THINX Creates Period Panties for Transgender Men

The underwear brand THINX has marketed a pair of their moisture-wicking panties for transgender men who still get their periods.

Mashable reports that the two-year-old underwear company that launched with the tagline, "Underwear for women with periods" has now created a special line of panties for transgender men. The briefs have an insert in each pair that is absorbent, moisture-wicking and antimicrobial, so wearers can avoid leakage.

CEO Miki Agrawal said she encountered some feedback from the transgender community saying that women weren't the only people with periods. Along with her team, Agrawal admits she didn't think twice about the transgender experience and was struck by how right these individuals were to be so passionate about the issue. "We hadn't given a lot of thought to it, which is not super surprising given the lack of trans male visibility even now," she says.

After research, her team discovered how necessary it was to develop a brand of underwear for transgender men; since many choose not to take hormones or undergo sex reassignment surgeries, they may still have periods.

Depending on the person, that monthly experience can be a traumatic reminder of a physical body that does not coincide with their gender identity.

Inclusive underwear, like these from THINX, may help transgender individuals feel more comfortable about their own physicality.

"If our goal is to break this taboo and eliminate the shame associate with periods globally, we've got to do that for everyone," she says.

One fan of THINX is Sawyer, a 30-year old transgender man from Brooklyn, who became a consultant after being discovered on his Instagram.

"I experienced with five-ish years of identifying a man but still having my period... and would wear multiple layers so I didn't leak anywhere and no one knew I had my period," he says in the film. "Even if I'm a transgender male, I still have it in my head that men aren't supposed to have their period, because that's what society has taught me. In the trans community no one is talking about men with periods because it's a source of shame."