A Washington Post columnist suggested that men could become “kings of men” by providing tampons to their female friends, like the ones Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Democrat, provides in men’s bathrooms.
Walz rose to national prominence this week after Vice President Kamala Harris selected him as her 2024 running mate against former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. Walz, credited with creating the “weird” attack tactic widely used to criticize Republicans, has drawn attention for his social policies, one notable example being his signing of a bill to provide free menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms in Minnesota as a way to accommodate transgender students.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt slammed Walz over the legislation. “As women, I can think of nothing more threatening to our health than a leader who supports sex-reassignment surgery for minors and supports putting tampons in boys’ bathrooms in public schools,” Leavitt said on Fox News. “These are the extreme policies that Tim Walz supports.”
The nickname “Tampon Tim” has since been used to highlight his socially progressive views. Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse, who previously defended drag queen storytimes for children, argued that boys should check in with their female classmates about their menstrual cycles.
“Since #TamponTim is trending, the guys who were casually like, ‘Oh, were you on your period? I bought some pads in the bathroom and hid them in my backpack in case your friend needed them’ in high school were kings of men,” she wrote. “Guys like that would drown in prom invitations.”
The columnist doubled down on her suggestion, claiming in a follow-up post that “some of these answers are actually saying, ‘Don’t say I didn’t have any close female friends, just say I didn’t have any close female friends.'”
When one commenter expressed skepticism that a straight boy would carry tampons, Hesse responded: “Have you ever thought about carrying some just because you don’t need it but your friends might? Huh?”
While another article argued that such a fictional boy would likely be bullied for carrying a tampon, Hesse argued that instead, he would be seen as someone to be respected by his female classmates.
“…I don’t get it, dude. I think ‘Girls actually want to be around me because they trust me’ is a better statement to a high school kid than ‘Girls’ bodies are gross’.”
Other commentators on social media harshly criticized Hesse.
“It’s true: asking a girl if she’s on her period is an instant way to woo her,” writes T. Beckett Adams, program director at the National Journalism Center. “If you casually mention that you carry period products, you get double the points. Girls love that kind of stuff.”
“As a mother of three teenage sons, I feel qualified to speak out on this matter. This may be the most inaccurate yet hilarious tweet I’ve ever seen…” said Erica Sange, director of outreach at Parents Defending Education.
“It’s a real stretch to assume that having tampons in men’s bathrooms isn’t a weird, weird thing,” Frank J. Fleming, an AI consultant for The Daily Wire, wrote.
“There’s the ‘friend zone’ and the ‘tampon zone,'” joked author and podcaster Lou Perez.
Conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey marveled at the brazenness of Hesse’s comments, saying “the level of delusion here is impossible to grasp.”
“Periods are a private matter,” asserted Gabrielle Hoffman, director of the Energy and Conservation Center at the Independent Women’s Forum. “It’s very odd to see a politician bragging about keeping tampons in the men’s room.”
