5. cld

    Conservatives are such hysterics they've barricaded themselves in the bathroom like it's the Alamo and scream if anyone tries to talk them out of it.

  6. cld

    Conservatives are panicked that trans people might need to use the bathroom but J.D. Vance sitting on their couch is fine with them.

      1. cld

        Who call themselves conservatives. A lot of conservatives may not like them, but without an organized, concerted and public effort to separate themselves from this element, the right wing extremists will remain exactly the conservatives they say they are.

        The few who have spoken and acted against them publicly are lauded in the press and damned at the ballot box. Where are the conservatives? Most will vote for Trump.

          1. cld

            I accept that you're Yehouda and I don't hear anyone objecting. With no one caring enough to challenge it it's a fait accompli.

            If I kept insisting you were not Yehouda would you, or any of your fellow Yehoudas, buy it and would anyone else believe me, or would they believe all of you?

            Conservatives who aren't extremist wingnuts have to fight for the name or find a new one.

            1. Yehouda

              1) "Yehouda" is the name that my parents gave me when I was born.
              2) "conservatives" is a word with a meaning.
              It doesn't make sense to do any analogy between these two situations.

                1. Yehouda

                  It is two different situations.

                  If "conservatives" was the name that the parents of republicans gave them when they were born, it would make sense to insist on calling them "conservatives".

                  But this is not the current situatiion.

                  1. cld

                    They are most often born and raised conservative, it's an inherent part of their identity.

                    It's a correctly analogous situation.

                    As when conservatives used to complain about 'queers' stealing the word 'gay'.

                    It's wrong not to accept the label people have for themselves.

                    1. Yehouda

                      "It's wrong not to accept the label people have for themselves."

                      Really? so if some one calls himself "the king", you need to him as "the king"?
                      That is frankly idiotic.
                      I guess we can leave it at that, it seems to be beyond your intellectual capabilities.

                    2. cld

                      No. We're clearly talking about people as in groups, people collectively, not individuals.

                      If there were some large group of people who called themselves 'the king', and who had persisted in this for generations, if not centuries, then that is genuinely how they should be referred to. But no one would seriously think they're royalty, aside from, perhaps, themselves.

          2. Josef

            Your opinion on whether their claim to the identity of conservative is legitimate may matter to you, but I highly doubt it matters to them. The fact that Trump and his base have essentially taken over the GOP means they are o.k. with being associates with MAGA or are unable to sufficiently separate themselves from it. If you want to blame someone for MAGA identifing as conservative blame the GOP.

      2. mudwall jackson

        more like right-wing nuts, because if tampons in boys' restrooms is one of your biggest fears, you're crazy. even if this nonsense were true, so what?

  7. barry bear

    MEOOOOOW...what do you expect when a CONVICTED whore monger is running the kitty litter Republicans...Kitties know.

  8. rick_jones

    The headline reads:

    Tampons in boys’ restrooms? Nope.

    The text includes:

    The law leaves implementation up to individual school districts, and they're free to do as they want.

    Sounds then like the headline should read “Tampons in boys’s restrooms? Maybe.” Or “Tampons required in boys’ restrooms? Nope.”

    1. Atticus

      On one hand I agree with you. But I think the headline is a rebuttal of the claim that Walz signed a law that requires tampons in boys bathrooms. May be splitting hairs...

    2. cephalopod

      It's not like there used to be a law that banned tampon dispensers. The law was silent, and it is still silent when it comes to the boys restroom.

      I think most people would find an article headline that says "fainting couches in boys restrooms: Maybe" to be totally silly, even though that is just as accurate as the tampon version.

    3. Joseph Harbin

      I'm glad we're finally getting to the bottom of the "Tampons in boys’ restrooms" controversy. There are apparently few things as dangerous to boys and developing young men as finding a Tampon and in the boys' room of all places.

      Yet I remember growing up back in the day. My brothers and I, along with many of the boys we knew, were constantly finding Tampons (not to mention, other assorted female paraphernalia) in the bathrooms we were using every day. Frightening, as you can imagine, though we didn't think much about it at the time. We had sisters, and somehow we survived.

    1. cld

      And Trump's face.

      Reverently in prayer.

      And Jesus, his arm around Trump's shoulders, nuzzling his ear, his martyred ear.

    2. jte21

      Cue Greg Abbot or Ron DeSantis now signing legislation requring any student on their period to isolate in special menstruation tents out back near the baseball fields. They can rejoin their ritually pure classmates after a week and a special shower.

      It's in the Bible, after all.

      1. aldoushickman

        Milwaukee was always my favorite of the Triplet Cities--so sad to see how much it has changed; it hardly feels like Minnesota at all these days.

  9. lower-case

    top headline at the nytimes:

    Trump’s Tax Plan Could Add Trillions in Debt. Harris’s Is a Mystery.

    yup, that's the primary difference between these candidates

    they're trying to pressure her to give them that two hour policy interview while putting their thumb on the scale for trump

    (trump voters don't care about deficits, so it's a harmless headline for him)

    if memory serves me, hillary gave them all the policy stuff they could ask for, but they still put their thumb on the scale for trump with emails emails emails

    stay away kamala, stay very far away; the nytimes is not your friend

    1. Crissa

      Yeah, it's not like they go bad on any reasonable time scale for the one time a trans boy has... an emergency. Or anyone else is bleeding.

      Like, sheesh.

      1. Doctor Jay

        I think you, Crissa, will enjoy this story:

        Last November, we took a trip to England and stayed a long weekend in a castle. I went into the "mens" room, cozied up to the urinal, and there, at eye level, was a small basket containing tampons.

        I had a moment of panic. Was I in the wrong restroom? This was a new place for me, and the markings are not what I was used to. Then I looked down at the urinal. No, this has to be the right place.

        A little more thought resolved the question of why there were tampons there, and yes, the cost of doing this is miniscule, and it might help somebody out.

        The moment of panic I had is funny in retrospect, but it also points to the taboos (which are unspoken of course) that are in play. We can reformulate them. We probably should try to do this. You know, change from "no penises in the women's bathroom" to "no monkey business in bathrooms". Or something like that.

  10. Citizen99

    So, why am I ONLY reading this on Kevin's blog? Why is it not in the political reporting of mainstream media? What are they afraid of?

    1. zic

      It was in WaPo today. So not only.

      And I'm sure it's all over the right-wing echo chamber.

      Because of Megan Kelley or something.

  11. Josef

    Idiocy is all the Republicans have and you'll have to pry it out of their cold ignorant conspiracy riddled hands. This reminds me of the story about litter boxes for kids who identity as cats. When in reality it was a bucket for emergency lock downs during school shootings which had kitty litter for human use. It's amazing what some people choose to believe.

  12. Traveller

    It is really easy if you can read; but Republicans cannot, it is all feigned outrage...

    ARTICLE 1
    GENERAL EDUCATION
    Section 1. [121A.212] ACCESS TO MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS.

    A school district or charter school must provide students with access to menstrual products at no charge. The products must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district. For purposes of this section, "menstrual products" means pads, tampons, or other similar products used in connection with the menstrual cycle.

    So the Minnesota law doesn't specify in which bathrooms the menstrual supplies must be located; instead, it requires school districts to develop plans to ensure all students who menstruate can access free tampons and pads.

    Traveller

    1. cld

      Conservatives need to introduce a bill to create a Federal law that would require any tampon found in any location not associated with menstruating persons be reported to the FBI to determine if any non-menstruating person may have seen or touched it.

      Vital issue of the day that no one else has the balls to address.

      It's about leadership.

    2. kennethalmquist

      If the school has menstruating students who use the boys’ bathroom, then the school is required to put menstrual products in the boys’ bathroom. That seems fine to me.

      The Trump/Vance position seems to be that if you feel you have a male brain trapped inside a female body, you shouldn’t have access to tampons. That’s just pointless cruelty. Which, I suppose, is the point.

  13. Special Newb

    I work in a minnesota school district as staff. Let me assure you from personal experience refilling the dispensers, there are no tampon dispensers in the boys bathrooms.

      1. Atticus

        If a school has such a boy they could stock the bathrooms as needed. To stock every boys bathroom with tampons would be an incredible waste of resources.

  14. ruralhobo

    "Now, can we please put this idiocy to rest?"

    Of course! But the next one is already in the pipeline. And then the next. And then the next. This is how climate change denial worked for a while too. Scientists forgot about sunspots! No they didn't, this and that. They didn't take account of clouds! Yes they did, this and that. And so on. It's tiresome. It never stops.

  15. tompstewart

    The GOP NEVER puts ANYTHING to rest. They just keeping hit the same "issues" over and over again long past the time anyone cares.

  16. JoyousMN

    The extremists hyperventilate about everything. The way they talk about tampons you'd think boys get some rare disease if they were ever exposed to one.

    My favorite tampon story is how my husband when asked to purchase said product for me, always asked the same question, "regular or menthol?" It was a Dad joke of the best kind and always made me laugh.

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