Woolworths refers to tampon users as “people who menstruate”

Woolworths has been slammed for pushing radical gender theory after it referred to tampon users as “people who menstruate”.

Woolworths has been accused of cancelling women after it referred to tampon users as “people who menstruate”.

The supermarket giant used the term, but did not mention women, in a social media post that spruiked special vending machines provided by the company.

“The 100th Dignity Vending Machine funded by Woolworths has just been installed to help people who menstruate access period care items free of charge,” the post said.

The term “people who menstruate” is being increasingly used in some circles to be inclusive of transgender and non-binary people who do not identify as women.

In 2020, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling caused a storm and was accused of transphobia when she mocked the term.

“I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” she said.

Woolworths in a social media post referred to tampon users as “people who menstruate”. Picture: Nikki Short

Institute of Public Affairs director Foundations of Western Civilisation Program, Dr Bella A’Brera, said Woolworths was guilty of woke virtue signalling which denied biological reality.

“By caving into the extreme views of a vocal minority, Woolworths has decided to cancel women,” she said.

“Woolworths needs to remember that it is a supermarket. Its purpose is to sell groceries, not radical gender theory.”

A Woolworths spokesman said the company’s social media post was about recognising the success of the program, and its efforts to end “period poverty”, or the inability to buy menstrual products.

“Our partnership with Share the Dignity has helped provide period care products to tens of thousands of women and other people who need them across Australia,” he said.

Woolworths says the vending machines are available for use by all members of the community ranging from women, girls, and non-binary and transgender people who menstruate, to family members and carers collecting the products on behalf of others.

In a media release last September, Melbourne City Council mentioned “people who menstruate”, but not women, when launching its own program to provide free tampons and other period products.

“Around 15 per cent of people who menstruate in Victoria have been unable to afford period products at some stage in their lives,” Lord Mayor Sally Capp said at the time.

When asked on Monday why the term was used, the council did not say, but directed the Herald Sun to a section on its website dealing with period poverty, which “is experienced by girls, women and other people who menstruate”.

A 2020 South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People report into menstrual issues said that many youth wanted to see more gender-neutral language used when discussing periods.

Originally published as Woolworths refers to tampon users as “people who menstruate”