A Florida school district wants to know about students' periods
By NJ Chicaa
@NJChicaa (115892)
United States
February 2, 2023 4:09pm CST
Well, actually they don't. The state athletic association does. Red flags have been going up for well over a year with new extremely restrictive abortion bans in various red states. Women have been told to delete period tracking apps. They are declining to answer questions from doctors and nurses about their last period, how long they typically last, and the usual length of their cycle.
The Palm Beach County School Board is petitioning the state's high school athletic association to remove those questions from the state-required physical examination form. There really is no reason for that information to be provided. Cardiac history? Okay I get that. Diabetes? I get it. The date of your last period? None of your damn business.
I'm happy to see that this school board is trying to get those questions removed. If I had a female student-athlete I would instruct them to decline to provide that information. I wouldn't even allow them to use a period tracking app.
I remember reading a story many months ago about people flooding those tracking apps with fake information. One guy was tracking the heat cycle of his cow. 80 year old women were tracking like UPS deliveries. The goal was to jam up the apps with so much fake stuff that it would be extremely difficult for a government agency to discern the real information from the false stuff. I thought that idea was genius!
https://www.wptv.com/news/education/menstruation-questions-on-florida-high-school-athletic-form-face-scrutiny
9 people like this
7 responses
@LindaOHio (155391)
• United States
3 Feb 23
That's nobody's business unless the student is scheduled for swimming. We used to get out of swimming during our periods.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61889)
• United States
3 Feb 23
The other issue is it’s nobody’s business. And exercising can delay or hasten the cycle (delayed it big time for me). And it’s nobody’s business. And many women don’t settle into a regular cycle until their late teens or early 20s.
Oh, and did I mention that it’s nobody’s business?
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (73133)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
2 Feb 23
I think this is very personal business and should be kept private for everyone,
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29233)
• Eugene, Oregon
3 Feb 23
What a ridiculous question for a school to be asking. That state is one I am sure many people regret moving to.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (57290)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3 Feb 23
I don't understand what the big deal is. I was asked about my cycle when I was in middle and high school. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with accusing women of being pregnant, or anything like that. This is to help students and teachers know what's going on. The reason I was asked about my cycle, is because I wasn't permitted to swim if I was on my monthly. It also affected what things I was allowed to do (such as going in the water at the beach), and there is an assertion between physical activity and a woman's cycle. So, there's health implications to consider, too.
@NJChicaa (115892)
• United States
3 Feb 23
But now if a student isn't having their period at the usual time. . . and an anti-abortion government agency knows that then they will assume that she is pregnant. If she doesn't have a baby then they will suspect that she has had an illegal abortion.
And not being able to swim in a pool or the ocean because you have your period is archaic thinking.
1 person likes this