Man complains about seeing 'disgusting' tampon box in colleague's locker. Gets an epic response

As much as some men like to flex their "macho" muscles and grunt about how hardcore they are, their toughness seems to mysteriously evaporate into thin air when confronted by topics such as menstruation and period products. The way they recoil at the mere mention of this natural bodily function would make one think a person's monthly cycle is nothing less than kryptonite to their manhood and that even so much as seeing menstrual products might cause a uterus to sprout inside them. This definitely seems to have been the case with Reddit user DrMedBay's male colleague who just couldn't stomach the sight of a box of tampons inside her locker and simply had to huff and puff about it.

DrMedBay recounted the oh-so-familiar incident in the r/MaliciousCompliance forum a few months ago, describing how she creatively dealt with the entitled coworker. "I work in a fast-paced healthcare environment where every minute counts and I have both male and female co-workers on my shift," she wrote. "We have lockers with opaque doors where we're allowed to store our things. When I'm in the office area I leave mine unlocked for easy access and I've started keeping a box of tampons in my locker. I've told my female co-workers if they're in a hurry and need a tampon they're welcome to just open my locker (when it's unlocked and I'm in the office) and take one, no problem."

"I got called into my boss's office the other day because a male coworker of mine complained that me keeping tampons in my locker was 'disgusting' and he hated that he could see the box whenever my locker was opened," the Redditor continued. Instead of asking the nosy coworker to mind his own business and simply avert his eyes from DrMedBay's locker if need be, the boss—also a man, surprise surprise—asked her to find a way to conceal the box because "some men were really sensitive to 'this type of thing.'"

He said "that I should try hiding them in a different type of box so I wouldn't offend my coworkers. I asked what the point was because my coworkers would see someone reaching into a 'crackers/pop tarts, etc' box and taking out a tampon instead of food anyway. My boss got all huffy and told me that it was for the best and I needed to do it," DrMedBay wrote. Since the men around her clearly couldn't see reason, the Redditor found a creative way to tackle the matter while getting the last laugh.

"Well, fine," DrMedBay wrote. "I made a cover for my tampon box that said 'Mother Earth's Bloody Nutrients Bars: with extra gooey, nutritious filling!' with a photo of a bloody bathtub and placed it on the box. That was two days ago, and I saw the male co-worker open my locker (trying to be sneaky) and he paled when he read the box, got all angry, and I received an email from my boss that my cover 'wasn't funny' and that I need to take it down. So I emailed our HR person a copy of the email as well as a summary of what happened and photos of the lockers, the box, and the cover."

"I also suggested that the male coworker sit somewhere where he didn't have a direct line of sight to my locker if it really offended him so much. She thought it was freaking hilarious and said I 'followed my supervisor's instructions' and so I was fine," she revealed. "Nothing else has been done yet, and I'm mostly angry that my time was spent on something as stupid as this and not on patient work." Speaking to Bored Panda, DrMedBay clarified that—unlike this particular colleague—most of those she works with are incredible, hardworking people. "I can't count the number of times they've covered shifts, come in early, skipped lunch, and helped out in departments that weren't theirs," she said. I love them so much."

"One coworker of mine even gave a character reference in front of the committee board for me and it means so much to me," she continued. "The male coworker who complained has moved to a different shift where he has less patient contact and little to no contact with me at all. I still haven't received the 'letters of apology' from my boss and coworker that HR told them to write and I have no clue if they completed their sensitivity training. But my boss hasn't had any contact with me since and actively avoids me. I have no clue what will happen when I have to ask for time off or anything else that has to cross his desk, but for now, it's alright."

One good thing to come out of the whole episode was that it led to the committee board passing a petition to supply feminine hygiene products in the staff bathroom. A male coworker also went as far as to put tampons in the breast pocket of his lab coat while having a chat with the coworker who complained just to annoy him. DrMedBay still keeps the tampon box in her locker and has received Snickers and thumbs up from her female coworkers who know about the ridiculous saga.