Menstrual pad brand 'Always' removes female symbol to be more inclusive of trans customers

Some women don't have periods. And some men do. Are you a little confused? Well, there's no reason to be. Trans folk in the LGBTQ+ community who are yet to physically transition are often physiologically closer to their birth gender. While this doesn't negate their gender identity, it can become a pain point for those who experience symptoms of gender dysmorphia. Therefore, trans folk tend to find comfort in spaces where they can reconcile social ideas of gender with their own identities. Now, period product brand Always has come forward with a revolutionary step to help them do that. In order to be more inclusive of trans and non-binary customers, the company will remove the "Venus" gender symbol from all their packaging, CNN reports.

The Venus symbol has, for ages now, been a representation of the reductive, exclusionary, and restrictive gender binary. Using the Venus symbol and its "male" counterpart the "Mars" symbol, society negates all those who don't fit neatly into these two categories. Imagine being a man but having a regular period (which can already be traumatizing as a trans individual due to the feminization of a menstrual cycle), and only having your gender further negated by seeing the Venus symbol when you go out to buy a pack of menstrual pads.

After trans, gender, and period positivity activists publicly rallied to have menstrual product brands change the packaging their products came wrapped in, Always, owned by parent company Proctor & Gamble, has taken a stand in support of the LGBTQ+ community. In a statement published on Tuesday, October 22, they affirmed, "For over 35 years Always has championed girls and women, and we will continue to do so. We're also committed to diversity & inclusion and are on a continual journey to understand the needs of all of our consumers. We routinely assess our products, packaging, and designs, taking into account consumer feedback, to ensure we are meeting the needs of everyone who uses our products." Therefore, they will be removing the Venus symbol from all their packaging henceforth.

As of now, a tentative date for the design change has not been announced. So you may continue seeing some Always packaging with the Venus gender symbol still present, but rest assured that change is on its rainbow-colored way. This is only one of the changes companies across the world are taking so as to be more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, companies such as Lyft, Mastercard, and Tinder made similar moves to address gender disparities and affirm transgender people and their identities. Hopefully, more period product companies will follow in Always' footsteps and change their packaging as well. Let's start with all the pink and purple colored packaging, shall we?